the day. Tell Mom I don’t know when I’ll be home.”
My father pokes his head out from behind a freezer door and nods. “Okay, honey. Stay safe. Are you and Meadow going somewhere?”
With a big smile, I answer his question. “I’m going to spend the day doing something fun with Cade.”
I like the sound of that.
Chapter Eighteen
Cade
“So what should we do first?” I ask as Hailey and I walk toward my building. “Swim or go jet skiing?”
Her eyes grow wide. “I’ve never gone jet skiing. I don’t think I can drive one of those things. I might kill someone.”
“Then you can sit behind me and I’ll be the one at the controls. You’ll love it. It’s a good time.”
“Are you sure it’s not dangerous? I’ve watched people before doing it. They fly around on the water like maniacs.”
Waving away her concerns, I laugh as the memory of the last time Alex and I went out and nearly drowned because of some asshole and his girlfriend playing around out there. Fucking newbies.
I can see she’s still worried, so I weave my fingers through hers and bring her hand to my mouth to press a kiss onto her thumb. “I promise it’ll be fine. I don’t drive like a madman in the Jag, so why would you think I drive a jet ski like that?”
“You do sort of drive like a madman in your car, though, Cade. Didn’t you notice me hanging on to the door a few times the other night?”
“No, but I was too busy looking at the woman sitting next to me to notice that. It wasn’t that bad. Well, that one turn I took a little fast, but you didn’t scream, so I figured I was fine.”
She laughs at my explanation, making her look even more beautiful than usual. “That’s a weird litmus test you have there for if you’re driving too fast.”
“I guess I could use someone jumping out of the car, but that wouldn’t be fair. No one has ever jumped out while I’m driving. So screaming sounds about right.”
“Because someone has screamed before?”
With a shrug, I have to admit the truth. “A couple times. People can be excitable sometimes. I chalk it up to that.”
As the elevator doors open, I tug Hailey in and press the button for the fifteenth floor. Alone with her, finally, I slide my arms around her waist and pull her to me. After what she told me back at the restaurant, I feel like I need to make sure she knows I’m not like that asshole who fucked her life up last year.
“We could just forget about doing anything but hanging out in the house. It’s not like we can’t go out later. You know, it is pretty hot out today.”
She looks up at me and raises her eyebrows. “Have you lived in Tampa a while? It’s May. This isn’t as hot as it gets.”
“I’ve lived here all my life, actually. I was just looking for an excuse to keep us inside, preferably in bed.”
And at that moment, I see suspicion fill her eyes. She thinks I’m a guy who just wants to fuck her and that’s it. Smooth, Cade. Real smooth.
I don’t give her the chance to pull away or say anything. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I’m all about jet skiing all afternoon, if that’s what you want to do.”
“So you don’t want to sleep with me? Is that what you mean?” she asks with such innocence that I realize I’ve gotten myself into a hole I need to get out of quickly.
Shaking my head, I work to change what she’s thinking before she bolts as soon as the elevator doors open. “No, no. That came out wrong too. Let me start again. I’d love to spend all afternoon in bed with you, but that’s not all I want to do with you. Yeah, that sounds closer to what I meant.”
For a few moments, I watch to see if that made things any better, and finally right before the elevator stops on my floor, Hailey gives me one of her sweet smiles. “I knew what you meant. I was just playing with you. You’re cute when you’re like that, though.”
“Like what?” I ask just as the doors open.
“Sweet. Thoughtful. You don’t look like you’d be that kind of guy, but you are, and I like that.”
The doors begin to close as I lower my head to kiss her, but one of my neighbors stops