hair was wet and she wanted to touch it.
In the high school parking lot, Sarah sat in the front seat of Rafe’s El Camino, making the most of the final five minutes before the bell rang. Her fingers itched to stroke over his damp, swept-back hair, a darker shade, almost brown when saturated with water. Threading her fingers through his thick hair was such a turn-on.
Okay, everything about Rafe was a total turn-on.
Happiness sang through her veins. It was the best Valentine’s Day ever and she wanted to soak in every second. Even though it was basically a day like any other at Vista del Mar High, everything seemed crisper, brighter. Details, she wanted to remember each and every one.
A sophomore couple wove through cars, arms around each other in spite of the ban on PDAs on school property. A trio of basketball cheerleaders raced past, carrying boxes of heart-shaped lollipops for a Valentine’s Day fundraiser.
Officer G drove his cruiser slowly in front of the brick school, always on the lookout for drugs. And if he couldn’t find those, he seemed just as content to nab anybody going two miles per hour over the speed limit. Yep, it was a school day like any other—except school wasn’t half as boring these days. Since Rafe. She snuggled deeper into the seat that smelled like Rafe…and something else.
Frowning, she sniffed again, confused by what teased her nose. “Your car smells like perfume.”
He raised an eyebrow, lazy, slowlike. “Are you accusing me of cheating on you? Because honest to God, Sarah, I don’t know when I would find the time.”
“Are you accusing me of being jealous?” And maybe she was a little. The thought of him being with anyone else made her chest hurt.
“I don’t have time for games either, Sarah.” His blue eyes went sort of cold.
Rafe sure didn’t have much of a sense of humor, but he’d said one time that it worked out okay since a smile from her chased away his bad mood.
So she smiled now, enjoying the way she could make him happy. “And yes, I also know you don’t have time for another girl.”
“Good.” He smiled back.
She gave into temptation and skimmed her fingers over his damp hair. She still couldn’t believe she had the right to do this anytime she wanted. A shiver of excitement skipped down her spine. His blue eyes lit with a look she recognized well from make-out sessions on Busted Bluff.
Swallowing hard, she pulled her hand away before they started necking in the high school parking lot and got busted for real—and not on the bluff. “I was just curious if maybe your dad used your El Camino for a date.”
His grin faded along with the light in his eyes. “He didn’t use my truck and he doesn’t date.”
“Not even Penny?”
“They’re friends and they spend time together, but it’s not really dating,” he insisted with too much force.
Abruptly, he opened his door and stepped out into the parking lot packed with teenage-style wheels and students rushing toward the concrete steps.
Rather than wait for him to open her door the way he always insisted on doing, she leapt out after him, hauling her backpack hooked on her elbow by one strap. Guilt stung and blood rushed to her face. She shouldn’t have been so pushy. But he didn’t talk about himself much and she wanted to get closer, to understand him better.
Sarah met him in front of the hood, dropping her backpack to the ground so she could hold his face in her hands. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said brusquely.
Her fingers slid away from his cheeks. She leaned back against the car watching him go all moody on her, and she sensed a smile alone wasn’t going to chase away his frown.
She wanted to tell him to lighten up and enjoy Valentine’s Day. But right now wasn’t about her. It was about him. “It must be tough seeing your dad with somebody else.”
He stayed quiet, his shoulders tensed and braced under his denim jacket.
“I can’t imagine how I would be if something happened to my mom or my grandmother.” Even thinking about it made her throat close up for a second. Sure his mom had died three years ago, but she wasn’t sure a person could ever totally get over losing a family member. At least she would have people to turn to for comfort and sharing memories if someone she loved died. “You don’t have a lot of people to depend on