“It’s easy to get stuck in a town like Bliss River,” he says, a hard note in his voice that makes me feel compelled to stand up for our sweet little town.
“Well yeah, but I think it’s easy to get stuck anywhere, especially once you’re officially an adult.” I shift in my seat as he pulls through the entrance to the state park, watching the green trees fly past his window, accentuating the strong lines of his profile. “It’s like all the milestones just…stop. Unless you’re getting married or having a baby, of course. But for the rest of us, it can feel like…what’s next, you know?”
He nods, seeming to consider what I said. “Yeah. It’s like, when you’re a kid, you’re in such a hurry to grow up and get your driver’s license and graduate and move out of your parents’ place and get a job. And then you finally get the job and settle into a pattern and start to wonder if that’s all there is.”
On impulse, I lean in to press a kiss to his cheek.
Nick glances over, surprise and pleasure mixing in his eyes. “What was that for?”
“For understanding,” I say. “I don’t want to feel that way anymore. I know there’s more, and I want to keep reaching for that next thing that excites me. I don’t want to get stuck or stop growing. Not ever. Not even when I’m old.”
Nick smiles that new, gentle smile I’ve only seen once or twice, the one that makes me feel like I’m finally seeing the real, unguarded Nick, the one behind the attitude. “I’ve never thought about it that way before,” he says. “But no. I don’t think you have to stop.”
I don’t ever want to stop looking into his clear green eyes, either; the ones that suddenly seem so willing to share his secrets…but he is driving. “You should watch the road,” I say with grin.
“I can watch you and the road,” he says with a wink before turning his attention back to the winding ribbon of asphalt that leads up to Lake Wiley.
“Where do you like to go swimming?” I ask, already eager to be in the water. It’s not that hot outside, but the humidity has my skin feeling sticky. “We take Mason’s boat out to the jumping rocks when I go with my sisters, but my friends and I usually just hit the beach by the ranger station.”
“I have a secret swimming hole,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. “One guaranteed not to be crowded or overrun by floaty toys. I have never shared this top secret location with anyone else, Melody March, but I’m willing to let you in on this. I like you that much.”
“I’m honored,” I say, grinning like a fool, but not caring. I don’t feel like I have to play it cool with him anymore. “This is so much nicer, isn’t it?” I add with a happy sigh.
“What’s that?” he asks, turning down a gravel road I’ve always assumed is an access road for the rangers who work in the park.
“Liking each other,” I say. “It’s so much easier than not liking each other, don’t you think?”
Nick grunts, but his lips curve. “Makes you wonder why we ever bothered with the ‘not liking’ part.”
“I didn’t bother. That was all you, my friend.”
He laughs. “I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Ask anyone in my family.”
“Your family loves you,” I say, hoping it’s true. Aria didn’t have the best first experience with Nash’s mom, but they seem okay now, and Aria says the rest of the Gearys are fun, genuine people.
“They do,” Nick admits. “But they don’t always trust me. I’d like that to be different.”
The vulnerability in his voice makes my chest ache. I reach out, resting my hand on his thigh again. “Then you’ll make it different. I firmly believe you can do anything you set your mind to.”
His hand comes to cover mine, and a spark of something more than lust kindles in the air between us. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I say as warm, soft feelings curl around my heart and give it a gentle squeeze.
I know this feeling. It’s the way I felt when I held Felicity for the first time. I looked down into my niece’s tiny, red face and knew instantly that we were going to be special to each other, and that I’m going to love her forever.
With a niece, that isn’t a scary or strange thing to feel, but with a boy you’ve known a couple of months?
Well, it probably isn’t very smart.
“Who cares about smart?” I mumble beneath my breath, threading my fingers through Nick’s, my heart swelling again as he gives my hand an affectionate squeeze.
“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the gravel.”
“Nothing,” I say, sitting up straighter to see the road ahead. “Are we close to the bluffs?”