“Dad’s inside, and I don’t want to deal with him today.” She stretched out her body, cricking her neck as she did. “He can be such a drag at times.”
Turning to Eli she saw his gaze was on her chest.
“Not you, too?”
“Not me what?”
“My tits, looking at them.” Her cheeks heated just thinking about lunch. “Rachel and Mary are constantly comparing theirs to mine.”
“I don’t care about theirs.”
She stared at him, her body heating under his gaze. She was a virgin, and had never been with a guy before, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know what was going on. She understood plenty.
“What do you care about?” she asked, licking her suddenly dry lips.
Eli reached out, touching her cheek. His thumb ran across her lips, and it was such an unexpected touch that she gasped.
“I care about making you happy. I missed you while I was away, Aria.”
“We all missed you.”
“I don’t care about them right now. I know they did. We’re all friends. Did you miss me?”
She stared into his eyes. They were such a shocking blue that it made it hard for her to focus on anyone but him.
“I did. I missed you a lot. I probably shouldn’t say stuff like that.”
He shook his head. “You’re the reason I came back.”
“I am?”
“Yeah. I made so many promises to my dad just so I could see you again.”
She covered his hand with hers, suddenly not sure what was going on. “Eli—”
Someone knocked on her window, making her jump. Her father was there, looking like an overbearing, pompous ass.
“Out of the car.”
“Ugh, fine.” Reaching in the back, she grabbed her bag and books. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll pick you up. What happened to your car anyway?” he asked.
“It’s a long story. I’ll meet you out here.”
Climbing out of the car, she stared at her dad. He’d folded his arms, looking all threatening.
Without looking back at Eli, even though she really wanted to, she made her way into her home.
“Hey, Mom,” she said, shouting out. She dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs, leaving it there to go and find her mom.
Lisa was in the kitchen, stirring a pot of sauce.
“What are you cooking?”
“Just some pasta sauce. Your father has a guest.”
The smile on Aria’s face disappeared. Those were the words her mother had agreed to use as code for guys that her father wanted her to date.