Chapter Twenty-One
The rest of my week was nothing but missed connections with Devon. We managed lunch after ethics, but nothing more. My weekend was work, more work, homework, and even more work. I didn’t hear from Devon except the occasional text or video chat. It was frustrating on so many levels. Trying to start a real relationship with a guy when our schedules didn’t mesh was more difficult than either one of us anticipated.
Saturday was spent at the library going over Marvin Acton’s rudder project. Then going over it again before I had to head to Stockade for my shift. I needed the school’s programs to calculate each detail properly, since I didn’t have access to the programs at JenCar on the weekends and couldn’t afford the price to put them on my ancient laptop. If this rudder design went into production based on Acton’s figures, JenCar would be out of business in a heartbeat. The rudder would fail. Lawsuits would destroy the company. People would die.
When I got home Sunday after working a particularly exhausting lunch and early evening rush, I wanted nothing more than to take a shower and sleep. I sat on the couch, debating about the shower when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I smiled at the picture of Devon I’d snapped on Friday during lunch. He stared out the window of the student union as we tried to figure out our weekend schedules.
I opened the text.
Are you still at work?
Me: No, just got home.
Devon: Good. I’ll be there in an hour. We’re going out to dinner and I won’t take no for an answer.
Me: Then I’ll see you in an hour.
Devon sent a handclapping emoji. I laughed and hurried to get ready. An hour wasn’t a lot of time, especially when I had layers of grease to scrub from my skin. I cleaned up in record time and put on the minimum amount of makeup. The minute I shut off my hair dryer, a soft knock announced my hour was up and I wasn’t even dressed yet.
“I’m not quite ready,” I said through the door as I tugged the belt of my robe.
“Are you naked?” Devon drummed his knuckles against the door again.
“Not exactly, but I’m not dressed, either.” I grinned as I watched his expression through the peephole.
“All the more reason to let me in.” His gaze heated and shifted to the peephole. “Are you watching me?”
I laughed and opened the door. “Maybe.”
“Just wear that. All night. Every night.” He stepped inside and kicked the door closed.
“A white robe? Not a sexy lingerie kinda guy?’ I tightened the belt again.
“You have no idea how sexy you are right now.” He put his hands on my hips, pulling me closer. “I want nothing more than to untie that belt and see the robe draped over your shoulders and down your body, barely covering that gorgeous form underneath. Knowing that it could fall open any minute and I’d get to see every inch of you.”
My hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders. I rose on my toes and kissed along his jaw.
“Jesus,” he said before turning his head and capturing my mouth with his. I pressed my body against his until he pulled away. “Get dressed so we can go or we’re not leaving.”
I backed away from him and grinned. “Fine, but where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” His gaze drifted down my body. “Please hurry.”
I laughed. He was dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too casual. I walked over to my armoire and took out a black skirt, pairing with a white top Paige left. It wasn’t something I’d normally buy with a scoop neck that dipped down to reveal my cleavage, but I wanted to look as sexy as Devon made me feel.
After I dressed in the bathroom, feeling self-conscious in the shirt, I stepped into the living room. Devon sat on the daybed, looking at an old photo album I’d left out the night before.
“Is this your mom?” he asked, pointing at a photo of four-year-old me on her hip.
“Yeah.” I sat beside him and turned the page to another photo of us splashing in the small plastic pool in the backyard. Mom and I splashed baby Jacob as he laughed. I smiled and pointed to the photo beside it. “That’s the last family photo of all of us. Mom was pregnant with Bradley. Dad had bought the photo session for her for Christmas. She had wanted to wait, but it was only good until the end of the year.”
“You never told me how she died,” Devon whispered. He took my hand and squeezed.
“She died when Bradley was born.” I put my head on his shoulder. “Brad hates his birthday. That’s why I make sure I’m there every year.”
Devon kissed my forehead and flipped through a few more pages of family memories. Tony’s high school graduation, Trevor’s first Mustang, Adam’s college graduation, so many important moments she missed.
“We should go,” I said, taking the album from him. “I’m starving.”
Devon smiled and stood. He offered his hand. “Good thing. Where we’re going, you’re going to need a big appetite.”
I locked up the apartment and followed Devon outside. He stopped by a 1985 Chevy El Camino.
“You’re kidding, right?” I laughed at the classic. Never would I have expected this from Devon. “An El Camino? It doesn’t seem your style. Where’s your SUV?”
“It’s a classic.” Devon opened the door for me. “My grandfather gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday. Used to be his. I only take it out of the garage for special occasions.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love it. El Caminos are underrated and underloved.” I slipped into the black vinyl seat. The interior was immaculate. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the gear shaft. I ran my hand over the dash as Devon climbed in. “Did you clean it before coming over?”
He laughed as he started the engine. “No, I’m not a fan of dirt.”
“Minimalist, too?” I thought of his room, how it lacked anything personal.
“Not really, I just prefer order. Most of my stuff is at home, not the dorm.” He shrugged as he drove us to the unknown destination.
“So your room at your parents’ house isn’t the stereotypical boy’s room with clothes on the floor and dirty dishes under the bed?”
Devon laughed. “I hate to disappoint you, but that’s one stereotype I don’t live up to. Like I said, I prefer order to chaos.”
“My brothers prefer chaos. And lots of it.”
He parked in a spot less than five blocks from my apartment.
“We could’ve walked.” I reached for the door handle, but Devon grabbed my hand.
“We could have, but I wanted to take you out in style. Treat you the way you deserve to be treated.” He leaned over and kissed me quickly. “Besides it’s thirty-five degrees outside. Why walk?”
The restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall Thai place that I had passed several times but had never looked at twice. Devon held the door for me. Inside wasn’t any more impressive as the outside with almond flooring, cheap wooden booths along the walls, and a hot table in the center of the dining room. Despite its shabby appearance, it was packed.
“Mr. Miller,” a small Asian lady said as she hurried toward us. “Good to see you. I have a table waiting as you requested.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Munitz.” Devon took my hand and led me after the woman.
The booth was nestled in the back with a single flower in a vase and a fake candle flickering in the center. Two plates and silverware were set on one side of the table. I slid into one side and Devon took the other, moving one of the plates.
“She’s a good woman, but she tends to be a little old-fashioned and pushy.” Devon lifted a glass of water. “To our first official date.”
I followed suit and tapped his glass with mine. “Why here?”
“Oh ye of little faith,” Devon said with a laugh. “You think I wouldn’t bring you to the best restaurant in Madison? You won’t get better Thai food anywhere else.”
“I’ve never actually had Thai before.”
“A Thai virgin? And you live so close.” He smiled and it didn’t matter that I’d never eaten it before. “Trust me, Olivia.”
“I do.”
Mrs. Munitz brought us four dishes: Pad Thai, pineapple curry, Pak Prik Poa, and Pla Sam Roy. The only thing I recognized was the pineapple curry. Devon dished them onto his plate, explaining what was in each one. None of it sounded good, at least until I sampled each. They were delicious. Even better were the prices. I could eat out a little more often.
The clock clicked closer to nine and Devon’s baseball curfew. The school had become harsher on the rules since Aaron Betts’s steroid scandal. But I didn’t want the night to end. I walked to the car in silence.
Devon pulled out onto the street and headed back toward my apartment. “This was nice.”
I snorted. “Nice? Yes, it was nice. I was going to up it to an amazing, five-star date, but if it was only nice—”
“I just didn’t want to appear too eager.” Devon glanced over at me. “Besides it’s more of a four-star date at this point.”
“Oh? And how did we lose a star?”
He stopped at a light and leaned over, cupping my chin in his hand. “Because it has to end.”
A horned blared behind us, but Devon didn’t move. I smiled. “But there will be another.”
“Yeah.” He let go and sat back. “There will be another. Then another. Then another.”
I smiled. “And another.”