By Your Side(68)

“How so?”

“I became attached to someone I’d said I wouldn’t too.”

“I sure hope you mean me.”

I nodded. He took the three big steps to reach me and picked me up in a hug. I could feel his heart beating against my chest, fast and hard.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in the space between his shoulder and neck.

A shiver went down my spine, and he pulled away and wrapped his jacket around my shoulders, then pulled me close again, his lips millimeters from mine.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked.

“What?”

“Commitment.”

He smiled. “You make it easy.”





CHAPTER 46


“You sure you want to go to this party? We don’t have to,” Dax said.

It was the next night, and Dax was in my room scrolling through pictures on my computer. He’d met my parents earlier. It went pretty well. It was more embarrassing than anything. My parents loved him. Fawned all over him, really. Mainly because of the whole rescuing-me-at-the-library scenario they had in their heads. And I wasn’t going to correct them, because he really had helped me in the library. I couldn’t imagine how much more panicked I would’ve been without him there.

My mom kept shaking his hand and saying, “It’s so great to meet you. So great.”

My dad said, “You two know each other from school, too?”

“Yes,” I said. “We go to the same school. We didn’t really know each other before the library, though.”

“And now you’re taking my daughter out?” my dad said with a smile. “The library brought you together.” Then he looked up like he was reading something written across the air in front of him. “‘Books, bringing people together.’ That would make a good slogan for the library.”

“I don’t think you’re the first to have thought of that one, Dad,” I said.

He smiled. “I think my daughter is saying that I’m not as much of a genius as I think I am.”

I patted his arm. “No, you’re definitely as much of a genius as you think you are.”

“Was that an insult?” he asked me, narrowing his eyes.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

He laughed.

“We’re going to go to my room now while I finish getting ready.”

“Can I get you anything?” my mom asked Dax. “Water, a snack . . . ?”

I thought she was going to finish that sentence with the words a hug so I took Dax by the hand and led him away. He had been so quiet during the exchange that I was worried he was going to change his mind about wanting to be committed to someone if that commitment came with parents like mine.

“Sorry,” I said.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not really good with parents. I didn’t know what to say. They were really nice. I’ll get better.”

I laughed and pulled him into a hug. “You’re the cutest. And you did fine. I think you’re already their favorite. You don’t have to do much now.”

“Cutest?”

I kissed him. “Yes, is that not an adjective you like?”

“I can live with it.”

I smiled and pointed to my beanbag chair. “Sit. I need to finish getting ready.”

Instead of sitting, Dax started walking around my room, looking at the pictures on my walls. Some were ones I’d taken, some were by photographers I admired. He stopped at my dresser to look at candid shots of my friends and me. I hadn’t thought in the last twenty-four hours to look through those pictures and take down ones that might bother him. Like the one I’d stared at for months of Jeff and me, his arm slung over my shoulder, me looking at him instead of the camera. I shook it off. It was too late now.

I grabbed my mascara and walked to my full-length mirror.

Dax nodded his head toward the pictures. “Did you take any of these?”

“No. Well, I mean, yes, probably some of them. But those are just ones from my phone or that friends texted me. My real ones are on my computer.”

“Can I see them?”

“You want to see them?”

“Of course.”

I grabbed my computer and powered it on. Then I pulled up my photo library and handed my laptop to him. He sat in the chair and began scrolling through it.

I watched him for a nervous moment, while I still held my open mascara, and that’s when he looked up and asked the question. “Are you sure you want to go to this party? We don’t have to.”

“I actually feel good today. I think I’ll be good.”

“We could go on a hike instead. There’s this gorgeous trail that’s quiet and overlooks the valley. I think you’d like it.”

That did sound amazing. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. Let’s do that tomorrow.”

He nodded hesitantly, then looked back at the computer. “These are really good, Autumn. This one of the frozen web is amazing.”

“You don’t think I’ll be good at the party?”

“No, it’s not that.”

That’s when it hit me. “Oh! You don’t want to go to this party.”