The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(37)

Having green thumbs clearly wasn’t hereditary, since both Mom and Dad loved to garden, while Kimmy and I barely knew the difference between wet dirt and mud. But the weeding itself wasn’t that bad. It distracted me. I just focused on the task at hand. See a weed and yank on it until the roots come loose. Mom was right. It really wasn’t rocket science.

It wasn’t long before Mom and Dad dusted off their hands and got up. “I think we should call it quits. It’s starting to get dark,” Dad said, already gathering the spades and shovels on the ground.

“I’ll start dinner. You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you, Evan?”

“Sure, Mrs. Simmons.”

When they left, Evan stood up and stretched. Despite my determination not to, my eyes couldn’t help watching him roll his shoulders to get the kinks out. He stooped over, picked a dandelion from the trash pile, and tucked it in my hair. I never would have thought that gesture would be romantic, but my knees got a little weak. No one had ever given me flowers before. “Come on. Let’s hang out for a bit.”

“But my homework—”

“Will still be there in twenty minutes.”

I stumbled to my feet and followed him to the hammock beneath the oak tree on the far end of the yard. He jumped on like it was a trampoline. It swung back and forth dangerously, but with his arms braced outward, he was able to keep his balance. When it finally slowed enough, Evan flopped backward. His right leg was propped up against the tree, pushing against it ever so slightly, while his other leg dangled inches above the ground.

At first I sat beside him, but the swaying kept knocking me over, and I ended up lying next to him, arms folded across my chest.

He let out a low chuckle. “You don’t do this very often, do you?”

“What? Garden?”

“Let loose. Not be so uptight all the time.”

“I’m not uptight.”

“Oh yeah?”

Suddenly, Evan reached out and swept a dirt-smeared finger down my cheek. I froze. I knew he expected me to wipe it off. But I was more aware of his hand on my face than the dirt and dust that was filled with germs and the remains of various bugs and worms—okay, so maybe I was more than a little grossed out by it.

I rested my cheek against his shoulder, deliberately rubbing it against his sweatshirt. He chuckled but didn’t move.

We rocked back and forth on the hammock. Side by side. Nothing touching other than our pinky fingers. Still keeping my eyes glued to the sky, I edged my hand even closer and nudged him. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see him give me a sideways glance before hooking his pinky with mine, linking us together as though we were promising to keep a secret. Which in a way, we were.

*

After dinner, while Evan and my mom were getting chummy over the dishes, I sat at the counter and peered out the window. There was only a sliver of pinkish-orange hue on the horizon beyond the fence. The stars were already starting to peek out.

Evan sniffed at the air a few times. “Okay, I swear I was going crazy all through dinner, but I have to ask. Is there apple pie or something somewhere? I keep smelling it.”

Mom laughed and handed him the dishes she had just washed so he could dry them. “No, I wish. I can’t bake at all. I just love the smell of apples and cinnamon.”

“Me, too. Although I wouldn’t say no to apple pie, either,” he said with a grin. “But dinner was awesome. Thanks, Mrs. Simmons.”

She waved a soapy hand in the air. “I’m glad you liked it! Come over anytime you want.”

Dad and Kimmy plopped down on either side of me with their bowls of ice cream. “Seriously, come every day if you want. We don’t get to eat as well when you’re not here,” Dad said with a grin.

Mom shot him a dark look. “Are you saying I don’t usually cook well?”

“No, just not as well.” His grin widened. “I love you.”

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink.

Kimmy fiddled with her curly brown hair. She had this weird dreamy look on her face. “Yeah, Mom, you made the potatoes all whipped and fancy, ’cause Evan said he likes mashed potatoes like that. I like picking out the lumps you usually have—”

Getting up from his seat, Dad rubbed the top of her head to interrupt her before Mom went nuts. “Well, lumps or no lumps, I thought it was delicious.”

“I agree.” Evan dropped the dish towel on the counter and strolled over to me. To my surprise, he took off his green-and-gray sweatshirt and wrapped it around my shoulders. “You looked kind of cold. So, ready for some physics fun?”

My mouth curled into a smile so wide that my cheeks hurt. “I’ve never heard the words physics and fun together in a sentence before.”

“I thought we already established that you don’t even know what the word fun means?” he quipped, dropping into Dad’s seat next to me. He grabbed my notebook and textbook from me.

“Taylor?” On my other side, Kimmy tugged on my arm. Her big blue eyes blinked up at me, a startling shade of blue that was so different from my dull brown eyes. They sparkled with excitement. “Is he your boyfriend?”

I peeked over at Evan, but he was busy flipping through my physics book with a pencil in his hand. His forehead was kind of scrunched up as he read through the assignment. I looped my arm around her shoulders and leaned toward her.