Loving Lewis

Chapter 10

I was exhausted by the time Lewis pulled his truck alongside my car in the parking lot at the animal shelter. The combination of a long day at work, fighting with my friends, and dancing at the silent rave had done me in both mentally and physically.

I let my head roll to the side against the head rest so I could look at Lewis. Moonlight poured through the windshield like liquid silver, softening his edges and bathing him in an ethereal glow. His lips curved up when I turned to him, and I couldn't decide which was brighter—his smile or the shining night sun. I smiled back even though all my muscles ached.

I was exhausted for sure. But happy.

"You were right," I said, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"About what exactly?" he asked. "I'm right about most things."

I rolled my eyes, but let that particular comment slide. "About showing me what real fun is."

When I thought about what had happened at the party, I still felt a pang of betrayal in my heart. But the pain had shrunk considerably after a night spent dancing. I wouldn't go as far to say I was glad my friends were jerks to Lewis, but I was happy we'd been given a reason to leave. It only took a couple of songs and Lewis's hands wrapped around my waist for me to realize that his idea of fun was much better than getting plastered at Olivia's. Which made me wonder what else he did for fun in his free time, besides playing Space Monkey of course.

"So I impressed you?" he asked, remembering what I'd said earlier about how difficult that particular task was. He chewed on his lip in attempt to hold back a smile, but it was easy to see that he was pleased with himself.

I dipped my head in admission. "Consider myself thoroughly impressed."

"Good, then you'll say yes when I invite you somewhere else. I promise it will be just as fun."

"As thrilling as that sounds, it's getting pretty late," I teased. "I should head home before my dad does something crazy like call the police and report me missing."

Lewis shot me a look and then continued. "My aunt and uncle finished the renovations at the beach house, and they're having a party there next weekend."

My eyebrows went up. "You're inviting me to a family event?"

"Okay, so maybe fun isn't the right word," Lewis said, blushing. "But it's for my birthday."

"Your birthday is next weekend?"

He nodded. "My eighteenth. I'll officially be adult enough to buy a lottery ticket and apply for credit cards. So what do you think, Miss Quinn? I promise there will be plenty of embarrassing family moments at my expense, an epic beach volleyball tournament, and more delicious food than you could possibly eat."

I grinned. "You had me at embarrassing family moments."

"Awesome," he said, answering my smile with one of his own. "Meet me here Saturday morning? We can drive out together."

Out of nowhere, there was a sharp rap on my window causing me to jump as far as my seatbelt allowed. Pulse flying, I turned to see Olivia standing outside with an angry scowl on her face. Her convertible was parked on the other side of my car in a spot that was vacant two minutes prior. I'd been so engaged in our conversation that I hadn't even noticed when she pulled into the lot.

Shocked by her sudden appearance, I stared at her open mouthed. When I didn't immediately respond, her scowl deepened and she rapped her fist against the window again. I unfroze. Lewis's truck was so ancient that I had to use a handle to roll down the glass that was separating us, and by the time I finished cranking it around in circles, I realized that it probably would have been smarter to just open the door.