Chapter 157

I shrug, an awkward movement lying like I am in his arms. “As ready as I can be,” I reply. I realize that isn’t quite an answer.

But Dan nods, as if he didn’t expect anything more. He studies me for a moment, our faces merely an inch apart, and this close I can see the stubble growing in above his ears, thick wires of hair that he’ll see in the mirror today after his shower and shave away to a dark smudge. “You saw your aunt last night,” he says.

It’s not a question. He means Evie, I know he does, and when I slip out of his arms, he lets me go. I slide off the bed, tugging my underwear up over my nakedness. The sound of the waistband snapping into place is loud between us. Kneeling on the floor, I turn and fold my arms on the bed, rest my chin on my wrists, look at him peeking out from the blankets like a little boy. “I thought you were asleep,” I tell him. Last night, after coming back from the kitchen, I was fairly certain Dan wasn’t awake when I got back into bed.