Page 34 of The Fast Lane
I nodded. “We’re never telling anyone about this.”
“Not a soul.”
FOURTEEN
Note to self:
Why does becoming a nudist sound easier than sharing my feelings?
“Did you know Texas ranks third in the states with the most practicing nudists?” I was stretched out on one of the two beds in our tiny little cabin. “Behind Florida and California.”
“The mosquitoes must love that,” Theo said, from behind his laptop, where he’d studiously been typing away for over an hour.
I chuckled and flipped over on my back, wondering how this day had started out so normal. Here I was, staying in a cabin at a nudist retreat with Theo Goodnight. A sentence I never even imagined existed, let alone one that would be true.
I’d spent the last hour lounging on a bed while Theo got some work done. Right next to the Gideon Bible in the nightstand, I’d found a welcome packet with all kinds of interesting info.
“It’s bingo night tonight.”
“I’ll pass,” he mumbled, not looking up.
“Yoga in the morning, too.”
Now his head came up. “Naked yoga?”
“That’s what it says.” I waggled my eyebrows. “You interested?”
“No, thank you.” He paused, the corner of his mouth curling ever so slightly. “Not in public, if you know what I mean.”
I gasped and threw a pillow in his general direction. “There is it again. That was flirty.”
His cheeks turned pink in the most adorable way as he went back to typing.
I stared at the wood plank ceiling. From what I’d seen so far, the Longhorn was a nice place, secluded and quiet. As the brochure explained, the entire property gave guests lots of room to roam…freely. There were cabins, yurts, RV sites, and even primitive tent camping.
While I had no desire to strip off my clothes and join them, I had begrudging respect for people who didn’t have a lick of concern about their bodies and weren’t afraid to let it all hang out. The people I’d seen hadn’t had rock star bodies or movie star good looks; they were just normal. Like neighbors or the high school counselor or the guy who worked the deli counter at the grocery store.
I propped my head up and peeked at Theo. His mouth quirked to the side as he concentrated, and the dragon wings fluttered for no reason except Theo was Theo.
With a grunt, I buried my face in a pillow. What would happen if I stood up right now and confessed my feelings for Theo? The thought terrified me, opening myself up like that, knowing that the chances of him returning those feelings were zero. Or was this the fear talking again? Either way, I couldn’t even handle revealing feelings I’d harbored for years. In fact, stripping naked sounded easier.
“I think I’m going to get ready for bed,” I announced.
Tap. Tap. Pause. “It’s only eight-thirty.”
“Yeah, but it’s been a long day. I’m beat. You can keep working. The light won’t bother me.” I dragged myself out of bed and over to my backpack next to the desk where Theo sat. I bent down to grab it and jumped at the sudden loud click of his laptop snapping shut. Frowning, I turned toward him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his eyes darting between me and the laptop.
Slowly, I held up the backpack. “Getting ready for bed. I just told you that.”
“Oh, right. I’ll do that too.” Abruptly he stood, but I didn’t have a chance to take a step back to give him room. I stumbled. His hands wrapped around my shoulders to steady me, pulling me closer to him.
I had to tilt my head to see his face. Blue eyes peered at me cautiously; one of his curls was smack in the middle of his forehead and I itched to reach up and brush it aside.
“Bed sounds like a great idea,” he said, his voice a little rough.
“Flirty,” I whispered. “Definitely flirty.”