Matters of Faith Read Free Page B

other word for it—she’d asked so damn cutely , he could not resist, and because now he could look at her rather than the road. Every time he looked at her he found something new, something more delicate, something more astonishing than the last thing he’d noticed.
    Like right then, she downshifted into fourth gear, and when she flexed her foot on the gas pedal he noticed the line of muscle running down her thigh. His mouth suddenly got dry, and he wanted more than anything to lean over the console and run his tongue over that line of muscle.
    He swallowed and looked out the window. Jesus . He swallowed again, reforming the unconscious epithet into a short prayer. She made him think in ways he’d never thought before, never knew he could think before.
    They’d been weak. He’d tasted the skin over that muscle before, the night she’d teased him into inviting her home for spring break. He’d professed as much regret as she had. But it was all he could think about.
    She shifted up to fifth and tossed her head, trying to get a lock of dark hair blown by the wind out of the side of her mouth. He reached for it at the same time as she did, but she got there first, hooking her index finger over it and drawing it out, and had she drawn her shirt over her head it couldn’t have left him more breathless. He shifted in his seat and nearly groaned aloud.
    His hands curled of their own accord, his fingers grasping the air beside his thighs the way they wanted to grab hold of her hair.
    â€œSo what else did your mom say?” she asked. “What should I call her?”
    He shrugged, irritated to have the image of his mother sliding over Ada’s, but relieved too. “Chloe, I guess,” he said. His mother had always told his friends to call her Chloe. He didn’t figure it would be any different for Ada.
    â€œChloe,” Ada repeated, drawing it out, glancing at him sideways. “Chloe and Calvin. Cute. Chloe and Cal and Meghan. And joining them for the weekend, Marshall and Ada the vegetarian,” she sang, squeezing his knee playfully.
    He laughed, his irritation and bordering-on-violent desire fading, pride at the thought of walking into his house with this beautiful girl lifting his spirits and filling his lungs with something lighter than air. He went with it, praising God for the sheer miracle going ninety miles an hour in the driver’s seat beside him.

Two
    â€œTHEY’RE here,” Meghan cried, “they’re here!”
    She flew past me, pounding down the steps before the screen door had a chance to maim her. My hands stilled under the faucet, the strawberries falling from my fingers to thump into the colander as I peered out the window. I could hear Marshall’s car now, moving too fast up the drive, sending a flock of ibis winging for the safety of the sky.
    â€œCal!” I called, drying my hands and trying to slow my heart. The car came into view, shell dust and sand obscuring its lower half as though it were being deposited beside the house by a cloud. I took a quick glance around the kitchen, satisfied with the dish of hummus, the white corn chips, and the beautiful green edamame in my mother’s blue ceramic bowl.
    I stood on the porch while Meghan danced around the car, the dust settling enough to see that Marshall wasn’t driving. I felt a twitch of disapproval, but it quickly disappeared when the passenger door opened and Marshall unfolded himself.
    Meghan threw herself at him and he caught her with a grunt, swinging her sideways and holding her captive while she squealed to be released. He swung her back upright and she hit him on the shoulder, brushing her hair back into place with her other hand while he ducked her fist. I laughed and heard Cal moving in the kitchen just as the driver’s side door slowly opened. I watched as Ada exited the car, smiling shyly, nothing at all like my vision of her as an athletic blonde. You