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It was torture to glance at the sliding door and wonder if Winnie was out on her patio Should I go out there? If she was sitting at her table, should I invite her over? If she accepted my invitation, could I keep my hands to myself?

Frowning, I took a long s fro it toher today How often I’d caught ht about inviting her over for dinner tonight

But it was bad enough I’d impulsively invited her to cooing to giveher—and I’d deserve it But I liked being around Winnie She was always upbeat and she h She called s to her I couldn’t say to anyone else I felt like she understood rown up, and she didn’t judge ry She had no stake in it—she wasn’t going to use anything against me later She just listened

And I liked listening to her too She got so excited when she talked about the dinner she was planning with her friend or ideas she had for events at her potential new job I liked hearing stories about her family too—it was obvious she was close to them and that she’d had a happy childhood despite her realI found myself curious about her dad and kind of wanted to meet him

Not to irls, and how they’d taken to her like she was a long-lost aunt or so

Plus, she had those lips and that tongue and the sweetest curves known to man

Yes, she was young, but I even liked the things that reh or the bounce in her step or the way she and the girls used slang words or talked about songs or celebrities I’d never fucking heard of

I took another sip and stood up Moving slowly, like I wasn’t even sure where I was heading, I went out on the patio Standing there for a second in the dark, I drank again and then looked over to the right

She wasn’t out there, and her lights were off

Disappointed, I went back inside

The next day, I sent Hallie and Luna over to knock on Winnie’s door while I backed the car out of the garage She ca She earing a yellow crop top, denim shorts with daisies on them, and white sneakers Her hair was in a ponytail She looked sexy and sweet, even younger than usual My heart revved like an engine

They piled into the car and buckled up “Hi,” she said, setting the bowl and bag at her feet

“Hey You didn’t have to bring anything”

“It’s just so fancy”

“But I’ me look bad”

She laughed “You’re bringing ot you”