Following her, I rolled up the legs of my jeans and did the same. Since the storm yesterday, the temps had dropped. While it was still warm, it was bearable—we could sit outside and not have sweat pooling in uncomfortable places.
Andrea stared at the slowly rippling water. “So…when you leave for the police academy, how long will you be gone?”
The question caught me off-guard, because I was surprised and glad that she wanted to know, but I recovered quickly. “It’s about six months.”
She glanced at me quickly, eyes wide. “That long?”
I nodded. “But we do get time off. We can leave after a little while, and people can visit us on assigned days. It’s not like no contact for six months.” At first I wasn’t sure why I was telling her all of that, but then I realized I wanted her to know that I’d be around, available. For her. “So, I’ll still be around.”
Andrea seemed to mull that over. “Are you excited?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, splashing my feet. “It feels like I’ve been working toward it since forever.”
“You don’t have to go to college to enter the academy, right?”
I shook my head. “No, but it gave me a foot up on those who didn’t. Plus, having a degree in criminal justice and having experience on a police force will allow me to move more easily into federal positions.”
“That’s what you want to do? Federal law enforcement?”
“Eventually,” I nudged her with my arm and grinned. “Because while I know I’ll look damn good in a police uniform, just imagine what I’d look like in a suit.”
Andrea tipped her head back and laughed. “I can second that.”
“Damn straight.”
Smiling, she paddled her feet in the water. “When you end up pulling girls over, they’re going to willingly accept whatever ticket you’re giving them.”
I chuckled, admittedly basking in the compliments she was paying me. Fuck. I was ready to roll on my back and let her rub my stomach.
“It’s so dangerous, though. The job.” She started to toy with the hem of her skirt. “Does that scare you?”
I thought about that for a moment. “I think I’d be stupid or reckless to say that it’s not scary. I think there’s a healthy level of fear. It keeps you on your toes.”
She nodded slowly. “That’s an interesting way to think of it.”
“What about you?” I asked. “You have to be terrified, too.”
Her lips turned down at the corners. “How so?”
“You’re going to be working with kids,” I explained. “Nothing more terrifying than that.”
Andrea giggled. “But you know what? I don’t have to take those kids home with me.”
“And I won’t take the job home with me,” I admitted, meeting her gaze and holding it. “It’ll be hard, but I refuse to do that shit.”
She didn’t look away. “Did…did your dad do that?”
I raised a shoulder. “I don’t think he knew how to separate the two, but that was the least of his fuck-ups.”
“Do you have any contact with him?” she asked.
“Not really. I’m cool with that, though. I still see my mom.” I leaned back, resting on my elbows. “What about you? Are you close to your parents? You’ve never really said before.”
“I am. We get together every other Sunday for dinner. All of us. Mom likes to cook, so it’s a grand affair for her.” A loose curl blew across her cheek. “I kind of look forward to it.”
My gaze traveled across her face. “That’s good.” Sitting up, I reached over and caught the curl with my fingers. She stilled as I tucked it back behind her ear. Her wide eyes latched onto mine. “Your brother, if I remember correctly, isn’t a redhead. How about your parents?”
“My mom is,” she answered, swallowing. “My dad has brown hair and blue eyes. Brody takes after him.”
The tips of my fingers had minds of their own. They trailed down the smooth curve of her cheekbone. “So you take after your mom?”
Her lips parted. “Yes.”
“Then she must be beautiful.”
The hue of Andrea’s eyes deepened. “You know what?”
“What?” I grinned as my finger reached the corner of her lips.
“You can be a real charmer when you want to be.”
“And I want to be.” Leaning toward her, I replaced my finger with my lips, kissing the corner of hers. “With you.”
Andrea pulled back slightly, ducking her chin as she peered up at me through thick lashes. “I don’t know what to do…with you.”
I didn’t let her get very far. Curling my hand around the nape of her neck, I brought our foreheads together. “Yeah, you do, Andy. Just do whatever you want.”
Her eyes squeezed shut. “What I mean is, I don’t know how to do this with you.”
My heart thumped heavily. “You’re doing just fine.” I paused. “Most of the time.”
The corners of her lips quirked up. “Yeah, maybe about fifty percent of the time.”
Placing my other hand on her cheek, I smoothed my thumb along her jaw. With Andrea, I never really knew where I stood with her. One minute, she was sweet as sugar to me. The next, she had a bite more venomous than a copperhead. But I had great instincts. Always have. I knew she liked me, and I had a feeling that like ran deeper than friendship or lust. I was going to have to be the one to take the first step, to really put it out there so there was no mistaking what I wanted or expected from this.
I pulled back just a little, cupping both sides of her face. “When we leave this cabin at the end of the week, I want to see you.”
Her lashes fluttered up. “We’ll see each other.”
I grinned. “I know, but that’s not what I mean. I want to see you, Andrea. You get what I’m saying?”
Andrea’s gaze searched mine, and I was seriously hoping I wasn’t going to have to write it down. Like those notes back in grade school—Do you like me? Circle yes or no. But then she drew in a deep breath and said, “I get what you’re saying.”
Thank God. “So, what’s your answer?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to see you, Tanner.”
Chapter 13
Andrea
“You’re not paying attention at all.”
Fighting a grin, I denied the truth. “I am totally paying attention.”