Free Wicked Love (Wicked White Series Book 3) by Michelle A. Valentine Page A

wouldn’t exactly be the ideal situation.
    The tires chirp against the blacktop as they make contact with the main road. He’s in a big hurry now for some reason. I hope he doesn’t think my offer still stands, because he totally ruined that moment.
    Tyler’s eyes stay focused on the road in front of him as his lips twist. He appears to be worried and lost in deep thought and that scares me a bit. Whatever he wants to show me must be something that’s upsetting and I’m not sure how much more I can handle tonight.
    Then it hits me. I bet he forgot to bring condoms. That’s why he looks upset and said that we couldn’t have sex. Now for his comment about not being the kind of girl he thought. He probably didn’t think I’d go for him so quickly and that’s really sweet, but he should’ve known better. He’s hot and I wouldn’t be out on this date if I weren’t into him.
    All of this makes sense now, and it won’t surprise me if he pulls into the next convenience store we see to buy condoms.
    About the time I start feeling secure with my internal rationalizations, he makes a left into Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
    This doesn’t exactly look like a gas station.
    My eyebrow arches and I bite my bottom lip. “Um . . . what are we doing here ?”
    “I’m going to try to explain to you why I couldn’t—can’t . . . you know,” he says.
    Right. How is taking me to a creepy cemetery close to dusk going to explain anything—other than maybe he’s a freak? I hate being isolated in the country, let alone this place, and to top it all off, it’s going to be dark soon. It’s so scary. What in the hell does he need to show me in here?
    He parks the truck under a huge maple tree and cuts the engine. He licks his lips and lets out a huge sigh before he turns toward me. “Come on. I want you to meet my dad,” he says.
    Wait. What? His dad is dead, from what I had gathered the other night when Granny mentioned his family at dinner. It’s kind of morbid he brought me out here on a date. This guy clearly has issues and it makes me begin to worry about my safety.
    “Um . . .” I say hesitantly.
    He holds his hands up, palms out. “It’s okay, Avery. I know this is weird, but I want to tell you about him, so you’ll understand me, and why I . . . can’t have sex with you no matter how much I like you.”
    He’s obviously still dealing with his dad’s death or whatever, so I’ll go along. Maybe it’ll help with closure.
    “Okay.”
    I follow his lead as he gets out of the truck. He stops beside me and reaches his hand out to me. I grip it tight, because honestly I’m a big chickenshit when it comes to spooky places. Haunted houses even scare the crap out of me. I know it’s all fake and everyone’s an actor, but the last time I went I got so freaked out I almost peed my pants, so it’s nice that he wants to stay close to me out here.
    We walk down the hillside and stop at a grave that looks much fresher than the others. No wonder he’s still weirded out about his dad. It doesn’t look like he’s been dead all that long. I glance at the tombstone that reflects in the twilight. It says he died a little over six months ago.
    I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone you love so much. Sure, my mom’s not around anymore, but she’s still alive and I can call her whenever I want—if I wanted to, that is. I mean, I know she’s a bitch and that she sucks royally for what she did to Dad, but she’s not out of my life for forever like Tyler’s dad is out of his.
    “I’m sorry about your dad,” I say and give his hand a little squeeze.
    He doesn’t really say anything, just stares at the big slate rock at the end of the newly sprouted grass. It must be hard, knowing your dad’s under all that dirt—not being able to touch him, hug him, or hear his voice.
    I wipe a tear from my eye and choke back the lump in my throat. What would I do if that was my dad? I would probably break down, crawl