“Not good enough.” I looked around at my little classroom, decked out in leaf prints and primary colors. It was an unlikely scene for life-altering revelations and a really inappropriate scene for thisshowdown.
But I was starting to realize that nothing ever happened very neatly, at least not for me. And that wasokay.
“What is it that you want from me?” I demanded. “What is it you want forus?”
He swallowed again and his eyesflared.
“The other day in the woods was…” I glanced at the open classroom door and the totally-not-private hall beyond. “It was great. And I know I totally spoiled the momentafterward…”
“Youdidn’t.”
I shook my head. “You know I heard what you said to Dare. And I thought maybe you wanted to apologize just to be a nice guy. So we could be friends. If that's what you want, tellme.”
Silas braced his hands on his knees and stood, walking toward me in slow motion while our eyes locked. It was hot as fuck. “I-If you forgive me, I’ll apologize,” Istuttered.
He smiled, this slow, warm glow stealing over his face. “In that case I forgiveyou.”
“What?”
He lifted his hand to my jaw and I froze. “God. You’re so fucking cute, even when you’re not trying to be cute,” he mused, stroking his thumb over my cheek. “Okay, listen up, Everett Maior, because I was all prepared to do this Wednesday and I got upstaged.Ready?"
"Maybe?"
"I am an asshole. And worse than that, I’m a coward.Okay?”
“I guess?” I could feel my heart beat in every part of my body, nervous and excited at once. Surely that couldn't behealthy?
“Youdidn’t ruin a damn thing. I ruined it. BecauseI'mfallingforyou.”He huffed out a relieved breath, like he’d just completed a Herculeantask.
“Wait…what?”
“I’m falling for you,” he repeated, and it was no less unbelievable, even when he enunciated. “And it scared me out of my mind, so I said a lot of stupid and patently untrue things. Like that I wasn’t intoyou.”
I frowned in confusion. “Nope. Still don’t understand. You’re commitment-cautious.”Just like I'm risk-averse.
“Yeah. I am. But then this incredibly hot, overly-suspicious smart-ass moved to town and apparently I couldn’tresist.”
“Me?”
He smiled and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “No, the other incredibly hot, overly-suspicious smart ass.” He put a hand at my waist and pulled me into him. “Yes. You. And if you didn’t realize it, you’re the only person in town whohasn’t.”
“But… but yousaid…”
His fingertips traced the curve of my eyebrow. “You’re the only thing I’ve been able to see or think about for weeks.” He pushed his fingers back through the hair above my ear and cradled my head with his strong hand. “I thought maybe if I denied it, I could stop it. But the truth is, I was in free-fall the moment we met… and I just keepfalling.”
His blue eyes shining down at me looked a little scared and a lot turned on, which was pretty much exactly how I was feeling,too.
My poor little not-so-risk-averse heart stuttered in mychest.
“Please forgive me for what you overheard the other day, because that was bullshit. It was me being afraid of this. Of you. Of how you make mefeel.”
Ugh.That scream you heard was me losing my grip on the last vestiges of my anger and letting myself get lured out of my hard, protectiveshell.
Hook-Hand claims anothervictim.
