He didn’t answer. What she said bothered him, but he didn’t confirm or deny anything. Instead, he swiftly continued with the conversation. “If that’s your reasoning, then Wreck-it Ralph must be your all-time favorite.”
That stung. Not like a bee. Like a viper. She actually felt her face flinch, but she forced a smile. “Why? Because I’m a burden and no one wants to be around me? They just abandon me with the rest of the trash while they carry on with their happy lives.”
His eyebrows furrowed together and there was heavy-weighted silence before he responded. “Jazz, that’s not what I meant. I was talking about the little girl…Vanelope…she never shuts up. She reminds me of you, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Maybe it was a bit foolish to jump to conclusions like that, but he made no secret about not liking her and she just automatically assumed that… It didn’t matter. She pushed it out of her head, hating that such an innocent comment could turn her into an insecure mess. “Okay, prettiest Disney princess? Actually, scratch that. You just told me you love Frozen, so I’m sure it’s—”
“Jasmine,” he said softly.
“Yeah.”
“No, it’s…it’s Princess Jasmine…from Aladdin. She’s got that flawless skin…long, black hair…big, beautiful Jasmin eyes…She’s definitely the prettiest.”
Was he flirting? The way he was looking at her made her doubt which Jasmin he was talking about. It was the same look she’d seen on the rooftop in Vegas, the same look she’d seen in the bathroom yesterday. It was a look that made her naïve mind believe that he wanted to kiss her. And why did he say that? Did he mean it, or was he just saying it to make her feel better after the Wreck-it Ralph misunderstanding?
His cobalt blue eyes were still fixed on her and it made her feel uneasy. This was why she preferred it when he was anabrasive asshole. She didn’t have to think. It was less confusing. Though she only had herself to blame for these conflictions. The kiss in Vegas fell on him, but she had to take full responsibility for what happened in the bathroom yesterday. She’d pushed and he retaliated, doing to her the same thing that she’d done to him. She just wanted to see what he felt like.
Lithe muscles covered his chest, arms and abs. Touching him was impossible to resist. And while it was fun at the time, his reaction made her question everything he said and did.
Did he want to touch her, or was it just payback? Did that look mean he wanted to kiss her, or was she reading too much into it?
No more feel ups in the bathroom!
Well, maybe…No!
It just made everything awkward. She liked touching him. She liked him touching her. She liked his lips on hers. She liked his sarcasm and his curt sense of humor and his dimples. She liked that she could be herself around him. It was very unfortunate that she was starting to like…him.
She knew she shouldn’t. If he were an asshole all the time, she wouldn’t be in this position. But apparently consistency was too much to ask for. She would be able to talk some sense into herself, convince herself that it was stupid to like him, especially because it was one-sided. She would be able to do all that if he would just quit looking at her like that!
If he wanted to kiss her, he would have done it already. They’d been stuck together for two solid days and he didn’t do anything. It was a simple fact that he just didn’t want to. So what the hell did that look mean?
Maybe she should just ask him. Clear the air and just ask him. He was always honest, so why should she suffer with so many unanswered questions?
“What do you wanna ask me, Jazz?”
His voice yanked her out of her inner ramblings. “What?”
“Your face is an open book and right now I can see that you have a million questions racing through your mind, so what do you wanna ask me?”
No time like the present. “Do you…want to…” It wasn’t easy to phrase it and she eventually just blurted it out. “Am I kissable? I mean…would you kiss me?”
“I have kissed you.”
“No. Not like that. Not as a joke…For real.”
“Who said that kiss was a joke?”
“Stop fucking with me, Kevin,” she said, barely holding back her exasperation. “I’m being serious.”
His eyes flicked across the room, probably looking for a way out of this conversation. “That’s…um…that’s a bit of a loaded question,” he began awkwardly. “Are you asking if I would kiss you…hypothetically? Like if we had to meet at a party and we got to know each other a little…would I kiss you? Or are you asking…if I would kiss you…right now?”
Those options made her nervous, because no matter what her answer was, there would be consequences. Either he’d reject her or he might actually kiss her. She didn’t know which one she feared more. “Uh…both, I guess.”
“Well, for the first one, no.” He said it quickly, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “You’re not my usual type. I probably wouldn’t give you a second glance at a party.”
“Really?” Her shoulders slumped. Rejection was a really tough pill to swallow, but she reminded herself that she wanted the honesty. “Is it because I’m not pretty?”
“You’re beautiful, Jasmin.”
