He cracks a smile. “You were afraid I’d laugh, but strangely, that sounds delicious right now...and so do you, Mag-oochie. This was the perfect midnight snack.”
That wasn’t what I expected him to say, but more to the point, I wasn’t expecting to agree—not about the cake or about sharing whatever non-platonic interplanetary, axis-changing, supernova event this is.
I lean in, drawn by a gravitational pull or something equally irresistible. But then a shadow crosses my thoughts—could be space trash or a foreign spy satellite. Whatever it is reminds me of my particular situation. Backing up, I extend my finger and tap his chest. “We’re forgetting something. We don’t know each other. We’re not friends. None of this happened.”
Declan’s shoulders drop with each word uttered.
He may be the football player, but putting that boundary between us makes me feel heavy, like I’m wearing full game gear with pads and all.
I hurry to the Regency Suite without another word.
On the other side of the door, I catch my breath even though Declan had been the one to carry me all the way upstairs.
In an exhausted daze, I collapse onto the mattress.
My inner troll, who’d been hiding since Declan and I had texted, crawls out from underneath the bed, ready to remind me about my loneliness and how I’m better off sticking to the shadows. I know firsthand how bright the lights of fame can be and decided a long time ago I want nothing to do with them. So, it’ll just be the troll and me forever.
Despite my swirling thoughts and questions about what transpired since I was last lying here, the time change sends me directly to sleep and wakes me much earlier than I’d like.
As I recall last night, I groan. The truth comes to me as if from a dream. But nope, this is stark, non-platonic reality.
I’m attracted to Declan.
My best friend.
My client.
We shared a moment. More than one. And I’d kind of lied to him about the voicemail. I left a mess in Florida and find myself in another one.
As I get ready for day two at Blancbourg Academy d’Etiquette, I come up with someicksto quell the feelings about my BFF.
Declan doing everything he could to break the rules of etiquette at dinner the night before, most notably, chewing with his mouth open is at the top of the list. That was a definite turn-off. But it doesn’t quite do the trick.
He’d sucked his teeth, slurped his water, and probably would’ve belched repeatedly had we sat there any longer. If I picture it happening, perhaps that’ll dampen my desire to hold his hand again, to feel his lips move from my knuckles to my mouth, to be swept away by Printz Charming.
Because Declan Printz is charming, that’s for sure. Our sweet late-night interaction takes center stage, casting the icks behind the curtain.
As I quickly scroll through my phone for any news, messages, and to find out what official day it is—official hug day—I pass a report about moon-gate. Declan is vulgar, rude, and gruff.
Icks all around.
But it’s hug day, and yesterday’s hug from Declan was divine, like being wrapped in a cotton candy cloud.
I square my shoulders, banishing further thoughts of him from my mind and march into the hall, all business.
Telling myself to forget about Printz Charming, I arrive five minutes early to the classroom indicated on my schedule. I sendEtta Jo a quick text update, leaving out the details of last night. I add that it’s official hug day and send her a virtual hug.
Declan appears, exactly on time. I ignore the slant of his brown eyes, the cut of his cheekbones, and the fullness of his lips. I focus on the mussed hair, the wild beard, and that his shirt is untucked.
“Good morning,” he says.
“Good morning,” I repeat, also ignoring the zip of excitement that rushes through me at the sound of his voice with the subtle Irish accent. “According to my notes, we need to cover grooming habits, dating, and I think we should continue reviewing table manners.”
“Good, I’m starving,” he says.
His gaze slides to me and all I can think about is our midnight rendezvous in the kitchen—when he’d said, “This was the perfect midnight snack.”
Suddenly, I’m hungry too.
