“Madeline. You can’t inhale fully.”
“I can inhale alittle.”
“And we’ll be here for hours.”
I swallowed. “So you keep saying.”
“You don’t have to freeze in that thing. I’m offering my shirt, not asking you to cut yours off.”
Which somehow made it worse.
Or better.
Or unbearable.
I couldn’t decide.
“You’re fine,” he echoed my words back to me with quiet amusement. “But the dress doesn’t look like it is.”
I pressed my back into the cold wall, heat rushing up my neck. He just reached down and started unbuttoning it.
Ink covered both arms, wrapping from shoulder to wrist in dense black patterns that looked. His tank top stretched tight across his chest, outlining muscles I absolutely should not have been noticing.
He held the shirt out to me. “Take it.”
“Right.”
He didn’t look at me like it was strange. Just nodded once. “I’ll keep my eyes closed,”
I stood awkwardly, and absolutely used his shoulder for balance. “I believe you.”
My heel wobbled; his hand came up brushing the back of my calf to steady me. I stepped out of my heels. Pretended I didn’t feel his hand at all.
I peeled myself out of the dress, satin slid down. I grabbed his shirt like a lifeline and threaded it on.
It fell to mid-thigh.
His cologne hit me all at once.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “This is… really warm. And you smell…your cologne is… wow.”
“Buttons,” he still had his eyes shut. “Do them up.”
I fumbled with them, fingers shaking for reasons unrelated to panic this time. When I finally finished, I exhaled.
“Okay. You can open your eyes.”
He turned. His breathing changed. Just slightly, barely a shift. But Iheardit.
He looked at me in his shirt, my hair falling from where the bow kept half of it up. For the first time tonight,helooked the one who needed air.
I sank down beside him again, tucking my legs carefully. The shirt slid over my shoulder, and I swore I felt his gaze linger there before he forced himself to look back at me.
“Thank you.”
He didn’t answer at first. Just nodded once, jaw clenched. I started to roll the sleeves down, occupying my hands. He watched for a moment.
“Sorry,” he reached over, and rolled down the other sleeve for me. “I should’ve done that.”
