“If only Adriel was around to see it.” He chuckled. “That’s what I mean.”
“So you’re saying we need to spend time together in front of my brother.”
He nodded. “Right.”
As he touched the leaf, the edge of his hand brushed mine, then he pulled away. We were alone in the greenhouse. Just the two of us somewhere private. If I wanted to kiss Maxwell, this would be a great time and place to do it.
But how didhefeel?
Maxwell stopped touching the plant. He wiped his palms on his pants, as if they were suddenly clammy.
“Um, Theo?” Maxwell asked. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Are you mad at me?”
I paused. “What?”
Maxwell’s uncomfortable gaze flickered to the plants again. “You’ve been acting weird for a few days. I mean, I thought I was used to your usual brand of weirdness, but this is different. You do things like teaching me how to kiss, and tell me I’m handsome, and stand really close to me, closer than people who are just friends normally stand. But then you avoid me for a bunch of days and act like those things never happened.”
My jaw dropped. Maxwell continued, throwing his hands in the air.
“And, I don’t know, no one’s ever really treated me this way before. I don’t how how to react. If I’m being honest, it’s confusing! Your strange behavior on top of all the lies flying around in this house is scrambling my brain.”
“Max, I don’t hate you,” I said. “The way I feel about you is the total opposite of hate.”
I shuffled closer to him. What was a foot of distance between us became only a few inches. I felt his warm breath coming out in rapid puffs as his heart rate leapt again. It was so easy to get him worked up. Maybe that was why I enjoyed testing him like this.
But I wanted to know something for a fact--that he wanted this as much as I did.
“Maxwell, I shouldn’t have avoided you,” I said. “Do you know why I did it?”
I expected him to get flustered and avoid eye contact with me, but to my surprise, he held it steadfast. He barely even blinked.
“Why?”
“It’s gonna sound stupid but honestly, I was a little scared,” I admitted. “I also felt guilty for pressuring you into doing all of this for me.”
“So you were just being a coward?”
The way he said it--so innocently and bluntly at the same time--was so sudden and unexpected that I couldn’t help but laugh. Then he looked startled at the fact that I was laughing at him.
“What’s funny?” he asked, cheeks turning red.
“You are,” I said. “I’ve never met anyone else that’s as funny as you are.”
He blinked in confusion as the red in his cheeks continued to spread. “I don’t think I’m particularly funny.”
“Your mannerisms and stuff. What, I’m not allowed to think that?” I grinned. “You’re right, though. I was being a coward earlier, not wanting to face my feelings. But I think I’m done with that now.”
I found his hand, still lingering on the potted plant, and covered it with my own. He was incredibly warm, like the pleasant heat of a furnace on a cold winter night.
“I’ll tell you the truth instead of running from it,” I said. “If you don’t feel the same way, that’s okay. And I’m probably making things awkward by telling you this now. But if it makes you uncomfortable, we can cancel the whole stupid plan, and you can leave the mansion whenever you want. I’ll find some other way to convince Adriel I’m not dangerous. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is… Maxwell, I--”
Maxwell leaned up and kissed me.
Shock ran through my system. My eyes widened as I took it all in, and my brain practically short-circuited trying to make sense of it. Thiswasactually happening, right? It wasn’t just a very vivid fantasy?
