Maybe he doesn’t think I meant chicken soup or something equally stupid.
Xaden pulls on his shirt with calm precision.
I can’t breathe. I step in front of the mirror and try to make my hair look less like a mop. Try to hide my growing panic when Xaden stays silent.
Then I catch himlooking at me. Not my face. He’s looking at my ass. And not like he’s ashamed of it. Like he wants me to see.
My heart races. I might actually be on fire.
“See something you like?” I ask but my voice is not casual like his was, mine is a squeak.
I want to disappear. A slow smile spreads across Xaden’s face.
“Actually, yeah, I do,” he says, perfectly mimicking my earlier flustered tone. But his teasing is gentle.
He steps closer. The grin fades, but he doesn’t look away. There’s a different heat in his eyes now, and I swear my whole body lights up like it’s been waiting years for this one moment.
Is he going to kiss me? Are we going to kiss now? Like, right here, right now?
I lick my lips. He’s watching. Definitely watching.
He’s close enough that I can feel the heat coming off him.
And then, somewhere down the hallway, a door slams.We both jump, the spell breaking.
I exhale, louder than I mean to.
Xaden looks at me softly, and my mind flashes back to the dance and Xaden being Xaden and so brave and always there for me.
“You want to grab something to eat?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t crack. Or squeak.
He rakes a hand through his damp hair. That look is still in his eyes.
“Are you asking me out?” he asks, voice low and teasing again. But not just teasing. He’s giving me a chance to say it. Like he’s offering it on a plate because he knows I’m so… not brave like him.
My pulse is racing. My palms are sweaty. My brain is somersaulting.
“Maybe I am”, I manage, looking at his feet.
Then I clear my throat, meet his gaze. “I am, yeah. Nothing maybe about it.”
Xaden brushes a curl off my forehead. His fingers are warm. His touch lingers.
He smiles, relieved and — swooning. There’s no other word for it.
And it’s all for me. Honestly, I need a sign. Like a rating label. Parental advisory: hot.
“Let’s go then”, he says softly.
***
I snap out of the memory with a jolt, the intensity of that moment still making me dazed, even after all this time. The laughter and giggling from the women around me hit my ears, suddenly unbearable.
Becky glances at me. “Didn’t you used to date him, Cole?”
Everything stops. The laughter warps around me, tinny and sharp, like I’m underwater. My throat closes.
I want to snap at them, to tell them it’s none of their damn business, that they don’t know him, not the real him.But nothing comes out. Of course it doesn’t.
