My gaze darts up to meet his knowing one, and he smirks, shooting me a wink. “See? You’re a natural.”
“This is crazy,” I breathe, still surprised I’m really doing this.
I’m dancing with my stalker in a club.
What the hell?
“Crazy feels good, doesn’t it?”
I take a deep, sobering breath, ‘causeit kinda does.
But the clarity of my breath brings me back to the now, and while I don’t pull away fully, I do put a little distance between us. Cedrick loosens his grip on my waist and looks down at me with concern.
“C-can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
I swallow.Here goes nothing.“Why do you want me at Mayhem again?”
It’s the burning question I’ve had since the moment he brought it up, and I really wanna knowwhy.
Like truly why.
“That’s a loaded question, my treat,” Cedrick drawls over the thump of the music.
“Is it?” I ask, taking a step back from him to cross my arms over my chest, and wait. Cedrick senses the shift and pulls back slightly as well, but not enough for there to be any great space between us.
I let him stew in silence as the club’s music thumps around us, but it doesn’t take long for it to become overbearing.
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” he finally responds, looking down at me through his lashes. Our eyes meet, and my breath catches in my throat. I get caught in his snare for far too long before I realize someone is standing next to us.
“Oh,” I squeak when my eyes catch on Kane.
“You told me to come get you when it’s eleven.”
“Is it really?” I ask. He holds his phone in front of me to show me that yes, it is, in fact, eleven o’clock.
“I…” I glance over at Cedrick, who’s glaring daggers at Kane. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Why?” he asks, never looking away from him.
“I have an early class tomorrow,” I say as a way of explanation.
“‘Course. Wouldn’t want you to be tired,” he drawls, and to anyone else, it probably sounds sarcastic—if Kane’s scoff is anything to go by—but I know he’s being genuine.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I reach for his hand, jarring him from his one-sided staring competition. It jolts him out of it, and his eyes find mine once more.
“You really have to go?”
“You’ll see me soon,” I say with a smile.
“Tonight,” Cedrick says with easy determination.
“Shh!” I hiss, eyes shooting wide as they dart over to Kane, who has stepped back a couple paces to let us say our goodbyes with some privacy.
“Why? You know you like it, my treat.”
“Anyway…” I swallow thickly. “I really do have to go. Thank you… for meeting with me and everything. I’ll… I will text you?” I phrase it like a question, confused as to where we go from here.
