He smirks faintly. “That’s not what I asked.”
The crowd whistles again, sensing something. Mrs. Dottie fans herself aggressively. My pulse pounds in my ears.
“You’re impossible,” I whisper.
“And you’re soaked.” He glances down deliberately at the way my dress clings to me.
Heat floods my face.
“Eyes up,” I snap.
He doesn’t move. “Make me.”
I shouldn’t laugh but I do. “You are insufferable.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.” His thumb presses lightly into my hip, grounding me in a way that feels far too intimate for a church parking lot.
“Sadie,” he says again, voice rougher now.
“Yes.”
“If I kiss you right now, it’s not going to look fake.”
My heart stutters. “It didn’t last time either.”
His expression darkens at that. The KissCam moment hangs between us like a live wire.
The cheer team shrieks again as someone sprays foam into the air nearby.
Levi’s hand tightens slightly at my waist.
The space between our mouths shrinks to a breath and I want him to close it.
Not because of the church ladies.
Not because of the fake dating pact.
Because I miss him.
Because every time he touches me, something ancient and reckless wakes up inside my chest.
His nose brushes mine.
“Last chance,” he murmurs.
“For what?”
“To step back.”
I don’t. Instead, I whisper, “You’re hesitating.”
His jaw tightens. “Don’t mistake restraint for hesitation.”
He pulls me behind the fire engine in one smooth motion, out of the direct line of sight of half the parking lot.
