“Seriously, though, will you come out?”
I’d go with you anywhere, sweetheart.“Sure thing.”
They smiled, kissed my cheek, then literally skipped back to the elevator, calling over their shoulder, “Be ready by seven!”
“See you then.” With a big grin, I let myself inside, holding the spot Oak had kissed with my hand.
That had been… simply amazing and made my belly swoop like I was a teenager and my first crush sent me a note saying they liked me.
Good grief. It was just a cheek kiss.
I’d seen Oakley give their friends a cheek kiss a million times.
Butthey’d never given me one, and for some reason, this one felt… different.
Were they… maybe, possibly, finally feeling the pull toward me? Was that possible?
Could I maybe try to find out tonight at the bar?
Yes. Yeah. I liked that plan. Try to find out what they were feeling while we were out. That would work.
Right?
Now I just needed to find something to wear that would get me noticed by my Oakley.Hmm. I was pretty sure all I had was black.
But… I could work with that.
Chapter Sixteen
Oakley
“How do I look?” I asked Ker, turning around to face him.
He came over earlier so we could get ready together. Although that was more of an excuse. We really justwanted a little alone time together. Out of all the things I missed the most about home, it was spending time with my bestie.
He grinned at me. “You look gorgeous.”
I ran my hand over my black vest with sheer sides and took a breath. I had nothing under it, and the top button was so low it was nearly at my navel, so I was kind of showing a lot of skin, definitely on purpose. Usually, I’d go for a crop top, but I decided I wanted to change it up a bit tonight. “Are you sure?”
He smirked at me. “Roman will love it.”
“Psh.” I turned my back to him with a roll of my eyes, pretending his words didn’t help boost my confidence. “Why would I care about Roman?”
Keryth didn’t reply, which was kind of unusual, so I faced him again. He was staring at me with his serious expression.
“What?”
His gaze moved up to mine, searching for a long moment before he quietly said, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“What? Of course.”
“No, Oak. Seriously. You can tell me anything. You don’t have to hide your crush from me or anything like that. You can talk about your past to me… I can handle it, and I want to be here for you. You can tell meanything.”
I swallowed thickly, staring at my best friend for a long moment.
He was so sweet and very obviously genuine, and I couldn’t decide if that made me feel nice and warm and cozy, or if it made me feel too exposed.
I never talked to anyone about my past. Ever.
