“Sadie Flores, will you let me get to know you better?”
“Get to know me better?” she repeated softly, her gaze warm and open.
“Yeah.” I nodded and swallowed. My Adam’s apple bobbed. “Let me take you on another date.” It was a request, but the demanding tone said otherwise.
“Another date, huh? When was our first?”
“Downstairs,” I quickly answered, and there was no denying the interest in her soft gaze. “We shared pizza and dessert.”
“That was our first date? Pizza in the dining hall?” Her lips twitched.
“After saving you from that drunk Omega idiot,” I reminded.
“Can’t forget that part,” she agreed softly, almost to herself, and I knew it was only adding a con to the pros and cons list she had going on in her head.
“Would you rather have that be our second? Our first could have been doing laundry together,” I suggested, trying to relax my body, but it was impossible when I was around her. Every nerve ending from head to toe was hyperaware and attuned to Sadie.
Every breath.
Every blink.
“We didn’t even talk.” She grinned.
“But you watched me, right?” I boldly asked, knowing I was risking a whole lot by doing that. She snorted, and the elevator stopped, a bell dinging to let us know we’d reached our floor. My head dipped down low enough for my lips to hover just above the shell of her perfectly shaped earlobe.
“I know I was watching you,” I confessed. Sadie shivered, and when she looked up at me, those pretty, dark eyes of hers dilated, blown wide with the same desire that flowed through my veins. She liked knowing I’d kept my eyes on her. Good. That would hopefully help me down the road.
“We should—“ She pointed at the doors, and I stepped back, using my hand on the door to make sure they didn’t try to shut on us. We stepped out and started to walk down the halls of the floor we lived on.
How the hell had I been here for a year now and had only come across her two months ago? Two fucking months ago, my life revolved around my love for the game. Now it was all about the sweet little bird walking quietly next to me, her head so full of things, I wish I could help untangle her thoughts for her.
I wasn’t sure what might have made her think my interest in her was based on some kind of bet or challenge, though I had a feeling the group of girls downstairs and the touchy-feely way they’d behaved hadn’t helped. I’d fucked up. Too content and in my happy bubble of being able to spend time with Sadie had made me slow and unable to react. I knew how girls could be with one another, especially Bri. I hadn’t wanted to put too much attention on Sadie in fear of backlash when I should have just staked my claim.
You lived and you learned and fixed shit. Which was exactly what I was planning on doing when she stopped in front of her door, one I had to pretend I didn’t know we were heading towards. She stopped at her door and pointed at it.
“This is me.” She smiled. “Well, me and Tere.”
“Right. I’m over at eighteen twenty,” I shared. I needed her to know exactly how she could get hold of me.What if she stops by and sees the shit you’ve taken from her place, dumbshit?!The thing inside me panicked.
“On the other side of the floor?” I nodded. “I’ve heard those are nice.”
“They are. Wanna come over and see it?” She bit away a smile. She might have thought I was flirting, but it was a genuine offer. Even if some of the things I’d taken,borrowed, were there,I had a feeling I could figure out how to hide them before she saw a damn thing.
“I still can’t believe we live on the same floor and never bumped into one another, and today, we did three times.” She laughed and chewed on her bottom lip.
If only she knew how many more times we could have bumped into one another. How many times I was just a few steps behind her, watching the sway of her hips as she walked back and forth between her classes and her dorm or to one of her jobs.
“Guess I should mark today as my lucky day.” I stepped forward, leaning against the wall next to her door. Not to cage her in or corner her but to be closer while giving her space.
“Right…” She looked like she was going to say something, call me on something she thought was bullshit, but instead, she took a deep breath and smiled. “Thanks for the pizza.”
“You’re welcome.” She slid her key into the lock, and when she opened it just a few inches, she turned to look at me.
“Can I ask you something?” I opened my mouth to answer, but her hand quickly rose, so I stayed quiet. “And before you just sat yes, promise to answer honestly.”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation.
“No matter what?” I swallowed. “If…” She laughed and glanced up at me. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this because I really still think this is some kind of joke.” She shook her head. “If you’re serious about maybe this thing between us… I have to be real with you. I hate liars. Don’t lie, and we’re good.” Fuck. Why was it so fucking hot to watch her set clear-as-hell boundaries like that?
