Page 9 of Saving Wyatt

The hairs all up my arm rose at his mere touch, and the back of my neck filled with goosebumps that made me shiver. There was only one way to stop the flood of sensations. To pull away.

Which was exactly what I did.

"Come on. Let's go to Bonnie's." I checked my watch and headed to Warren's car. "She's the only one that will be open this early."

The others nodded, and after a few words with Camille, we set off. Ari offered me the front seat, and I spent the whole ride trying to resist looking back at him.

For some reason, I felt flustered the whole ride to Bonnie's. Flustered and on edge. As if I was still in the interrogation room and every move I made was being watched.

Was Ari staring at me from the back or was I projecting because he was the first guy I had taken interest in since Dare?

I was curious but too chicken to find out, so I didn't dare look back. I wanted to avoid giving my brother the impression that I was interested in his friend. Least of all to avoid giving away I was gay and not interested in women like him.

Yeah, the closet was so deep it was a surprise I hadn’t made it to Narnia yet.

Gosh, I'm pathetic.

FOUR

ARI

Icould see the tall man was going to faint before either Warren or the woman he was with noticed, and I ran out of the car just in time to catch him.

And catch him I did, only no one could have prepared me for the whiplash of what being in such close proximity to perfection would be like.

A silver fox right in my very arms.

It had been a long while since I felt a man so close to me, since I felt a man's presence overwhelm my nervous system, and it almost threatened to send me tumbling.

Especially when I looked at the beautiful sea of his eyes and I could feel myself drowning.

I let him go. Put some distance between me and the hunk of a man. Once I was certain he was okay, of course.

Why hadn’t Warren warned me his brother was hot? I guess no brother would say that about their sibling unless there was something wrong with them, but still. This man—Wyatt—should come with a warning.

It had been a while since I'd been attracted to anyone, since I'd been in the state of mind to even notice a man, that I felt entirely unprepared for the feeling coursing through body and mind.

"Let's go eat," I said after the introductions were made, and we made our way back to the car.

Not that it mattered. I still couldn't concentrate on anything but the man sitting in the passenger seat.

I wanted to memorize every line, every angle, every hair on his face for some reason. I knew I needed to stop, but I couldn't, try as I might.

Thankfully, the rest of the early morning was full of chatter, pancakes, and coffee, so I managed to hide myself behind a large cup and a stack and stay out of Warren's and Wyatt's way as they discussed the situation.

"It was...nice to meet you," he said after we finished at Bonnie's and before we got into the car.

"Oh, you're not coming with us? We can drop you off at home," I said.

Did my voice sound whiny? Why did I sound whiny and needy?

"I think I'll walk. It...it might help clear up the..." He gestured to his head and waved his hand around it, and I nodded in understanding.

"Well, in that case, it was good to meet you too. Even under the circumstances." This time I sounded far more human. I was proud of myself.

Then of course he offered me his hand and it all went to hell again, because as soon as I shook it, my whole world shook with it. His firm grip, the heat of his palm, the intense gaze, it made all the oxygen leave my body. I didn't know how I knew, but I had a feeling this—he—could shake my entire existence off its core.

If I let it.