Page 83 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

I hug her tight, pressing my face into her shoulder.

“I’ll see you next week,” I say.

“Okay, baby,” she answers.

She hugs Michael too, and I watch, trying to memorize it without making it obvious. I don’t know if she’ll remember him later. I don’t know if she’ll remember this at all.

When we step out into the hallway, his hand finds mine. That’s what almost breaks me. Not anything she did. That.

“I’m going to go to the restroom before we leave,” I say when we reach the lobby, keeping my voice even.

He squeezes my hand once and lets go, and the second he does, I feel it. Everything I’ve been holding in.

Outside, it’s quiet. Michael opens my door, his hand staying on it until I’m in Then he shuts it carefully. I don’t say anything. I sit there, staring straight ahead.

He gets in, starts the car, turns the AC on, and doesn’t move. He doesn’t reach for the gear shift or say anything.

He’s looking at me.

“Doll?”

I bite down on the inside of my cheek, holding everything where it is. I’m not letting it come up.

He cups my face, and I let him.

“I’m never going to leave you, okay?”

I shake my head. “You can’t say that. You barely know me.”

“Trust me.”

I swallow. “That’s not how that works.”

“You’re written right here,” he says, tapping his chest.

I look at him. He’s serious. He leans in, and I don’t stop him. My hands come up, gripping his shirt, pulling him closer. I kiss him hard, because I don’t have anything else to do with what’s sitting in my chest.

The first fifteen minutes of the drive are quiet. I lean my head against the window, watching nothing, and thinking too much.

Fuck this.

I sit up and reach forward, yanking the aux cord out, and plugging it into my phone.

“What are you feeling?” I ask.

“What?”

“Music,” I say, scrolling already. “What are you in the mood for? Hip-hop? Metal? Country?”

I glance over at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Surprise me, Doll.”

I huff out a breath, already knowing exactly what I’m picking. I scroll, find it, turn the volume up, and hit play. Michael turns his head toward me, but I don’t look at him.

“Something takes a part of me…”

I start nodding along, small at first, but more as the beat kicks in. My fingers tap against my thigh, and my shoulders start moving.