Unassuming? Was that a compliment?
I was anxious about seeing Lea again. I had no idea what last night had meant to him, but I knew what it meant to me.
Everything. It meanteverything. His acceptance, his passion, the way he’d…god, the way he’d touched me. I’d never known anything could feel that good, and I wanted to do it again. And again. And again. Forever.
Lea was so easy to be around. I’d always thought my first time doing something like that would be awkward and uncomfortable, that I wouldn’t be able to get out of my own head enough to enjoy it. But Lea had known what to say and do to keep me in the moment, to bring me to the most incredible orgasm of my entire life. I really hoped he wanted to do that again. Maybe he would let me…reciprocate.
Just the thought had me practically vibrating out of my skin.
My crush on him had multiplied into something I didn’t even have a name for. Utter infatuation? All I knew was that Lea was unlike anyone I’d ever met before and I really,reallyliked the way he made me feel. Who he was. His confidence in himself was irresistible, and on top of that, he was kind. He cared. I just wasn’t sure if he cared aboutmein the same way I was starting to care about him.
And I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I let myself fall in love with him. I didn’t think he’d ever feel the same way about me.
By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set and my nerves had risen exponentially. Lea was sitting on the couch when we walked in, but jumped up as soon as he saw us. My heart pounded with excitement at just seeing him again. I could feel my cheeks heating as some kind of anticipatory buzz hummed through my veins.
Would he kiss me again? God, I wanted him to kiss me. To feel his lips against mine.
“What the hell Judy, you can’t just force him to go places with you.” Lea glared at his sister as he moved toward me. “I swear to god, every gray hair I’ve ever gotten is because of you. It’s a travesty.” Lea came to a stop before me, his eyes roaming all over my face. “Hey. I’m so sorry she made you do that.”
I shifted on my feet, the weight of the octopus candleholderin my left hand feeling ridiculous. “It’s—it’s fine, I had fun,” I told him, staring into his cobalt eyes. “I’ve never been to an arcade before.”
He raised one of those wickedly arched brows. “Never? That was your first time?”
I could feel heat creep across my face because now I was thinking about last night, and I wondered if he said that just so Iwouldthink about last night. Was that a good sign? Did he want to do it again, too?
“Uh, never. Yeah.” My flush deepened as I brought the present up between us, and his eyes flicked down.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a present. I won it. F-for you,” I said, my voice shaking. When his brows drew together in confusion—or displeasure, I wasn’t sure what he was feeling—embarrassment flooded me.
What a stupid, stupid idea, getting him a gift—like we were actually dating. I started to let my hand drop and said, “But you don’t have to take it, I?—”
Lea snatched the candleholder out of my fingers so fast I rocked back on my heels. “I fuckingloveoctopi!”
“Octopodes!” Judy shouted from the couch, where she’d taken up residence.
“I thought it was octopuses,” I said, distracted by the sheer delight on Lea’s face. It vaporized all my embarrassment and replaced it with a glowing warmth, a satisfied pleasure that I’d been the cause of that.I’dmade him that happy.
“Oh you beautiful bastard, Beau! Thank you,” he said breathily, smacking a hard kiss onto my cheek.
My toes curled as I brought my fingers up to touch the spot he’d kissed.
“I’ll put this right over there on the table. I think I might even have some candles somewhere. This is so perfect!”
I let that glowing warmth suffuse every part of me as I watched Lea replace the vase of flowers with the candle holderas the table centerpiece, adjusting it a million different times until it was situated to his liking.
“There,” he said. “Lovely. Thank you, doll.” The smile he gave me from across the room stopped my heart as effectively as an arrow. But then his smile began to fade, and he cleared his throat as he walked back over to me. “Hey, let’s go in my—in the bedroom,” he said, serious now. My stomach sank. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Just when I’d started to feel so good—sosure—about things, I was plummeted right back into a frantic state of uncertainty. “Yeah, o-of course,” I said, following him when he started down the hall.
The knot that had suddenly formed in my chest began twisting tighter and tighter, and by the time Lea had closed—and locked—the door, I was a tangled bundle of raw nerves.
Lea pulled out his desk chair and gestured toward the bed. “Why don’t you sit? This won’t take very long, I just wanted to…” he trailed off as I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers twisting together. I shoved my hands under my thighs to hide the nervous action. “I just wanted to talk about last night.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I cleared my throat and asked, “What—what about last night?”
Lea was looking anywhere but me, and that was the worst sign. Dread and disappointment were weaving together in my stomach, a snarled mass of sadness that made me nauseous.