Page 36 of A Little Too Forward

“I kindly asked a housekeeping professional, who was pushing her cart down the hall to let me in with her floor key. Told her it was my room.”

“And she didn’t question it?”

Mason blinks at me. Right, like his charm has never been denied.

“Are you two finally a thing now?”

His words catch me off guard. “What do you mean finally?”

“Max, dude. I love you, man, but you are not good at hiding your feelings. Sidney and I have a bet on when you’ll get together. He has you manning up around Christmas, but I know it’s going to be sooner. You’re such a goner. What I walked into just proved it.”

I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. Mason is right. I’m shit at hiding my true feelings, but I thought I was doing a good job. Sabrina, at least, is still in the dark. Yet, at the same time, I want to hit him over the head at how inappropriate it is to bet on something like my love life.

I want to probe deeper into what he’s saying to me, but the squeak of the bathroom faucet snaps me out of my head.

“Get the hell out of here, man. We’ll chat more about your betting betrayal later on the plane.” I make a beeline to him and shove him in the direction of the door.

“Betrayal? Man, I’m rooting for you. Why am I in trouble?” he calls over his shoulder a second before I slam the door in his face.

Running a hand through my hair again, I try to think of a way to divert disaster. Sabrina is probably freaking out right now and thinking of ways to run for the hills. I’m still pacing and trying to come up with what to say when Sabrina peeks out the bathroom door.

“Is he gone?”

“Yes,” I say as I spin toward her so quickly I surprise her. “Yes, sorry.”

Opening the door fully and coming out, she looks around the room. I’m not sure why.

“Damn it. I was hoping he was so distracted when you kicked him out that he left the box of donuts.”

“I…I didn’t expect that to come out of your mouth.”

“I’m sure,” she replies with a bounce in her step. I watch, a little stunned, as she goes about grabbing an outfit for the day and walking back into the bathroom.

Okay, I guess we’re just going to pretend like our almost kiss didn’t happen. As I make my way to where my suitcase is, I accept the fact that today is not the day I confess it all to Sabrina.

Mason’s words circle in my head as I get dressed. If my friends can see just how far gone I am for this girl, it’s not going to take long for others to notice too. Especially the film crew. Maybe they’ve already sensed something but are waiting to see what happens next.

Either way, I am done holding back with her. I am going to start making it known to her that my heart is in the game, and I am determined to score her heart.

So cheesy. But so true.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SABRINA

I almost kissed Max. My lips were seconds away from touching Max Daws’s full, pouty lips.

What the hell had I been thinking?

I hadn’t been thinking, honestly. The closer his head dipped to me, the more entranced I became. Zero thoughts had crossed my mind. I let my instincts take the lead.

Or had it been my foolish heart?

No! No. It couldn’t be that.

No. Nope. Nada. I can’t think that way. I need to change my line of thinking.

There is no point in dwelling on that moment in time because nothing happened. We were interrupted before we could do anything stupid, and then we’d spent a pleasant morning together hunting down Boston donuts before we both had to catch flights. There hadn’t been any awkwardness, no looks of longing or anything of the kind.

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