Page 49 of The Pinkie Pact

"No. We're just friends."

He seemed confused, making me think about explaining it all. But it was sort of complicated, and I didn't even have it in me at the moment.

"Oh, you just look like more than friends."

Shrugging, I shook my head. "Nope. Just friends."

Kara came out of the bathroom right then. "Your turn, biatch."

Thank God because I needed a little space away from Kieran who was making me feel things I wasn't sure I wanted to feel. This boy was creating emotions inside me that I'd never even come close to feeling before, and it scared the crap out of me.

***

When I came out of the bathroom a while later, I was surprised to see that Kieran was still there. I guessed he didn't really have any place to go now that he'd broken up with Christina? I knew their parents lived in a condo in Virginia somewhere, but Kara had said they didn't have a lot of extra room.

Kieran sat on the couch with Kara, both with their feet propped up on the coffee table, looking comfortable and laughing at something they were watching on Kara's computer that she'd placed on the desk chair, our usual Netflix-watching set-up.

"Hey, thought you'd never come out," Kara said to me.

I had definitely taken my time, letting the hot water soothe me, and now, I felt so much better, especially because a weight had been lifted off me. With Kieran coming over, he'd fixed everything, and I couldn't help but admire that in him, that he'd taken it upon himself to right the whole situation.

He'd acted in such a mature way that I wasn't used to seeing in my friends and peers. On top of it all, he had to be absolutely exhausted after not sleeping last night and the craziness of the past several days.

I straightened up my bed, intending to have a seat there, not really sure what the plan was for the night. Plus, Kieran was sitting in my usual spot on our small couch.

But as I went to lie down on my comforter, Kara called me over. "Girl, what are you doing? Come sit over here. We're about to have a serious binge session."

Staring at her, confused, she scooted to the far side of the couch and patted the small space between them.

"Really?" I asked, not sure how I felt about squeezing up next to Kieran.

"I mean, I don't really feel like going out tonight," she said. "Do you?"

"No, not really." I still hadn't fully recovered from last night, although I wouldn't say no to a little wine.

"So come on. And bring the blankets?" She turned to Kieran. "They don't turn on the heat in the dorms until mid-October."

He raised a brow but didn't say anything as he kept his eyes on me, watching me intently.

As I grabbed the blankets and walked over, I wondered if this was another one of Kara's manipulations in trying to get Kieran and me together. But there was no way anything was happening right now. The guy had just broken up with his almost fiancée and needed a little time.

But as I sat down and spread the blankets out over us, I felt his thigh pressing against mine, taking me back to that same exact feeling I'd had at the planetarium... super aware of his body next to me, his breathing, his everything.

"Damn, you smell good," Kara said to me. "Don't you think, Kieran?"

I elbowed her hard. That was not subtle at all, and we obviously needed to have a little chat about this whole thing once we were alone again.

"Um, yeah," Kieran mumbled from my other side.

Kara pressed play on her laptop and settled back in, making the couch move with her squirming. But finally, she was comfortable and sat still.

As I tried to ignore the heated sensation rushing through my body because of Kieran pressing up against my side, I let my head fall back against the cushion. Our couch might have been small, but it was definitely cushy.

Right when the light outside the windows began to fade, I felt a small movement next to me. And soon after, Kieran's warm hand covered my own, his fingers interlacing between mine, making me catch my breath.

This time there was no pretense, no "accidental" touching of arms, no stupid cookie. I sat there, staring straight ahead, not daring to breathe, not daring to even move, as emotions ripped through me... all inspired by the simple touch of his hand.

God, if just his hand did this, I couldn't help thinking about how the rest of him would feel. I imagined us kissing, our arms wrapped tight around each other, imagined how his lips would feel against me, wondered what kind of kisser Kieran would be.

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