Page 45 of Unmasking You

“Who made this?” he asks once he’s done chewing.

As if I’m telling him I did. “Me.” Stupid mouth. Of course I can’t lie to him.

“J, you’re a genius.”

“That I am,” I say with humour in my tone.

He bumps his shoulder against mine, telling me with his body to stop teasing. “This is much better than your mathematical witchcraft.”

His face and voice are serious, but once again, his eyes give him away. I laugh, happy he’s not judging me and liked what I made.

I smile and then look around just to check that we’re still hidden from others. I let out a breath of relief when no one is looking at us, happy that the big plant is doing its job.

I concentrate on my lunch, so I avoid getting lost in Shane’s presence, and for a few seconds, it works. It works until he places a bite of cake right under my nose. I pull back and look at him, but his face is serious again, and his eyes have a strange look in them that has me on edge.

“No thanks,” I say to him, taking a bite of my sandwich.

His face seems to fall a little, but then he raises his shoulder as if he doesn’t care and eats the bite of cake himself. I follow the movement like a moth following the light, and I get trapped in his presence, just like the moth gets caught by the net.

“This is good. Do I have to bribe you into getting me more of this nectar from the gods?” His laugh sends tingles of awareness through me and makes all my hair stand on end.

I love his laugh. I’m actually thinking that I love a lot of things about him. Again, with these derailing thoughts.

“Not too often, I hope, or I’ll put weight on, and it’ll be a problem with the coach.”

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and crap if I don’t love the tight muscles that I can imagine through the clothes he’s wearing. “As if that’s going to happen. Your body is perfect.”

Silence settles between us, and I pretend to concentrate on whatever I have in front of me while I sweat buckets, afraid he’ll leave me there, but not before punching me. I stop breathing while I wait for Shane to move. When nothing happens, I go back to eating my lunch, even if it now tastes like sand.

I do my best not to let the tears start, and use my jacket to dry them before they fall. All the while pretending that I didn’t actually say what I did.

When Shane moves closer and plasters his leg against mine, letting me learn about his muscles in a different way than just visually. Even in my state of panic, I can’t stop appreciating them.

Our heads are so close I can smell his scent and feel the warmth of his breath washing over me. Panic is building up inside me—along with something else Ishouldbe feeling for the opposite sex. Instead, all my senses are captivated by him.Shane Campbell. Someone I never thought I’d meet, and someone who was turning my world on his axis.

I look up just to find he’s smiling down at me. His white, perfectly linear teeth are just as hot as everything else about him. My eyes zero in on his lips, now back to their natural resting form, and they look so inviting, just like a ripe peach you’re compelled to bite. I lean in slowly, as if my body has a mind of its own. It’s only when Shane’s smile slowly dies on his lips that what I’m doing becomes clear to me. I go to pull back and pretend I didn’t just try to taste my best friend’s lips, but Shane’s hand lands on my thigh, stopping everything—my retreat, the breath inside my lungs, and my heart. Just to make it beat faster a second later whenhe’sthe one leaning in.

I watch his face coming closer to mine, as they do in movies, his blue eyes getting darker and darker, and then, when I can’t look at them any longer without mine crossing, I close them, and in the darkness, I wait for my first kiss to happen.

Shane’s breath is hot on my chilled skin and sends shivers down my spine. Then, when it washes over my mouth, I have the first hint of how close we are. I inhale deeply to take his scent inside me, so I won’t ever forget it.

Then a butterfly-winged-like touch caresses my lips, but it’s too fleeting to be called a kiss. Shane’s hands land on my shoulders, tightening on them for a second, and they feel foreign until he pulls me towards him.

There is nothing classy about the way we’re close to each other. Too many limbs in the way, but yet, I can’t find any fault in this shared moment. For me, everything we’re doing is beautiful, magical. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

Now, I just want to feel his lips on mine.

We’re in a world made only by us. Shane and me.

“I saw Jamie coming this way. I bet Shane is with him.”

My brain is still caught up with the need for Shane to kiss me, so it takes a moment for the words to register, and when they do, my eyes spring open. Shane’s eyes are reflecting the same fear I have right now.

I move away, afraid of being found out. I must have been too slow because Shane uses the same hands that were just keeping me close to push me away. The movement is so unexpected that whatever I have on my lap flies off and lands on the ground.

When I look at him, I would bet my eyes are as big as saucers, my body filled with worry, but he’s no longer looking at me. Instead, his face and body are turned away as if he’s trying to put as much distance between us as he can.

Why does my heart feel like it’s just been stabbed?

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