Page 80 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

‘Hello?’ River hollers as he walks through the living room. ‘What up, dorks?’ he says when he sees us. ‘Why are you watching TV in here?’

‘Hols, uh – she wanted company while she cleaned,’ I lie, glancing around the room at the obviously untouched mess.

River looks around the room, his brow furrowed in confusion.

‘I was going to ask, what’s with the shoes?’ He points at the pile of shoes I hadn’t even noticed. The two of us look over at her.

She’s now unlacing her heels, tossing each one onto the floor before crossing her legs beneath her and sitting next to me on the bed.

‘I stole all his left shoes when I left.’ The lift of a single shoulder and the smirk on her face tells me she’s proud of this little detail.

I want to kiss the hell out of her, but all I can do is laugh.Thatis the girl I used to know. With one kiss, I just fell completely head over heels in love with her. Again.

20

HOLLYN

The Next Morning…

The knock on my bedroom door sends me flying out of bed. Oh. My. God. It’s happening. My thoughts have been swirling somewhere between my heart and groin all night. I like him, and it’s too soon. He kissed me last night. Likekissedkissed me, with tongue and everything. I did what I felt was right in the moment, and had he not kissed me, I was ready to make a move. That story and the way he told it, I’m having feelings I am not familiar with now.

River interrupted before I could do something stupid like lasso my panties around his neck and have my way with him which is probably best at this point.

My brother stayedfor-ever,too, insisting on watching hours of sports coverage with Dax. The nerve of him, making himself at home in his own apartment. Eventually, they moved into the living room, and I went to bed, but not without pining for hours on end, wishing Dax would storm through the bedroom door and finish what he started. Now, it’s happening.

I glance in the mirror, smoothing my hair down and frantically pulling a make-up remover wipe from the package, wiping away my raccoon’s eyes before he worries I’ve slumbered into full-on depression. I slide my glasses on to see him and walk towards the door, glimpsing my pajamas in the mirrors of the closet.

‘Crap!’ I hiss to myself. I was wearing these the last time he saw me in pajamas. I can’t have him thinking I only change them a couple of times a week.

I dig through the unpacked suitcases all over the room, finally pulling out a pair of fleece pajama bottoms covered in penguins wearing scarves – my Christmas pajamas. Tristan always hated them, but they’ll have to do considering I’m running low on clean laundry.

‘Hols? You alright?’

I tear off the shorts, pulling on the pants as he knocks again.

‘Yeah, yeah!’ I call back. ‘Just a sec!’

Jesus. I glance around the room. He told Riv I was cleaning this mess last night. Perhaps I should actually do that at some point. I’ll just leave the lights off and the blinds closed. That way, he can’t see it. But… is leaving the room dark a good idea?

He knocks again, a slow knock that says he’s growing tired of me standing here wondering what reaction to have when opening the door.

‘On my way!’ I say sweetly as if I’ve got an entire house to get through.

I flip off the lamp, realizing how dark that leaves the room. ‘Way too dark.’

Dark is mysterious. Maybe even romantic. Very rarely have I had sex with the lights on. What if he thinks I’m inviting him into my lair to have my way with him? It wouldn’t be the worst idea I’d ever had.

Wait. What if he’snothere for sex? If I make this all about that possibility, and that’s not what this is leading to, I’ll feel like a bigger idiot than I already do. Blinds open. Final decision. I race to the windows, twisting open the blinds.

‘Come on, Hols!’

‘Hollyn,’ I say to myself. ‘Relax. He most definitely is not here for sex. Calm your horny ass down.’

Finally, I stop at the door. ‘It’s Dax. It’s just Dax.’ Breathe, girl. ‘Dorky, constellation, flower-loving, hotter than hell, Dax, for crying out loud!’

I open the door, his million-dollar smile greeting me as he leans into the door frame.

‘Dorky?’ he asks, a single eyebrow raised.

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