Page 46 of Would You Rather
He shakes his head, a cocky grin on his lips. “I’m pretty sure I heard apleasein there somewhere.”
I shake my head, having another spoonful. “You’re so annoying.”
“And you’re allergic to common decency,” he says with a laugh. “You realize you haven’t even said thank you for the soup yet?”
I glance down, seeing it’s already half gone. It was delicious, and my body warms at the thought of Lucas doing that for me. “Thank you,” I mumble.
“Holy shit,” he says with a laugh. “You have manners.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You want me to take it back?”
His chest shakes with a chuckle as he settles into the bed beside me. “You’re welcome, Mads.”
I blink, glancing up at him. “You called me Mads.”
“Yeah,” he says, running a hand over his chin. “I guess I did. Is that okay?”
I nod, a smile slipping on my lips. “Nia used to call me that.”
“Your sister?” he guesses.
I nod again. “Yeah. She actually named me,” I tell him. “When my parents adopted me, they were set on the name Amelia, but my sister hated it, demanding I be called Madeline.” I let out a laugh, thinking back to when she told me that story. To every memory I had of her. Of us.
“She sounds amazing,” he says, giving me a sad smile.
“Yeah,” I agree. “She was.”
“Good taste, too. Madeline suits you way better.” He grins, and it makes me feel a sense of familiarity. I haven’t spoken about Nia in a while, and I like it. I miss it. I miss her.
I let out a laugh, bringing another spoonful to my mouth. “You must have been bored out of your mind, though, while I was asleep.”
He shrugs, leaning back against my headboard. “I kept myself busy.”
“With what?”
A smirk slides on his lips as he leans closer to me. “Hearing you snore, for one.”
My body grows hot as I narrow my eyes at him. “I do not snore.” Do I?
His laugh makes my stomach flutter, and I don’t know what to make of it. “Oh, trust me, you do, but don’t worry, it’s cute.”
Cute?“So what did you do?” I ask him.
“Is that another question?”
“Question number nine,” I say with narrowed eyes. “What did you do while I was asleep?”
His laugh settles as he gestures with his head to my nightstand, where a folded piece of paper lies. My brows furrow as I reach out and unfold it, staring down at the rough sketches on the paper.
“You draw?” I ask him, enamored by the strokes, creating a beautiful piece. I swallow hard, looking down at my face on the paper.
“Sometimes,” he says, his voice hushed. “Whenever I have time, or I’m stressed. It’s a way for me to escape sometimes, I guess.”
I lift my head, and when his eyes lock with mine, my heart starts to beat out of my chest. “It’s amazing,” I tell him, his smirk making the knocking against my chest even harder. “Why me?”
He blows out a breath at my question, running a hand through his hair before he shrugs. “I like to draw beautiful things,” he mumbles. “Whether that’s buildings or people, it eases my mind a little.”
His words repeat themselves over and over in my head until I blurt out, “You think I’m beautiful?”
