Page 54 of Would You Rather
“I’m fine with that.” I’m more than fucking fine with that. Holy fuck. My body warms at the idea of Madeline sitting so close to me, but I know how much she hates when I touch her. I can’t push her into this. Not when she doesn’t want to.
“I can get up,” I offer, whispering so no one but her hears me.
A slight shake of her head has my pulse skyrocketing as she lowers herself onto my thigh, hovering on her heels. I snake a hand around her waist and pull her into me, seating her all the way down.
A sharp intake of her breath has me freezing up, my heart in my fucking throat. I can smell hereverywhere. God, what the hell is she doing to me? “Is this okay?” I whisper, my lips close to the shell of her ear.
She shivers against me, and I beg myself to have some self-control, but none of that is present when it comes to this girl. What is it about her that makes me want to dive in head first?
Her head moves with a nod, and I breathe out, relaxing into the couch. “Question number twelve,” I whisper, hyperaware of her body pressed against mine and my hand around her slender waist. “You talk about me?” A smirk forms on my face at the thought.
“No,” she says, looking away from me.
“Really? Your friends say the opposite.”
“They’re lying. I hardly ever think of you.”
I let out a scoff. She has a talent for humbling me. “How flattering.”
“Yeah, well, I’m nothing if not honest.”
Her friends are still around us, but they’re in their own little world, and I let my eyes fall to the length of her again, perched up on my thigh. “You clean up good,” I say.
Her head snaps back to face me, and her eyebrow lifts. “Are you saying I looked bad before?”
I chuckle, rubbing my chin.Never.“Considering you looked halfway to death the last time I saw you, I would say this is a big improvement.”
“Good to know,” she says, sipping on her drink.
“So, are you having fun?” I ask her.
She lifts her brows. “Best night of my life,” she says dryly.
A chuckle escapes me as I lean in closer to her. The music in here is loud. That’s the only reason. “Question number thirteen,” I whisper. “On a scale of one to ten, how much do you hate me right now?” I squeeze her waist, making my question clear. I could have stood up and had her take my seat instead, but I didn’t.
“Ten,” she breathes out.
A smirk creeps onto my face.Liar.
I let out a laugh, unable to take my eyes off her. I always knew she was gorgeous, but… has she always beenthisbeautiful?
“James.” I snap my head up, seeing Leila embrace James in a side hug, helping him through the crowd. Fuck, I completely forgot about him. I should have been thinking about James, not my fake girlfriend who can’t stand to be around me.
“Where’ve you been?” I ask him.
He smirks. “Got a drink, made out a little, came back.”
My eyebrows skyrocket. “We’ve been here less than twenty minutes.”
His grin covers his face. “I work fast.” I shake my head, admiring my best friend for always going for what he wants. “Hey,” he says, looking at Madeline’s friends. “I’m James.”
“Hey man,” Aiden greets James, reaching out his hand. “I’m Aiden. It’s nice to meet you.”
Grayson lifts his head in acknowledgment, his girlfriend still perched on his lap. “Hey.”
James smiles back at them. I like the fact that they don’t outright ask him why he has crutches. I know how much James hates talking about the accident that took his mom away from him.
When I see a grin spread across his face, I don’t even have to look to know who he’s looking at. He hasn’t stopped talking about her ever since that picture of us was all over the news. “And you must be Madeline,” he says.
