Page 136 of Sweet Hate
Would candles be too much?
Shit, maybe I should have gotten some flowers for the table. Pink ones. She’d have been able to take them home if I had.
Could I text Lucas to pick some up for me—actually, no, that twat would barge right on in and make himself at home on purpose, and then my perfect plans go up in flames.
I’m nervous. I shouldn’t be nervous. My palms are sweaty, and I’m pretty sure I blushed like a schoolgirl out there earlier too. I have to get a handle on this shit for damn sure.
This is supposed to be an old school low key date. Well, I hope she knows it’s a date. I mean, to me it is.
I wanted to do what we loved doing as teens but show her how much better it is when she has a man by her side instead of a teenage boy.
The timer beeps on the oven.
Hell yes, lasagna’s done.
It’s go time.
Dinner was perfect.My girl loved it all. What’s even more perfect is the fact that she’s currently draped over me, curled up on my chest while she watches10 Things I Hate About You, for what is probably the thousandth time.
The sequin monstrosity is over us, and her hand is tracing circles on my side. That shit tickles, but I’m not sure she’s aware she’s touching me. I don’t dare move because she might stop.
This feels right. Like home. Lying here like this, it’s like she never left.
But I can hear the ticking of the wall clock, making me alltoo aware that the night will eventually draw to a close and I’ll have to take her home.
Shoving that out of my mind, I snuggle her closer, watching her as she watches her arguably favorite Verona on the screen. A pink curl falls across her forehead onto her glasses, so I brush it back and run my hand through her hair. It’s loose now and spread all over my chest like a silky soft sea of cotton candy.
“Mmm, that feels nice,” she moans before turning to face me and giving me that megawatt smile.
I should probably worry about the fact that my heart just thumped so hard I might have cracked a rib, but I can’t. I’m too busy holding back the three little words that want to slip off my tongue.
Words that will probably screw this perfect moment up.
So, I unleash five instead.
“Spend the night with me?”
My voice sounds gruff, and I know I screwed it up when her smile dims and her eyes go sad.
“I can’t, Axel. The rules. We have them for a reason.”
Frustration spills out of me as she pushes up and away from me and grabs her phone.
“Fuck the rules, Haven. I don’t see why we need them. I just want to spend the night holding you. What’s so bad about that?”
I should shut the hell up, but I can’t hold it anymore. Why is this such a sticking point for her? It doesn’t even have to mean anything. People have one night stands and sleep over all the time.
Instead of answering, she types on her phone, pointedly avoiding any eye contact.
“Sprinks, look at me. Please.”
She faces me, her expression shuttered. She’s closing herself off to me. Even after the perfect night we just had, she still won’t stay.
“Axel, you really need to stop looking at me like you're mine.”
“I am fucking yours, Haven. That’s the whole fucking problem.”
Tears well in her eyes, and she stands up, yanking on her sparkly pink Converse.
