Page 38 of In the Danger Zone
But I could bring her to the dinner on the weekend. I imagined her all dressed up in a pretty dress for me.
What a nice thought.
I think I wanted her more than she realized. Every part of her was on my mind. It was a fact that it was getting harder and harder for me to fall asleep at night, because my brain was so damn occupied with her. I couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like to have every part of her. To have her under me, to slide into her, to have her whine out my name, to make her all mine. Andfuck, did I wanna make her mine.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I forced myself to remember where I was and what just happened. I’d have to find Daisy and tell her about the dinner. And all the guys could meet her and see why I did what I did. Why I had to leave Asher bleeding on the ice.
I just wish Daisy had seen what I had done to him.
Chapter 19
DAISY
“He kissed you?” Leena practically screeched next to me.
“Oh m-my God, calm down.” My eyes darted around me. No one else in the lecture hall seemed bothered by Leena’s outburst, though. “Yeah, he kissed m-me.”
“By theocean. Evan Wentworth took you took the beach and kissed you next to the ocean. That’s so romantic,” she said with a little smile. “I wish my first had been like that. Mine was at some dumb party. And it was… sloppy.”
I pressed a hand to her shoulder. “Just erase the m-memory from your b-brain.”
“Oh, I’ve been doing that since it happened,” she sighed before shooting me a smile. “But that’s so cute. See, I told you Evan wasn’t like the other guys. Especially Asher.”
A frown grew on my face at the mere mention of his name. “Part of m-me thinks this whole thing is a lie conjured up by A-Asher. He’s evil. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Okay, no.” Leena shook her head. “I don’t think Evan is like that. And he did stick up for you in the locker room the other day, remember?”
“Unless that’s just a purposefully spread rumor…”
“It’s not. And you’re being paranoid. Cassie wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. Evan must have just been really pissed off at Asher.” Leena’s voice lowered a little when Professor Burnett stepped inside the lecture hall. “And he took you out on that date and kissed you. He obviously likes you. Are you guys, like, dating now? When is he taking you out again?”
“I’m not sure, but he said he wants m-me to be his girlfriend.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him yes. Wait, do I have a b-boyfriend?” I mumbled. The word felt weird to say. High school me avoided guys at all costs. They were all so awful to me – especially one.
My conversation with Leena came to an end when Professor Burnett suddenly greeted us all, his friendly voice filling up the room. I leaned over my table, chin in hand, thinking about what Leena said earlier – about Evan taking me out again.
I wasn’t sure when that would happen or where’d we go or what we’d even do. That didn’t matter. I just liked being around him. I admired how good he was on the ice, how kind he was, how serious he had seemed when I told him about Asher. If I had told people how much the bullying was hurting me while still in school, I would have had them laugh right in my face.
But Evan was different. He was kind and open. He wasn’t like all the other obnoxious, cruel guys I knew back in school.
I had to hide my smile. I just couldn’t get him out of my head and truthfully, I didn’t want to. When I went to bed that night after our date, all I could focus on was how it felt to have his strong body up against mine. To feel those broad shoulders, that hard chest, his big hands…
And those lips. Those soft, perfect lips that just made me want him more. I wouldn’t ever tell him – or anyone – but I had laid in bed all night wondering what his lips would feel like in other places. I normally didn’t have such intense thoughts about guys. Most guys had never grabbed my attention quite like Evan, though. He was the only one I had ever been able to trust.
Despite how tough he was when playing hockey, he was so tender and kind with me. A gentle giant. Such a beast on the ice, but so different with me. And I liked that. A lot. Maybe more than I should have.
Clearing my throat, I shook my head. Evan was really good at stealing my attention.
***
My parents could never get rid of their old habits. They liked to keep things the way they were, and if it was up to them, I’d be back home in Maine. They were more into phone calls than text messages – though I had done my best to teach them how to write and send them out, and theyfinallyseemed to be mastering the art of it.
They had also never let go of writing letters. I had spent countless afternoons at the kitchen table, watching my mother write away on all her beautiful pieces of stationery. She had a bunch of different ones. Paper with flowers; some with hearts; others with cute, little animals.
She had picked the heart covered stationery for her letter to me.
