Page 17 of Roommates
Even now as we stood in line to get our tickets at the park entrance, I had to keep myself from taking another step forward and closing my arms around his waist from behind. I bet if I did his neck would smell amazing. I noticed his scent more often now, ever since that night we'd shared. It wasn't a powerful scent, no, it was subtle, and I could only ever catch it for a few seconds at a time, as if it was trying to play hide and seek with me—or as if it was trying to tease me—tempt me into getting closer to Lucas so I could breathe it in fully.
But I knew that was a stupid idea, so I kept my distance.
We were visiting an amusement park together, yes, but it was not a date. After all, there were several other people with us. Nathan and Raphael—who were walking so closely together they might have been holding hands but weren't—and Conner, who was currently studying the map of the park as if preparing for a week-long survival trip. Lucas and I had been tasked with buying the tickets, although I wasn't sure why that was a two-man job. Lucas had the money, I had everyone's Student ID cards.
After we’d progressed to the front of the line, we completed the transaction in less than a minute.
Once Lucas had paid, we stepped away from the booth. When Lucas turned to hand the tickets to me while simultaneously putting his credit card away, his wallet slipped out of his grasp and fell to the ground. We both reached for it at the same time, and when we did, it wasn't Lucas' wallet that I touched but his hand. For a fraction of a second, he froze, moving only his head to look at me. He was so close now that when his cerulean eyes met mine, I nearly leaned in for a kiss before I could stop myself.
So much for getting over him.
“Sorry,” I said, making myself withdraw.
“No, it was my fault.” Averting his gaze, Lucas finally picked up his wallet. He bit his lower lip as he straightened again—as if it wasn't already hard enough for me not to kiss him. I had to distract myself somehow, so I walked back to the others and gave them their tickets. It seemed Conner had finished his study of the map and had decided on a path for us to follow through the park.
Once we'd entered the park, Conner steered us past the food booths and souvenir shops that lined the entrance and toward the first major ride—a humongous water slide. I had to admit that itlookedcool.
The rafts were all shaped like water dragons and the speakers installed over the entrance played upbeat music supposed to lure you in and join the fun. My throat tightened, though, as I ignored the beats to study the construction. I could see that at one end, they lifted the raft up on a sort of elevator only to shoot it down a slide that looked way too steep to be safe.
It wasn't like I wasscaredof water slides or roller coasters or heights... but it paid to be careful around these things. I'd seen documentaries, or rather, a friend of mine had seen documentaries, of roller coaster rides gone wrong. These things were dangerous. I wasn't being scared. I was being responsible.
“You guys wanna go in?” Raphael asked, looking up at the slide with something like awe in his gaze.
“I've heard my friends talk about this ride. They tell me it's brutal.” But the way he said that made it sound like the idea excited him. My stomach clenched.
“Awesome,” Nathan said, looking equally as excited as the omega he wanted to date. I couldn't tell whether his excitement was genuine or an act, though. For all I knew, he only wanted to impress Raphael.
“I guess we should get in line,” Conner said, pointing at the entrance to the ride, where a group of people had already gathered.
“I'll wait here,” Lucas said, digging his hands in his pockets. Thank God, not everybody was crazy.
Conner eyed him skeptically. “I thought you liked water slides,” he said. “You could be waiting here for half an hour or longer if you don't come in with us.”
“It's okay,” Lucas reassured him. “Actually I'm feeling a little queasy so I'd rather not get on that thing now.”
“Really?” Raphael asked. “Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, it kind of does,” Lucas agreed. “I'm hoping it'll pass soon.”
Raphael nodded. “Fingers crossed. Maybe we should do something else first?”
“Nah, it's fine. You guys go ahead.”
“If you're sure...” Conner sounded uncertain, but Lucas only nodded again.
“I'll wait with you,” I offered, turning to Lucas, secretly glad to have this way out.
“There's no reason you have to sit this out just because I'm not feeling well.”
“I'm not going to let you suffer on your own. We're friends, right?”
Lucas opened his mouth to argue, but it seemed he couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, he shrugged. “Okay then. Thank you.”
“We'll meet you back here when we get out,” Raphael said, and then the three of them went off.
Suddenly I was alone with Lucas. Something I hadn't even thought about when all I'd wanted was to get away from that water slide without looking like a wimp.
But this was no big deal, was it?
