Page 903 of One More Kiss

We grabbed a booth near the bar, and Daniel waited for me to sit before sitting opposite me. Everything seemed great until we were seated, and I looked around. It felt off, and I could sense the anxiety rising.

I shouldn’t be here. I don’t belong here.

“Hey.” Daniel reached across the table and rested his hand on my forearm. “Where are you at right now?”

My eyes darted anywhere but at him. “I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.” He leaned in with a soft smile. “Look at me. It’s just us. No one else.”

My eyes snapped up to his. Did he understand? I wasn’t sure if that made me more nervous or less. “How do you know me?”

“What do you mean?”

“The first time I saw you outside the club. You knew who I was. How?”

He nodded his understanding. “Oh. Of course, I don’t know you, but I’ve seen you around campus.” He smiled as the waitress brought two glasses of water by the table but didn’t break eye contact.

No one sees me around campus. No one sees me.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” He seemed genuine.

“No. I just…” I didn’t know how to explain it.

He tipped his chin, telling me to go on, and for whatever reason, I felt like I could.

“People like you don’t usually notice people like me, that’s all. Honestly, nobody notices me at all. I can be standing right in front of something and they run right into me as if I weren’t there.” I began stirring my water with the straw aimlessly.

“Well, I did. And in all fairness. You seem like the only half-normal person at therapy, so…”

I snickered. “If you think I’m normal, you’re just as crazy as I am.”

That made him laugh. And holy hell, was it an amazing sound.

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