by Alyson Noel
“Was it this?” he asked, holding up Cadence’s book.
My arm was aching, my knees were bruised, my hands were sweaty, and my face was on fire. I’d been caught flat on the floor, minesweeping under his couch, and the whole time he knew exactly what I was up to, which made me wonder just how long he and Jake had been watching me before they’d let their presence be known.
Though it’s not like I was about to ask. I was far too humiliated to do anything now but go home, lick my wounds, and pack up my belongings so I could move to another state.
“Um, I should probably go,” I said, heading for the door as he quickly stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Hailey,” he said, reaching for my good arm.
I stood there staring at his feet, wondering how on Earth I was going to get out of this. And when I finally found the courage to look up and face him, I was even more humiliated to see him looking so amused. I mean, even though it might have been funny for him to watch, believe me, it wasn’t such a riot having to live it. So I shook my head and stared at the ground again, thinking that if I could have any of the superpowers, I would definitely choose invisibility.
“I should explain,” I said finally.
“You don’t have to explain anything,” he said.
“Yeah, well, I think I do,” I told him, wanting nothing more now than to just get it over with. “Look, the last time I was here, I was checking out your books, and I came across the one by Cadence, and I knowr it was none of my business, but I—”
“Hailey, I’m not dating Cadence,” he said, rubbing my arm, trying to get me to look at him, but no way was that happening.
“Okay, fine,” I said, wishing he’d just let me finish so we could all go live our separate lives. “But still, I pulled it off the shelf and—”
“And you read the dedication, misinterpreted the whole thing,assumed I was dating Cadence, tossed it under the couch, thought I was a slimeball for asking you out, avoided me like the plague, started taking the service elevator, fled to Greece, moved out of the building, only to show up here tonight just so you could retrieve it and put everything right.”
“Yes,” I said, shaking my head sadly while my face burned with shame. “Except no! Not the last part. I mean, I didn’t come here just for the couch.” I finally looked at him, and once my eyes met his, I couldn’t look away.
“Then why’d you come?” he asked, dropping the book and moving toward me.
“Um, because I know you like to cook . . . and because you offered to celebrate with me . . . and—” I stopped. He was standing very close now, holding both my hands in his and gazing into my eyes. I swallowed hard.
“And?” he said, his lips warming into a smile.
“And, I guess, basically, because you were number three on my list of people I wanted to celebrate with,” I whispered, closing my eyes as he leaned in and kissed me on the side of the neck.
“Oh yeah? And who were the other two?” he asked, nibbling on my ear now.
“Um, a fifty-six-year-old woman and a gay guy. Oh yeah, and my mom. So you’re actually number four,” I said, laughing nervously.
And while I was laughing, he kissed me. Brushing my hair off my face and pushing his mouth first gently, then urgently against mine. And everything about this kiss felt so good, and so right, and so natural, and so safe that I felt like I was finally home.
And as he moved in even closer, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tight, I happened to glance down just as the toe of his shoe collided with Cadence’s book, tapping it on the corner and sending it all the way back under the couch.
But I didn’t say anything. We just kept on kissing.
