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Taking a shaky breath, I will myself to calm down before I have a full-blown panic attack. “I’m not afraid of the dark.”
“Liar.” Drake almost sounds sad. “Maybe I’ll just leave you here to find your way back on your own. You know, since you’re not afraid of anything. Especially not the dark, right?”
His footsteps are loud on the metal platform, echoing like he is backing away from me.
Like he really might just leave me down here alone in the dark.
“Wait!”
When I finally hear his voice, it sounds like it’s coming from several feet away. “Why?”
“I am afraid of the dark, okay. I have been since I was a kid.” My voice breaks and I hate that so much, it’s difficult to breathe. “I hope knowing that makes you happy because I’m sure you’d never use that knowledge against me.”
Strong arms wrap around me, like he really can see in the dark like a cat. I keep my body stiff for a half a second before relaxing against him with a sigh of relief that I know he hears. It’s hard to be too concerned about that when my heart feels like it’s about to pound out of my chest.
When I try to pull away, he doesn’t let go. Instead of pulling harder, I let myself relax completely against him because of how good it feels to be hugged right now.
I know I’m going to regret letting him comfort me later, but I really hate being in the dark.
As silly as it sounds, Drake is the only person who has ever heard me admit to this phobia. Fear doesn’t have a place in my conception of myself. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling like I’m right back in my childhood bedroom, shivering and terrified in my bed.
“If you mock me for this, I will figure out a way to chop your balls off.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” His breath shifts the hair on my crown as he laughs. “We’re all afraid of something.”
My face angles toward his, even though I can’t make out his features in the darkness.
“What are you afraid of?” I ask, genuinely curious. When he hesitates, I add, “Honesty is the only way this works, remember?”
He sighs, but it sounds more resigned than annoyed. “I’ve never liked clowns.”
I laugh. “Were you bothered by my Pennywise references?”
“No,” he huffs, sounding patently unconvincing.
“You don’t have to worry. Sewer clowns usually prefer to eat kids. Although, if we’re talking general maturity level, then you might have something to worry about. Maybe the killer sewer clown will take Brady instead.”
“That’s enough about clowns.”
But I can’t resist. “Is it the crazy makeup that bothers you, or maybe the wild hair? Did you know that John Wayne Gacy never actually killed anyone while dressed up as a clown…”
Drake’s mouth captures mine, his aim unerring despite the pitch black. I gasp at the contact and I feel his lips curve into a knowing smile against mine. It’s the sort of smile that promises there might actually be something good waiting in the dark. Then his lips part to swallow whatever weak protest I might have conjured. His hands come up to cup the curves of my cheeks. My trembling fingers grip the front of his jacket, like he’s become an anchor in the storm.
God, this guy knows how to kiss.
I tell myself that it’s the dark and the fear that keeps me from pulling away from him. We had an agreement that we wouldn’t complicate this with distractions, but it’s hard to remember that when he kisses me like this.
His kiss chases away the last of my unease, until all I can feel is want.
When he pulls away, my head is still spinning.
“What was that?” My voice comes out in barely a whisper.
He hasn’t released his hold on my face and his thumb strokes the curve of my cheekbone. “It’s the best way I can think of to shut you up.”
I open my mouth to snap back at him, but he kisses me again.
The sweetness of it surprises me, shatters the barriers that I had so deliberately set up between us. We’re not supposed to be sweet, or kind, but nothing is the same in the dark.
