He was still halfway around the side of the table, close enough that our arms were almost brushing. My skin prickled at the thought.
“Do I make you nervous?”
His low voice made my heart tap-dance in my chest.
“A little,” I admitted, too caught off guard to play it cool.
“Why?”
I stared at him.How could he not make me nervous?He was attractive and talented and confident. He was everything that I wanted to be, and I found myself drawn to him because of it. I’d never been drawn toanyonewith the same intensity. After all these years, I could finally understand why the stupid moths flew directly into the flames of their destruction. And being drawn like that to Grey scared the hell out of me.What good could come from it?
Instead of answering right away, I took a big drink of my coffee. I had no clue what to say.
“I only ask because I saw you at a few of my concerts,” Grey said, saving me from having to respond immediately. “But you don’t come to them anymore. Was it because of our talk after the last one?”
Yes,I thought. “No,” I said aloud. “I’ve just been focusing on school. Though that last concert was… intense.”
“You mean during ‘You Gotta Know.’” If Grey’s eyes had been simmering before, they were sparking now.
How does he fit so much intensity into one gaze? What could one do with such power?
Nodding, I continued, “It was a lot for me. Then, after the show… I’ll admit you messed with my head.”
“So you stopped coming,” Grey finished.
“I did. I needed to clear my head.”
“And did you?” Grey leaned in, getting nearer.
His face was alarmingly close, inches away from mine. I could’ve closed the distance in an instant.But why would I want to do that?His lipsdidlook kissable. Well, as kissable as a guy’s lips could look.
The thought of what kissing Grey would feel like leaped unwelcome into my head. I was certain his lips would be rougher than any of the girls’ I’d kissed before. But I couldn’t tell if it would be in a bad way. I got the sense that his lips would be strong.Could lips be strong? What would he taste like? And why am I thinking about it in a crowded cafe, inches away from a campus celebrity?
“I was fine until you sat down in class this morning,” I said.
If my honesty hurt him, he didn’t let on. He just smiled. “Oh no, I ruined your plans to stay away from me.”
His words were joking. He was teasing me. And as much as half of me hated it, the other half enjoyed it.
“Can I ask who you wrote that song about?” I blurted. I instantly wanted to take it back but let the question hang there anyway. It was the one thing I’d been curious about since hearing him sing it.
Grey’s confident demeanor cracked slightly. He looked down, the tips of his ears turning the faintest shade of pink. When he looked back up at me, his cheeks showed traces of embarrassment as well, though he did his best to hide his emotions. “I wrote it about someone I met a while ago, and every time they come back into my life, I can’t seem to stay away from them. I wrote it just thinking over the cycle of heartache.”
“And who could have so much power over Dreamscape’s Grey Hyun?” I mused.
“It’s a deep dark secret I swore to never divulge,” he said cheekily. “Besides, there’s always a bit of embellishment with any song. Life is much more boring than fiction most of the time.”
I chewed on his words. “True, but every now and then, life throws us a particularly interesting curveball.”
“Really? Do you have any examples?”
I was acutely aware of how close our faces were. Though I was sure I should pull away, I didn’t. I found myself wanting to see where this thing—whatever I could call it—would go.
“Say there’s a boy in a pretty popular local band,” I said. “And he’s always popping up at inopportune times and flustering you. That can be pretty interesting.”
“Sounds like this boy is a real heartbreaker,” Grey said. “Probably sexy and tall with a great personality.”
“I think the words that come to mind for me are ‘cocky and annoying,’” I shot back. “But he could be considered objectively attractive. If that’s your type.”
