Nothing about this is lucky, except the fact that they’re somehow still alive, but the sincerity in his eyes convinces her for a moment that he means it. That he doesn’t see her like she sees herself, as someone who can turn anything good to ash with a single touch.
Just this morning, she was thinking how important it was to distance herself. Now they’re in a bed together, holding hands while she spills some of her closest secrets.
“I think I’m lucky I met you, too,” she whispers. “Are you cold?”
“Little bit.”
Subconsciously, she’s going somewhere with this, tucking the blankets up further around him, leaning in a little bit before she catches herself.
“Are you cold, too?”
She nods.
“Come on, then.”
“I won’t hurt you more?”
“No. It’s better when you’re close.”
They’ve already done this once. She takes the offer because she needs to be close to him when it feels like everything is falling apart again. She’s so relieved he’s still alive. All she wants is to feel him breathing. So, she tucks herself into his side and lets his inhales lift her head the barest inch where it rests on his chest.
It’s only to stay warmer. That’s all it means, but even as she tells herself that, she knows it’s only a half-truth.
“If this is all some ploy to get me in bed with you, you could have done less,” she teases gently.
“Busted. The bear was in on it, too.”
“I knew it. How long do the migraines last?”
“Few minutes. Few hours.”
She hopes, for his sake, that it passes quickly.
Until then, she enjoys being close to him while knowing she shouldn’t. She’s absolutely not falling for him, though. Not at all. They only need to stay warm. So what if she kinda likes soaking up his body heat a little more than she should?
He irritates her.
He’s obnoxious.
Entitled…except that one’s not really accurate.
Still, he’s everything she wants nothing to do with, yet the fear of losing him has only intensified.
Chapter 8
He’s in bed with Nora and doing his best not to move an inch. Thankfully, his migraine subsided before it moved into unfixable territory, and he can actually enjoy this moment. Doesn’t want to risk her moving away after he’s gotten so lucky, and there’s no doubt in his mind that he is. They may have done this once before in the cave but that was different. This time it isn’t just about the cold.
No one’s ever looked at him the way she did when she thought he wouldn’t make it. Like her life would be irreparably damaged without him in it. Theo’s not used to being anything important to anyone except his brother, and even then, sometimes he’s not so sure, but now she’s landed in his life and begun filling an empty space he didn’t even know existed.
It’s scary because helikes it.Letting himself get attached to this, to her, even a little bit, may be the stupidest thing he’s ever done. Then he thinks back on being pinned by the bear, her weight on his chest like an elephant, dislocating his shoulder as if he were a ragdoll. Death seemed certain, and while a few different thoughts filtered through his mind in between screams, like regrets about Oliver and his mother, the one unexpected role went to Nora.
He couldn’t have been down there more than a minute or two, but that was enough time to wish he’d been braver. Thathe flirted with her more, tried harder, and stopped cockblocking himself at every turn.
More than anything, he wished he knew what it felt like to kiss her before he died.
Then, he survived.
A boost in bravery overcame him on the spot. It’s still here, encouraging him to go with this instead of bracing against it. Not many people get a second chance. Now that he’s gotten a third, that has to mean something, especially when she seems fond of him, too, which is a mindblowing concept in its own right.
