We chatted about our classes at school until our food arrived, a delicious spread of shrimp and linguini and a steak cooked so perfectly it practically melted in my mouth.
“This is way too fancy,” I said in between bites. “I shouldn’t have let you order.”
“It’s the least I can do after you tutored me back up to a B+ in Latin,” he said. “Those conjugations kill me every time.”
“You never seem to struggle during our sessions,” I pointed out.
“That’s because I have such a good teacher,” he said, reaching across the table to take my hand. Our eyes locked. “Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”
I felt my pulse quicken and I pulled my hand away. “Gavin, I—I really, really like you. But…as a friend. This isn’t a date.”
I couldn’t help wondering, though, what it would be like to date Gavin. He didn’t just call me princess—he treated me like one. And almost anyone would treat me better than Stefan had been lately. Gavin was also handsome, there was no denying it. He didn’t have the same confidence and polish that Stefan carried himself with, the same animal magnetism that made my knees go weak, but who did? Stefan was a breed in and of himself—I knew I would just be disappointed if I tried to compare any other man to him.
But Gavin had other things going for him. For one, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who broke the law. He certainly wasn’t involved in running a trafficking ring, but I doubted he had ever even jaywalked. He had that all-American, squeaky clean persona going for him. The kind of guy who wore faded, well-fitting jeans and a T-shirt. He was casual. Laid-back. Simple. Easy.
Exactly what I needed right now.
Yet all I could think about was my traitorous, cold, but incredibly sexy husband.
“Of course it’s not a date,” Gavin said, laughing it off casually. “We’re just two friends out for a celebratory meal. I didn’t mean anything by it.” But his gaze slid away from mine.
“And anyway, I’m not amazing. I’m just awesome at Latin because I spent four years studying it obsessively in high school,” I said, trying to deflect the tension between us. “Total nerd status.”
“You’re not a nerd,” he said. “You’re brilliant.”
I blushed all the way to my toes.
“And besides, look how far it’s gotten you,” he went on. “Labor omnia vincit.”
“‘Hard work conquers all’,” I translated with a sigh. “All except my mental health. This semester is actually making me crazy. I can’t believe midterms are already coming up.”
“Then maybe the more relevant phrase is, ‘panem et circenses’?” he said, raising a brow.
“‘Bread and circuses’?” I asked, mopping up a bit of melted butter with the last scrap of French bread.
“They’re said to be the basic requirements for human happiness,” he said. “You know. Food and entertainment.”
“Well, we’ve got half of that covered,” I said, gesturing at the now-empty plates.
He grinned. “Then let me take you to the other half.”
The other half turned out to be the Funhouse Maze, full of twists and turns and glowing fluorescent lights, room after room of glow-in-the-dark landscapes, tunnels, mirrors, and galaxies splashed across the floors. There was also a game where you chased colored lights for points. I didn’t even realize I’d been clinging to Gavin’s arm the whole time until we were finally out of the place and back on the pier. I was completely out of breath, and couldn’t stop laughing despite how brisk the air had gotten, how bracing the wind was.
“That was so fun!” It had been so nice to get outside my own head for a while.
Gavin grinned, and gently let my arm go. “My mom used to take me and my brother Frank here when we were little. We used to race to see who could get out of the maze first.”
“Well thanks for showing me,” I said.
We had a quiet moment, just smiling at each other contentedly. It was so relaxed between us, so warm. So different from what I had been experiencing with Stefan these past few months. Here was someone who was kind to me, who asked for my opinion, who listened to me. Who seemed to genuinely like me.
I broke our gaze and realized a single snowflake had dropped onto my coat. And then another. And then two more. “It’s snowing,” I said. “I told you! First snow of the season.”
We looked up at the sky and watched a million little flurries come down, catching the light from the pier attractions as they floated toward us like feathers. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the soft flakes tickle my face. When I laughed, I realized Gavin’s lips were almost brushing mine, the heat of his mouth so close I could feel it.
I imagined myself tilting closer, closing the gap between our lips and finding out what kissing Gavin felt like, seeing if I could lose myself in it—but suddenly all I could see was intense green eyes, dark hair, that chiseled jawline. Stefan.
I pulled away abruptly.
