Okay, that waskindasmooth.
“Hmm, I don’t really give my number out to strangers.”
I just want to push back enough to see if he’ll push too.
“Hey,you’rethe one who said you already knew who I was,” he shoots back, raising his brows in a challenge. “Not strangers.”
“Mmm, sounds like a loophole.”
He laughs, and it’s so stupidly attractive. “What can I say?”
I press my lips together like I’m thinking about it. “I don’t know…”
“Come on…“ he playfully groans. “If I don’t get your number, I’m totally gonna end up just having to stalk you at school until I get to talk to you again. So you should just save me the embarrassment and take pity on my ego.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t help the smile on my face. “Fine, give me your phone.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone try to pull out their phone so fast before, and I laugh at how cute he is. I take his phone, and his fingers brush over mine as he hands it to me. It sends a shiver down my back, but I don’t react otherwise. I don’t want him to see how easily he’s affecting me right now.
I put my number in and text myself, then hand it back. He takes it slowly, holding my gaze, then I watch as he instantly goes to edit my contact information.
“What are you doing?”
He looks up, smiling at me, and I can see the deep dimples on his cheeks. “Changing your contact name. I can’t have someone like you have such a basic name in my phone.”
I look at him, confused but still smiling. “What are you changing it to?”
“Prettiest Face In My Phone, parentheses, Lydia, and then a…heart eyes emoji.”
This embarrassing laugh escapes me. “Oh my gosh, you’re so cheesy and embarrassing. And also, that’s a little long for a contact name, don’t you think?”
“I think you’re worth the extra characters.”
Just as I’m about to say something back to him, someone grabs my hand. I turn to see Simone, swaying andextrabubbly. She’s in an even better mood than when we got here, and I wonder if she and Tyler snuck off to have sex somewhere. Must be nice…to be so in love and happy while you’re young.
She tugs on my hand, pulling me off thecouch. “Lydia! Come dance with us!”
I turn to look back at Eli, silently apologizing for leaving him in the middle of our conversation. He just smiles back at me, taking a sip of his drink, but never looking away, and it makes my stomach flip.
Simone twirls me into the crowd, laughing like the music is alive in her bloodstream. I feel good now. I’m loosened up, and I let the music run through me as I dance.
As I’m still dancing against Simone, I catch Eli watching me. There’s something in the way he’s looking at me, possessive, like he’s already deciding I’m his in his head.
For a second, I let myself imagine what that would feel like…to be someone’s. I’ve never been anyone’s before.
5
Lydia
The same night of the party, I got a text at 3:47 AM from Eli.
Eli: I’m drunk and can’t stop thinking about this really pretty girl I met at a party tonight
It’s been a month now, and he’s texted me every day since. Good morning texts, funny videos, late-night long, deep thoughts.
It feels like every time we talk, my guard gets let down a little more with him, and it’s scary how much I enjoy it.
Eli: You ever met someone and knew you were never going to get good sleep again because of them?
