Her face scrunches, and her hands close into fists. “Not this again.”
“Yes, actually, this again. And it’ll keep beingthisagain until you tell me, somehow or someway, tostop. Unless you do, I’m not going to.”
“If I tell you to stop, what then?”
“Then, things go back to how they have been for months. I’ll pine and pester. You’ll likely continue your delusions of asiblingshipbetween us, and I’ll let you, and I’ll probably hope that you get sick of it, that something I do might change your mind. Who knows? Whatever you choose, no, I’m not going to leave you alone or behind. Even if you stop my advances, you’d have to stop my heart to keep me out of your life completely.”
A deep breath fills her, and there’s fire blazing in her eyes when the seafoam hits me so hard I’m nearly knocked off balance at the sight. “I don’t believe you.”
“That’s fine. You’re going to. I’m going to make you.”
She sneers. “As if.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re cute when you’re furiously denying your very big, very real desire to kiss me?”
Her eyes roll, and she stomps past me, back to her dropped broom. “I do not have a very big, very real desire toanythingyou, e-boy.”
I yawn. “Oh, so now you’re just straight up lying to me?”
“Maybe you should go take a nap.”
I shake my head and approach the island counter, melting against it so I can watch her sweep. “Can’t. I’m too busy daydreaming about you doing indecent things to me in very big, very real shows of uncontrollable affection.”
She thrusts a dry, disapproving look my way.
She does not, I note, reach for her phone.
“What’s your favorite color?” I ask.
“My favorite color? What are we, toddlers?”
“Mine’s blue.”
She pushes her dirt pile into the dustpan. “Let me guess,iceblue?”
“You’re so intuitive.”Ice blueis only the shade of my eyes, my car, many of my clothes, and my entire FrostPlays brand. Shocking she managed to figure it out. “Are you going to make me guess yours?”
She thinks for a moment as she dumps the dust in the trash. “Sure.”
“Black.”
Offense wrinkles her wittle nose. “No.”
No hints from herextremelycolorful wardrobe then, huh? Are there any other colors I’ve seen her gravitate to? Her FrostPlays plushie reward card was in my brand’s shade of blue…but whether that’s because she also likes the color or was just embracing the topic of said card is…anyone’s…guess.
My Morana-clouded mind recalls that it spent much of last night remembering soft accidents, sweet lips, andFrostPlays plushie. “Morana?”
“What?”
“Why do you want a life-size doll of me?”
Heat skates up her neck as she shoves her broom into the kitchen cleaning closet. “Stress-relief.” Her eyes narrow, and shedaresme to challenge her. “Without all the felonies.”
I hold her daring gaze. Then I find myself smiling.
Because, okay. Yeah. I guess wearejust straight up lying to me now.
As her cheeks blossom bright red, I get the feeling that she likes me. Loads. Loads more than I thought, even. And not just because I spend the entire rest of the day pestering her, while she not once reaches for her phone.
