Page 18 of Crease Collision

One more reason this has to be the last time.

He breaks into a trot and drops the bag as soon as he reaches me. With his flailing arms and me bouncing on my toes, we probably look like two rookies squaring up for our first fight. When I clock that he wants a hug, something in me pulls away, and I clap him on the arm instead. As his shoulders sag, I regret it and pat his other arm, hoping that will make things better.

When he bites his lip, I forget my plan and wrap my arms around him. The tightness in my chest loosens, something that only seems to happen when he’s around.

Noted and filed away. That relaxation in my chest is the danger. The road I can’t take again.

“You look great,” he says as we sit down.

“Thanks. You too.” The words are out before I can stop them.

His smile widens, and fuck me, he has dimples. How did I not notice those before? Dimples are a known weakness of mine, so he’s deployed two powerful weapons.

“It is not as hot today,” he says.

“We’re lucky. You run hot enough to take out the whole park.”

No. I shouldn’t be flirting like this.

Today is supposed to be a goodbye lunch, so I need to get my head on straight.

He lowers his sunglasses and gives me a smug look. “Funny. I was thinking the same about you. You are quite sexy.”

Needing to shift gears immediately, I hand him back the smirk. “You’ve regressed, I see.”

He pushes his glasses up. “That means gone backward? How have I done this?”

I tick off examples on my fingers. “‘It is not as hot,’ ‘you are quite sexy,’ and ‘how have I done this?’”

He throws his head back and laughs, a deep rumble I feel inside. Now I have another problem: I want to keep making it happen.

He taps my knee. “Excuse me, tutor. It’s not as hot, you’re quite sexy, and how’ve I done this? Also, big yikes on ‘gone backward,’ bruh.”

We both laugh this time. As it dies down, he slides his hand across the blanket and brushes his fingers over mine. It’s quick, but it sends a jolt through me.

“I will do better,” he says.

I wink, already knowing I’ll regret it. “No problem. I’ll keep you in line.”

He shifts, and his pecs twitch under his snug polo. My brain ignores today’s agenda, and I remember the night Oskar and I spent together. I loved how he filled me so completely I had to let go of everything else.

Thinking about it makes my shorts feel tight.

“Kai?”

When I look over, he’s watching like he knows exactly what I was thinking.

“Brought a ton of food,” I say, tapping the box next to me. “Hope you’re hungry.”

He nods at his bag. “I bought some too, tutor. What’d you bring?”

I giggle. I fucking giggle. Mortifying. “Good. You’re catching on.” I name things as I pull them out of the box. “Grilled chicken wraps, raw veggies, watermelon, almonds, San Pellegrino.”

He whistles. “Did you wake up at dawn to make all this?”

“No.” Here comes the control-freak reveal, but since he’s already seen me naked and begging, a few obsessive habits shouldn’t matter. “I plan meals ahead and only cook once a week.”

“Of course you do.”