Page 81 of Trust Me

“You think I’m attractive, but that’s it.”

“Do you . . . want me to have a crush on you?”

“No, that’d be weird.”

“Oh. Right.”

He smacked my chest lightly. “Chill, man. I’m just messing with you.”

“Sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“Why?”

“Cause I have a crush on you, dumbass.”

He blinked a couple of times, then cleared his throat. “Well, that was straightforward.”

“I’ll go back to the couch.”

Before I could throw the covers back, he grabbed my forearm and laid it on the mattress between us. “Just sleep, Oli.”

“Here?”

“Don’t mess things up. Not now.”

I nodded once, unsure what to say. With his hand still on my arm, he closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for his lips to part and his breaths to deepen. Even as he slept, I couldn’t convince my heart to relax.

Something inside of me started to spiral out of control, making my stomach twist with nausea. Despite logic telling me to pull back, to distance myself from these feelings that were bound to end badly for me, I found myself rooted in place. It wasn’t fear or nerves. It was like a growing sense of loyalty, the same kind that had sprouted with Remi. That one had driven me to abandon everything I knew and chase him across two states.

If I’d done that for my best friend, what would I find myself doing for this man who didn’t—and couldn’t—feel the same attachment to me?

It was pointless to consider that he might. I was never the one who got chosen—not from the moment I came into this world, never feeling the touch of a mother or the safety of a father.

I scooted just a little bit closer and shut my eyes, focusing on the sound of Dean’s breath to lull me to sleep.