Page 27 of Melt His Heart

“Yeah…But I’m serious, I’ll text you, ok?” He says.

My heart stops as Carson pulls me into his body, wrapping his arms around my waist. He’s so much bigger than me, I feel like he’s pulling me onto the tips of my toes.

God, we’re hugging, it’s just hugging. But he’s so warm, and I can’t help melting into him. I want to ask him to come up and cuddle me again, but I can’t blame it on drinks this time. This is so nice, so safe.

A different kind of safe.

I let my eyes flutter shut for a bit, and I swear Carson nuzzles into my neck and breathes me in before stepping back.

“Get inside, it’s cold.” He whispers, his eyes softening a bit.

“Ok…Good night.” I know I’m blushing.

“Night.” He waves and waits until I’m at the elevator doors before leaving.

I come into my flat and kick my shoes off. Dinner was amazing, and that makes me feel so solemn now that I’m back home and alone. I learned a lot about his family and their coming to America, that he’s a first-generation Korean-American. He told me he hasn’t gotten to visit Korea much. The last time was when he was a teen. He said it’s been especially hard since playing in the league because of the grueling schedule, and I definitely understand.

Lying the flowers down on the coffee table, I almost wonder how being there with him would be, but I don’t let myself get too carried away with that thought. Tonight was more than enough to feed my delusions for years to come.

I flop down onto the couch and turn my phone on to check Carson’s page; he took a photo of me earlier, and I know he thinks I didn’t notice, but I just wonder…And when I click through his story, there it is.

I’m on his page. My face burns a bit with embarrassment. What is wrong with me? Friends post their friends all the time. But off to the side, there’s wording that says ‘what a catch’ and I jolt up.

“I forgot all about that!” I squeak and open a new window to look up the term.

“What does it mean to call someone a catch?” I repeat out loud what I’m typing into the search bar, and my eyes widen at the results, my mouth going dry.

I open our text thread.

Me: Really Carson? A catch?

He’s such a flirt, I should’ve known, but then again, I’m always surprised by Carson saying things like this to me.

Carson: loool you looked it up?

Me: Of course I did!

Carson: lmao but you are.

Carson: a catch that is

Me: Is that so?

Am I flirting back with him now?

Oh god, he’s rubbing off on me. My face feels hot while I wait for his reply. Maybe I shouldn’t have fed into his ridiculousness, but I feel a rush of excitement as the little bubble pops up.

Carson: its so.

Me: You’re so annoying.

Carson: so you tell me often

Me: Because you are!

Carson: i love annoying you

Carson: you make the cutest faces when you’re annoyed too.