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Her fingers flew across the keys, typing quickly before she chickened out.
Sure is.
Still, her heart continued to pound. He could say no. He could say he was kidding. He could say something like, “Guess you’ll have to wait ’til tomorrow.”
Then her phone flashed.
See you in ten.
CHAPTER 26
Becca changed clothes three times. She’d pulled on pajamas after her shower, but she sure wasn’t greeting Hunter at the door in the threadbare cami set she’d had since eighth grade. Jeans and a sweater seemed too stiff, considering it was nine o’clock at night and she’d just climbed out of the shower.
She finally settled on black yoga pants and an electric-blue tank top, twisting her half dried hair into a loose knot at the back of her head and securing it with a set of hair sticks. She barely had enough time for blush and mascara before Hunter was knocking on her door.
He’d changed clothes since school—or at least his shirt was different. A long-sleeved tee shirt clung to his chest and shoulders, red with some black silkscreening across the front in a design she couldn’t make sense of.
Stop staring at his chest.
She jerked her gaze up and found his eyes close. “Hey.”
Holy crap, her voice sounded breathy.
He smiled, and goose bumps flared on her arms. “Hey.” His eyes flicked down her form, and for an instant, she wished she’d worn something completely different. More clothes. Less. Hair down, maybe. Something.
Then his eyes returned to hers, a spark of appreciation there. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah. Sure. I mean—sorry.” She stepped back and held the door wide. “Come in.”
Hunter stepped into her foyer, and Becca watched him look around for a minute, taking in the couch and TV in the living room, the photographs cataloguing her childhood that plastered the wall by the staircase, the stretch of hardwood leading back to the kitchen. Her mom kept the house neat as a pin, so at least Becca didn’t have to worry about anything embarrassing lying around.
Then he said, “So what’s with the pentagram?”
Yeah, nothing embarrassing—except maybe that. “Ah—long story,” she said, almost stammering. “Stupid kids—er, vandals.”
He winced. “That sucks.”
She stood there beside him and told herself not to fidget. She knew she should invite him past the front foyer, but where? The kitchen? The living room? She couldn’t figure out which room gave the wrong idea—or the right one.
It hadn’t even occurred to her until now: She’d never had a boy over—not even Drew.
Hunter was looking at her again. “Smells nice,” he offered.
“Cinnamon.” Like he couldn’t figure that out. “I lit a candle.”
He smiled and glanced past her. “Your mom’s in bed already?”
“Oh. No.” That brought her up short. “Mom works nights.”
His eyebrows went up, just enough. “So ... there’s no one else here?”
He seemed closer suddenly, warming the space between them. She shook her head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Just us.”
“Interesting.” The word lingered in the air.
Then she realized what this looked like. She snapped her head up, folding her arms in front of her stomach. Now she wished for a sweater. “I didn’t mean—it’s not like that.”
His expression didn’t flicker. “Like what?”
