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“I’m so sorry.” I tell him. “I didn’t know she was here. They must have gotten here before my shift started.”
He shakes his head. “Kay, relax. You have nothing to apologize for.”
I look down at my hands playing with my sweatshirt strings. “I feel like I do.”
He reaches forward and puts his hand under my chin, lifting my head up to look at him. His eyes bore into me like there’s nothing else in the world that matters more. “Not at all.”
“Okay.” I breathe, stuck in a trance.
Dawson comes out with a mop and walks towards the mess.
“Oh, how nice of you to take your shirt off.” He quips, looking at me and raising his eyebrows suggestively. I grab a straw out of the container and throw it at him.
Holden leans over the counter and kisses me quickly. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up. I’ll see you later?”
I nod, trying to keep myself from blushing. “My shift is over at five.”
He walks backwards toward the door, telling me we’ll get dinner after I’m done. I smile and watch as he leaves, subtly checking out his perfectly toned torso. Even covered in coffee, he’s gorgeous. Once he’s gone, Dawson shakes his head.
“Your boyfriend is quite the catch.”
I roll my eyes. “Not my boyfriend.”
“Mhm. Sure love.” He replies.
Whatever.
BY THE TIME DAWSON drops me off at Kappa Delta Phi, I’m exhausted. When he convinced me to take this job, he failed to mention how physically demanding it is. However, I will admit, it’s nice to have a friend.
I say goodbye to Dawson and climb out of the car. As soon as I get inside the house, I go up the stairs towards Holden’s room, running into Jason in the hallway. We say hi to each other in passing. He’s completely unfazed by me being here. Everyone’s used to it by now.
By the time that I get into Holden’s room, he’s lying on his bed with his eyes closed. He has earbuds in his ears, and I can tell by his lack of movement, he doesn’t realize I’m here. I creep toward him carefully. When I’m close enough, I lean down and kiss him. He startles at first, but then he grips the back of my head and pulls me down, kissing me with fervor.
In one swift motion, Holden rolls, taking me from standing next to the bed, to lying under him. He breaks the kiss, hovering over me and smiling – leaving the headphones forgotten on the bed.
“Well, if you greet me like that every time you come home from work, I may not mind you going so much.”
Butterflies erupt in my stomach. My every nerve endings ignite like wildfire. I do my best to keep my feelings at bay.
Don’t go there, Kayleigh.
“Good to know.” I reply, pushing him off me and turning on my side.
I lie next to Holden, the two of us just looking at each other. His eyes hold so much fondness as they stare into mine, with his thumb rubbing my arm gently. I find myself hoping that time would slow down, to make this moment last an entire lifetime. However, the longer we lie here, the more my heart melts.
“Thank you.” I say, breaking the silence.
He looks at me curiously. “For what?”
I half shrug. “For defending me today. I know we’re just friends, and you didn’t need to do that. I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”
He smiles lazily, moving his hand from my arm to my face. He leans forward and presses his lips to mine, kissing me slowly.
“There is very little I wouldn’t do for you.” He whispers when he pulls away. “You mean so much more to me than you think you do.”
I close my eyes and kiss him softly, my mind going haywire. I don’t know whether to delve deeper or leave the subject alone. I’m not even sure exactly where I want this conversation to go. The thought of dating Holden both excites me and scares the absolute daylights out of me.
A knock at the door pulls me from my inner turmoil, and takes Holden’s attention off me. He kisses me once more before looking back at the doorway.
