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“Come on,” I reached for her hand, disarmed by the skitter of electricity that flowed between us. If Peyton felt it, she didn’t say anything as I held the jacket over her head, closed the door, and ushered her into the pavilion.
“It’s really coming down,” she said, dropping down on the stone bench lining the wall. A wisp of cold air drifted into the air and I watched, transfixed on her soft pink lips.
“Xander?”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“Is something wrong?” The faintest of smiles traced her mouth.
That mouth.
God, the things I imagined doing with that mouth.
“I like your hat.” I said, sitting down beside her. Close enough to touch her but still far enough to resist.
“My hat.” Peyton absently reached for it. “It’s just a hat.”
“But it looks good on you.”
“Are you… flirting with me?”
“Do you always say whatever’s on your mind? Even if it can land you in trouble?”
Her smile grew. “Especially if it can land me in trouble.”
Jesus. This girl.
“Tell me what happened today at school,” I changed the subject.
Her walls immediately slammed up and she dropped her gaze to her hands, wringing them together.
“Was it Farrow again? Because if it was—”
“You’ll what?” There was no accusation in her voice, only mild curiosity. We were treading dangerous waters, quickly drifting to where the pull was too strong, and if we weren’t careful, soon we’d be drowning with no escape.
I needed to stop. The teasing and flirting. The playful words to get her to smile.
“Sean is an asshole,” she whispered, slowly meeting my eyes again. “He said some really shitty things about me the other day. I thought it was the last of it when Bryan introduced him to his fist, but apparently, he doesn’t know when to quit.”
“What happened… with him, I mean?”
“You really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
Peyton regarded me for a second, and I didn’t blame her hesitation. I had been giving her mixed signals. But what she didn’t realize was every time our paths crossed, it was getting harder to do the right thing. To walk away.
“You’ve got that look again,” she said, so quietly I barely heard her.
“What look?”
A beat passed.
The air crackled.
And she said six little words that sent my world spinning.
“Like you want to kiss me.”
