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He stopped pacing and looked at me, really looked at me, his eyes moving up from my socked feet the same way they had at the bowling alley, a slow perusal that made my breathing quick and shallow, and bad decisions seem like good ones.
“I agreed because you were the one asking, but not just because of that. I agreed because you were going to be there.”
Stay strong, for the love of god, stay strong.“You were there with Lindsay.”
“And yet I bought you the shoes.”
“You wouldn’t have known her size.”
He took a step towards me and I had nowhere to go. “Chase.” My name was little more than a whisper; it threatened to scramble my brain. Well, I was not going to let it. I pushed up my chin and met his eyes. They were bright and fierce. He wasn’t backing down here. But I couldn’t afford to either.
“Please don’t do this.”
“I’m not doing anything.” He shrugged and moved a hair closer. His smell invaded my nose and the sound of his stubbled cheek as he scratched it was almost enough to undo me.
“You are. I don’t want us to change.”
“We already have, Chase. There’s a charge in the air whenever we’re together, I know you can feel it, too. You felt it earlier. Why are you fighting this?”
“Because I don’t—”
“Don’t lie to me…” he warned, his voice low and so, so seductive.
“I don’t want us to change,” I said again, because everything else was fleeing in the face of him like this. Wanting. Persuasive. Determined. My body wanted so desperately to be plastered across his, every nerve was straining tight in his direction. But my mind was stopping me. I couldn’t lose him. Not him. Anyone but him.
“You won’t lose me, Chase, not ever, you have to know that.”
I shook my head. “Not if things change… I know that now, but if—”
“Do you really think I could go anywhere? That I would ever want to?”
“I don’t know, Mack, I want to say no, but I don’t know.” My eyes pleaded with him to leave it alone.
“One date.”
“One date what?”
“Go on one date with me and, if you still don’t want things to go further, then we won’t. I’ll never mention it again. I swear. But let me take you out once first.” We were so close, and still not touching. The heat of him had me tugging at the neck of my hoodie as warmth crawled up from my collar bones.
“We just went on a date.” My voice was embarrassingly shaky, and the left corner of his mouth twitched upwards.
“That doesn’t count. One date. Just you and me.”
I planted my hands on my hips in an effort to regain some composure, it wasn't terribly effective. “And how will that be different to every other time we hang out?”
“Because I’ll be kissing you at the end of it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath as lust shot through me in a hot bolt. I remembered all too well the feel of his lips on mine. It was not a reminder I needed right at the moment.
“Don’t give me an answer now, sleep on it. We’ll talk tomorrow.” And, with that, he was gone. The door closed with a click behind him.
I couldn’t do it, could I? Considering I had been tempted by him tonight, when we weren’t even on an actual date the chances of me surviving a real one were slim. Yet, if I listened to my body, my heart, rather than my head, everything was whisperingyes. But I wouldn't decide now. I’d sleep on it and hopefully feel more level headed in the morning.
Or I wouldn’t, and I’d be agreeing to a date with my best friend.
14
MACK
