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I can’t deny that I like him. Like,seriouslylike him. Like… maybe more than like him?
Oh, God. Now’s not the time to think about this. I’ve got ten minutes to get out the door.
I pop a couple of waffles in the toaster and get ready for the day, making sure to grab my work uniform out of the closet for later.
As I lock the front door, a man across the hall gets my attention. It’s the apartment complex’s maintenance guy. “Miss Hooper?”
“Yes?”
He glances between my door and Austin’s, clearly confused.
“I’ve been staying with my neighbor,” I explain awkwardly. “While I wait for you to fix my door.”
He nods. “Well, good news. I have your replacement door in my truck, so everything will be fixed up and ready to go in a couple of hours. Got one with a deadbolt, so no one should be able to get in again.”
“Oh.” That means I won’t have a reason to sleep over at Austin’s anymore. And right as we…
“Do you need it done sooner?” he asks anxiously. “I promise I’ll work on it as fast as I can.”
Oh, crap. “No, you’re fine. Thank you for making it a priority. I’m still a little rattled by the whole thing.”
“Sorry again about everything that happened, Miss. We’ve never had someone break into a door like this before.”
“Not exactly what I wanted to be first at,” I say, the joke falling flat when he doesn’t smile. Okay, time to go, then. “I have to run.”
“Right. I’ll leave your new key at the front office when I’m finished.”
“Thanks.”
I rush to my car, hoping I get to class on time, and slide into my seat for Behavioral Genetics right as the teacher starts. I try my best to focus on today’s lecture, but all I can do is relive last night’s once in a lifetime experience. The way he’d touched me… it was like he was in my head, knowing exactly what I wanted when I wanted it. Using the right pressure, the right speed… Have I ever been so turned on before?
Austin is everything I’ve wanted in a guy. Sexy, sweet, caring, protective. How could I have ever looked at him and been scared? Thought there was something dangerous about him? He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met, so at odds with the tough guy image I first attributed to him.
And if he was willing to do all that with me last night, he must be attracted to me, right? At least a little? I still don’t understand it, but I can’t deny the facts.
Logically, I know I need to talk to him about what’s going on between us. I should have done it last night, but I had other things on my mind. And, really, what’s the worst that could happen?
He might say he’s not interested in me like that, a voice in my head says.That he was turned on in the moment and it was only a quick hookup for him.
That’s true. I mean, how much easier could I have made it for him? I was already in his bed andaskedhim outright to do it. With how sexy he is, he must get girls all the time. Case in point, Mia’s friend hit on him right in front of me at Element.
But the thing is, I don’t want this to be a quick hookup. If I’m being honest with myself, I’m halfway in love with him already. I want something more with him. He ticks all my boxes. He somehow makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever been, while at the same time the safest. And after so much upheaval in my life, someone I can be myself with is all I’ve ever wanted.
I take a deep breath, glancing around at my classmates. Is anyone else in here having an existential crisis at the moment?
When do I tell him?Howdo I tell him? I’ve never confessed serious feelings for a guy before. Never put myself out there like that. And nothing’s ever felt so important either. What if I screw it up? What if he doesn’t feel the same way? How can I go back to being just friends with him if it turns out he doesn’t want a relationship?
Because that’s what I want with him. To solidify this closeness that’s grown between us over the last month. And where before I was sure he wasn’t interested in me romantically, there seems to be a chance now. That maybe mousy, awkward, foot-in-her-mouth me could get such an amazing guy.
I just have to ask him.
Yeah, that’s not terrifying at all.
I pull out my phone, debating what to say. I can’t spring something like this on him over text, right? I should start out small.
Me:Thanks for the waffles this morning. They hit the spot.
I press send, then immediately regret it. That was the dumbest thing to say. Then again, if I haven’t run him off by now with all the embarrassing things I’ve done, I don’t think this text will be the one to do it.
