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But leaving campus felt like the very thing I needed. The guys thought I had a meetup with the engineering department, and though there were such events, that night wasn’t one of them. Spencer looked most skeptical about my supposed plans, but I was able to leave before he asked too many questions.
At this point I could’ve just told them I was hanging out with Lark, but I didn’t want to muddy the waters now that this was more than friendship. This was hooking up with a guy I used to know from childhood and was wildly attracted to. No chance I’d give myself away.
“Henry!” Star called to me when I stepped inside. She was wearing a pink tutu over her clothes, and there was another one lying on the floor near the couch. “We were just about to play dance recital.”
“Were you now?” I asked as Lark’s cheeks flushed.
“That’s right,” he said. “Now’s your time to escape.”
“No way.” I plopped down on the couch. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
Lark’s flush grew, and damn, it made him even more adorable.
“Come on, Lark,” Star said with a pout, prodding him to get started.
“Okay, you asked for it.” He lifted the pink tutu from the floor and slipped his legs through it. As soon as it was secured around his waist, he gripped the bulky, multilayered material and looked down at his feet, which were in a pointed position. It was as if something in him switched on, his confidence and grace shining through his expression when he lifted his head to glance at me.
He took Star through what he called a simple dance routine, and she wore a very serious expression as she tried to keep up. She was adorable, but I was riveted by the man in the tulle skirt that fell below his knees. As he lifted up on his toes, spun in a circle, and dipped down gracefully, I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
When they finished, they took a bow, and I pretended to be in the audience, clapping heartily. “That was amazing!”
“No need to lay it on thick,” Lark said as Star hugged his legs.
“I’m not trying to. You’re such a natural. Like you were born to dance.”
“Thank you,” he replied around a scratchy throat. “It’s part of the routine for our upcoming autumn recital.”
“Will you be wearing a tutu?” I teased.
“I wish,” he said dreamily. “Something I’d wished for as a kid. The ballerinas get to wear the pretty clothes. Just being honest.”
Fuck, the vulnerability in his tone. My voice came out all wobbly when I admitted, “You definitely look pretty in it.”
He stared at me. “Is that really what you think?”
I nodded, my heart going wild. “Is that okay?”
“More than okay.” He bit his lip as he tugged it down his hips. “Anyway, Star and I might go for a walk since it’s still warm out.”
“Are you coming?” she asked me as Lark went to help her out of her skirt. “No, I want to wear it outside.”
“That’s fine,” he said, then glanced at me. “You’re welcome to come.”
“I’d like that.” My chest felt tight, like my heart was too big for my rib cage, and I chalked it up to how much I enjoyed hanging out with them.
“Cool, let me just…” Lark hung the skirt almost reverently on a hanger and disappeared into his room to store it.
Then we headed out the door and toward the woods, chatting with all sorts of interesting people along the way. When we got to the edge of the woods, Lark pointed out two paths. “This one leads to the lake, and this one to the junkyard.”
“Junkyard!” Star yelled, raising her arms in the air, and it was so unexpected that I barked out a laugh.
Lark shrugged. “She likes looking at all the stuff.”
“Well, now you’ve got me curious.”
We strolled into the woods while Lark explained that Pete’s uncle owned the place and that he and Pete worked there all through high school. Just another layer of Lark uncovered, and I’d admit each one was more intriguing than the last.
I’d worked jobs as a teenager as well, mostly as a caddy at my parents’ country club. Lark might’ve scoffed at the idea, but some of those men were not kind to the help, even if you were the son of one of the members. It was like seeing the underbelly of the rich, and it had never sat right with me.
