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He grabbed my hand, playing with my fingers briefly. His touch was playful and sweet, his smile warm as he watched me.
“You’re a sweet girl, you know that, Cadence?”
My face warmed at his compliment, and I looked away, unable to handle the intensity from his attention. For some reason, I had to blink back tears. That was not the kind of compliment I was expecting, and I didn’t know what to do with it.
He chuckled. “Come on. I need to defend my manhood with another round of ghost hunting.”
I giggled. “I think it’s a bit too late.”
He laughed as he led me back into the living room, still holding on to me. He only released my hand when I sat down.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“Only when a ghost is in the room,” I said, trying to use a spooky voice.
He shuddered. “Don’t joke like that.”
“But it’s true. I feel fine, but if you’re feeling cold, you can wrap up. It still won’t keep you safe from the ghost though.”
“Cadence!”
I laughed as he threw a throw pillow at me. I tossed it back. “Please tell me you haven’t noticed at all.”
“What do you mean?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Come on. You have to have notice by now. I knew it the first time I walked into the house.”
“Cadence…” he warned.
“I’m serious. You never saw him? He’s kind of cute.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “Stop. Please, just stop.”
It was so hard to not grin. He truly did look a bit scared as he scanned the room, trying to pick up on whatever I was hinting at. To think Seth believed in the spooky. I pictured little Seth asking his dad to check under his bed and in his closet before bed each night.
It made me crack up laughing. “Oh, wow. You’re really freaked out.”
“You would be too if you lived alone.”
My smile tried to drop, but I held it firmly in place, remembering he probably figured I was living with my mom still.
“Thank you, Seth,” I whispered.
“What?” he asked.
“I don’t know about me being a sweet girl, but I know for a fact you’re a good boy. I’m an only child and music keeps me busy enough. I didn’t know what friendship was until this past week or so. Or at least, I hope this is what friendship is. If I’m overstepping, then I’m sorry.”
“Stop, Cadence.” Seth scooted closer and rested his hand on my knee to keep me from ranting, which I was totally about to do. “Yes, we are friends.”
“Can friendship really happen this fast?” I asked. “I don’t really have any experience.”
“Does there need to be a specific timeline for people to create relationships?” he asked. “There is no cookie-cutter answer. You like spending time with us, and I know for a fact we all like to spend time with you. So yes, this is friendship, even if you think it happened too fast.”
“I don’t know what I think.”
“Good thing we’re young. You have time to figure it out.”
“Oh? Time?” I mulled that over. My life had always been jumping from one crisis into another without any breaks in between. But being with the guys, it felt like time slowed down. Almost too peaceful to bear, but addicting too. I wanted time to keep going like this. “I like the sound of that.”
