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After that, Seth popped in a cute animated movie about a little girl who made friends with a bunch of animals as she traveled around the world. I tried to get comfortable, but kept shifting around. Sitting still for so long for a movie had always been a bit hard for me. Playing a game was easier with the amount of focus it took.
“Come here.” Seth paused the movie.
“What?” I asked.
“Come here.” Seth grabbed my arm and carefully pulled me until I was pressed against his side with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He had me stretch my legs out across the couch, which forced me to lie on him more.
He didn’t seem to mind as he started the movie again and stared at it. My heart pounded heavily as my nerves skyrocketed. It was weird cuddling a guy. Or anyone really. His body was firm, his scent intoxicating. His warmth became mine.
Focusing on the movie became impossible. I kept counting Seth’s breaths, all too aware with the way it felt as his chest lifted and fell. If I closed my eyes, I swore I would be able to feel the beat of his tune. The kind that kept his life going. To me, it became music, each breath a steady rhythm. It was entrancing, and slowly, the movie no longer existed. Only Seth and the kind of music I imagined came from him. He was an old country kind of guy to me. A traditional working man, wearing boots, carrying heavy things, building with his hands. Rough, but also completely aware of his strength. In control. Respectful. A dutiful son.
Seth grabbed my hand and held it, shifting my focus to that simple touch. His large hands were callused, but his touch was gentle. The stark contrast between his black skin and my light skin fascinated me. He ran his thumb along the back of my hand in slow, lazy circles, and I watched the movement.
“Cadence?”
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Time to wake up?”
“What?” That confused me. I was awake.
Then I realized my eyes were closed and I was completely stretched out against Seth’s body. What the hell? I pushed away from him, but that was a bad idea, and nearly toppled over off the couch.
Seth wrapped his arms around me, catching me. “Whoa, careful there.” He held on until I found my balance again.
“That surprised me.” I tried to laugh it off.
“Me too. The, uh, movie ended.” He smiled shyly. “I figured you’d want to go home.”
“Oh.” I wiped at my face, pretty sure that there was drool at the corner of my mouth. My face grew hot. Did I really drool all over Seth? That was a bit mortifying.
“Come on. I’ll walk you back.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But I will.”
And that was exactly what he did. He brought me home, Bebe trailing along, waited until I was safely inside with the door locked, then he walked back. Everything about him had been perfect and he did give me a nice relaxed evening without any stress. For those few hours at his side, I never once thought about my mother and how shitty my day had been.
Was that what magic truly was?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tuesday quickly turned into an impossibly long day. It was one of those days where the classes seemed to have an ability to drag the time out so what was normally a forty-two minute class turned into what felt like two hours. By the time lunch came around, I was annoyed and anxious. It was hot out and I was wearing a three-fourth sleeve shirt to cover the bruising on my right arm thanks to Lindie’s strong grip.
And I was distracted with the fact that in a few more hours, I had to meet up with Laurens. I had done my research and quickly learned that he was a distinguished client. If I did anything to anger him, it’d definitely affect my future. He had that kind of power, and that included politicians. Not a man I wanted to mess with. Made me wonder why I was the one he contacted. Someone like him would already have someone on his payroll to help him with this kind of stuff. There was no reason for him to have to outsource it.
“A candy bar for Candy Bar,” Toby said, shoving a Snickers in front of my face.
I smiled at him. “Thanks.” I rolled up my sleeves and opened the candy, taking a bite and moaning at the deliciousness. Toby grinned as he sat across from me and dragged Paxon into a conversation about why algebra should not exist.
The little treat didn’t last long. While chewing, I glanced at Justin, who was frowning at me, eyes a shade darker than their normal blue. It made him look dangerous.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He shook his head and looked down at the sandwich he was eating. The next moment, realization dawned on me. I had forgotten about my bruising and rolled up my sleeves because it was too fucking hot out. I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Laurens and then Toby’s present, that I had momentarily forgotten.
Shit.
