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“But Maia, I can’t leave her.” I lean back and look up at him, his blue eyes so calm and reassuring as tears run down from my green ones.
He looks down at me, and a dark look crosses his face, one mixed with worry and concern. “Who hurt you, Len?” He asks the question so softly, I almost don’t hear him.
I shake my head again and ignore his question. “Let’s just find Maia and go.”
Holden lets go of my arm but takes my hand and threads his fingers through mine. We walk back into the party together, but we only take a few steps before Maia rounds the corner. When she sees me, the worried look on her face changes to relief, and she runs over to me. “Len! There you are! A couple of people told me they saw you run into the house crying. Are you okay?” She immediately pulls me in for a hug, and I drop Holden’s hand to hug her back. When I let go of his hand, he puts his on the small of my back, and I notice how close he stands. A sense of security runs over me, and it's comforting.
“Oh hey, Holden. I didn’t even see you there,” Maia says over my shoulder, where he stands behind me. She steps back and takes my hand. “Do you want to leave, Len?”
“Yeah, we were just coming to find you. But you don’t have to. I’m just not feeling it anymore.”
“Okay, let’s go.” She wipes a tear from my cheek and smiles. I love how she doesn’t push for information. She knows I’ll open up when I’m ready.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay? Holden will walk me home.”
“No way. I’m not having fun if you're not. Besides, Holden looks hungry.”
“I do?” He laughs.
“Yep. I know Len and I are, so you must be too.” Maia grins. “Let’s get the fuck out of here and find some grub.”
The three of us walk out of the party together after Holden lets Rhett and Landon know he’s leaving. We’re only a few streets away from our apartment building, and there’s a pizza shop on the way. We stop in and order a couple of pizzas to go. I invite Holden to eat his pizza at our place, and when we get there, Everleigh joins in.
I find some stand-up comedy to watch, and the four of us laugh and stuff our faces with cheesy deliciousness. I try to forget about what happened earlier, and Maia doesn’t say anything. She knows I’ll talk about it when I’m ready. If I’m ever ready. Holden makes us all hysterical with his jokes and how passionate he talks about his comic book collection and hisCall of Dutystats.
After a couple of hours, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Everleigh and Maia call it a night and leave me alone with Holden in the living room. I don’t want him to leave just yet. I’m enjoying his company too much. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Like Netflix and chill?” He grins, and that cute smile makes me all warm inside.
I scoot closer to him on the couch, closing the distance between us. “Disney Plus and bust. Hulu and woohoo. Amazon Prime and sexy time.” I grin as I rattle off the different phrases.
He throws his head back and laughs. “No bustin’ or woohooin’ around here. We’re just straight up chillin’.” He winks, and I shimmy closer to him, our sides now pressed together.
“Cuddling and chillin’ are kinda the same thing, right?” I grab the blanket from the back of the couch and stretch it out over our laps. He slides an arm around my shoulders, and I rest my head against his chest.
“Sure, why not?” His fingers slowly trace circles on the top of my arm, and when I sneak a glance at him, he’s watching the movie with a cute smile on his lips.
Why does he… why does this bring me so much comfort? Why does his touch not bother me?
As the movie plays, he nuzzles the back of my head with his face, and I hear him breathe deeply, like he’s enjoying my scent.
“Len?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Just…seeing you so upset earlier…I didn’t like it.”
“I’m sorry. I think I just had too many shots.”
“You were scared, Len. I saw the panic in your eyes. Did a guy get too handsy with you?”
I stiffen but force myself to relax, so he doesn’t know it. “Yeah, when I was dancing. It freaked me out a bit. But I overreacted, which I blame on the lemon shots.” I try to downplay it, but I’m not sure he buys it.
“You didn’t overreact. A guy has no right to put his hands on you without consent.”
