Page 123 of You Said I Was Your Favorite

We hurry back to his room, not talking much. The two of us eager to be alone. I love that this doesn’t feel one-sided.

He seems just as into me as I’m into him.

The wind has picked up and the sky is heavy with dark clouds. A storm must be rolling in and I swear right before we enter the building, I feel a couple of rain drops hit the top of my head.

The door clangs shut behind us, shrouding us in silence, the only sound our clipped footsteps on the floor. I follow him to his room, taking everything in, wondering where Edie might be.

“Where’s Edie’s room?” I ask once we’re in his.

He locks the door and turns to face me, leaning against it. “Just down the hall on the right side.”

“Ah.” I nod, going to his desk and setting my backpack on top of it before I start to take off my uniform jacket.

“Already stripping?” His teasing tone has me looking over at him again.

“Tired of the jacket,” I say as I slip it off and drape it across the back of his desk chair.

“Same.” He shrugs out of his jacket and lets it drop on the floor.

I drink him in as he approaches. He ditched the sweater earlier, I’m not sure when, and I enjoy how his shirt fits a little snug across his chest, the sleeves emphasizing the sheer size of his biceps. I rarely hear him speak about working out beyond going for a run here and there, but he has to go to the gym. There’s a two-story one on campus where all the boys like to go and I’m sure he’s one of them, lifting weights with his friends’ encouragement and posing in front of the mirrors afterward.

I’ve seen the stories on social media. I know what they like to do in the gym.

“How long until you have to go home?” He comes to a stop in front of me, just out of reach.

Reaching behind, I clutch the back of the desk chair, hoping I look nonchalant. Like what’s about to happen is no big deal. “I don’t have to be home until later.”

His brows lift. “Define later.”

“Sometime later in the night.” He frowns. “My dad is going to Kathy’s tonight for dinner.”

“Ah.” The frown is gone, just like that. “So we have hours to ourselves?”

I nod, clutching the back of the chair tighter. My heart starts to beat faster at the look on his face. “I’m thinking I should be home around nine.”

He checks his phone. “It’s four-thirty.”

I nod again, not saying anything this time.

“That’s over four hours.”

“Glad to see you can count.” I smile, unable to help myself from giving him a hard time.

“All those math classes over the years, you know?” He steps closer, his arms sneaking around my waist, trapping me. Not that I mind. “There’s a lot we can do in four hours, Daze.”

“You think so?” I tip my head back, the heat I see in his gaze taking my breath away.

Arch nods, touching my face. His fingers drift across my jaw, his thumb pressing gently into my chin. “You tortured me in the library.”

“You tortured me too, you know. But I had to get my homework done,” I remind him. “I would’ve felt too guilty otherwise.”

“Always such a good girl. Doing what she’s supposed to.” He leans in, kissing me and it’s shockingly dirty. His tongue is thorough, searching my mouth in a way that leaves me breathless and when he breaks away, I’m grateful I’m still holding onto the chair. “With the exception of being with me.”

His words make me think of my father’s disapproval, and that’s the last thing I want to focus on. “Don’t worry about that.”

“I look good on paper. Don’t see what his problem is with me.” He’s joking. Or at least he’s trying to sound like he’s joking, but I can hear the hurt there, lingering beneath the words.

“He just doesn’t know you,” I say, and he frowns.

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