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“Yeah, fuck that.” His grumpy scowl turned into a grin as he plopped down next to me so he could press his back to the wall. Then he sighed in relief. “I’m going to hide in here withyoufor a minute. I’ve been praying for a good reason to shed Malia all damn night.” Rolling his head along the wall to glance my way, he whispered, “She smells like body odor, and it’s so rank… I can’t breathe around her. I’m not even lying.”
I snorted out a laugh, trying to imagine what Gracen’s expression would’ve looked like if he’d gotten to dance with Malia, after all, only to take a big whiff of her and wrinkle his nose in disgust.
Luke leaned toward me, sniffing noisily. “At least you don’t stink,” he added, only to pause as he started to pull away again. His brow furrowed, and he leaned back in. “Actually, you smell really good. Damn, what the hellisthat?”
“Japanese Cherry Blossom,” I answered, holding my wrist up for him to smell more, even though he could obviously smell me just fine already. “Your brother bought it for me, actually.”
When Luke paused from taking my arm and lifting it to his nose so he could send me a curious glance, I added, “He drew my name for the Christmas exchange last year.”
“Ah.” He nodded at the explanation, then closed his eyes as he inhaled, keeping my wrist firmly in place under his nose. “Yes. God bless Big J. He’s always had a nose for the finer things.”
“It’s my favorite scent,” I said, watching the way his long, dark lashes rested on the tops of his cheeks and his wide shoulders lifted as he inhaled some more.
“I can see why,” he murmured, his voice going a notch deeper. Then he opened his eyes, and piercing blue captured me completely. “And that’s why I’m just going to sit here for a quick break and fill my nose with this heaven before I have to go back out there to the stink queen.”
I grinned, despite the fact that he wasn’t saying very nice stuff about poor Malia. It was all to my benefit, at least, so a very vain and smug pride filled me like a soothing balm for my bruised ego.
“Help yourself,” I told him, my gaze straying to his dark hair as he bent his face over my arm again, making a ridiculous production of sniffing me.
“Thank you,” he said, looking up to grin.
He had such an open, magnetic smile, all rascally and mischievous as if he were sharing a dirty secret with me. But as he gazed around my face, his lips settled, and his brows drew together in concern.
Jerking up his chin in my direction, he finally said, “So what gives with the sob fest you got going on?”
I deflated, rememberingthatagain.
For a moment there, with Luke smelling my arm and looking up at me with that smile and those eyes, I’d completely forgottenwhyI was sitting here alone with him in the first place.
And then I had to wonder if I’d everbeenalone with him before.
I’d known this boy my entire life, and I don’t think we’d ever once shared a one-on-one conversation together, where no one else was around to butt in or participate.
It was…strange.
Almost like I was sitting next to a stranger.
A very handsome, thrilling stranger.
Multiple shivers raced over my skin, up the back of my neck, between my toes, around my chest, and up the insides of my thighs.
I studied him a bit harder, wondering if he’d always had that speck of gold in the irises of his eyes before. It was captivating as hell.
Luke squinted at me. “Chlo?” he prompted, reminding me that we were in the middle of a conversation, and it was my turn to talk.
“What? Sorry.” I blinked and glanced away, hugging myself. “Right, so we overheard Caine Spinnaker and his friends making fun of me, calling me the Pillsbury Doughboy who needed to be rolled in butter and stuff like that.”
Luke’s mouth gaped, and he stared blankly at me for a moment as if he couldn’t decide if he believed me or not. Then he demanded in a hard voice, “Are you fucking serious?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Why would I lie about that?”
He released a harsh breath, then slowly shook his head. “Well, thank God Gamble and the Lowes already pounded on him for me because I would’ve put the douche nozzle in a coma. Gah…” He gritted his teeth and snarled, “I never did like that little dipshit.”
I flushed hotly and glanced away.
“What?” Luke asked.
I swung back and frowned at him, repeating, “What?”
