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Arsen bent to gather my crutches and lean them against the closest table. “If you need any help with the notes or need a refresher on the stuff we already learned, just let me know.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “And I’m sorry I was weird before. It’s been a long week.”
His head bobbed. “No worries.”
Arsen turned his gaze back to Ben. “Later, Kruger.”
Ben gestured with his chin but said nothing else. When Arsen was gone, he looked at me. “What happened, sweetheart?”
“It’s just unsettling to be around so many people and not know any of them and not know if they know me.”
Turning, he sat me on the closest table, fitting his body between my knees and bending to rest his palms on the tabletop on either side of my hips. “You know what you need?”
For you to kiss me.
Guess I wasn’t done thinking about that.
“A scary movie, some popcorn, and some M&M’s?” I answered.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “No.”
I tried again. “To learn to walk better with those crutches?”
“Fucking crutches,” he muttered. Then, “No.”
For you to kiss me.
I wasn’t saying that out loud. I was not. And since I couldn’t trust my voice, I merely shrugged.
He leaned a little closer, his arms so close I could feel the warmth radiating from his body.
Kiss. Me.
I glanced up. Our eyes collided. The oxygen in the room was depleted, and I sat there glued to his enigmatic stare without speaking. Without breathing. Without the beat of my heart. I survived solely on the connection between us, left on pause while I waited for him to hit play.
He moved. I swallowed. He leaned farther, taking over the little bit of personal space I had left, and I surrendered it without fight.
My lashes fluttered. The gentle tickle of his breath across my lips and under my nose was foreplay, the fluttering of the butterfly wings in my belly so sharp I expected them to slice me open.
“A break.”
It took long moments for it to sink in that he’d spoken. That he used that mouth for something other than devouring mine.
And even as I registered the words, I had to replay them once, twice, and then finally a third time to understand.
“W-what?” I whispered, still tingling for that kiss.
He pulled back, the movement so abrupt I went with him, the tether between us too strong to deny.
“Easy,” he murmured, catching my shoulders to keep me from pitching off the table. Clicking his tongue, he turned, crouching before me. “Come on then, final girl.” His gruff tone and the use of the nickname I’d only partially understood were the only indications he felt something too. “Up you go.”
I went, and he hauled me onto his back, then grabbed my bag and my crutches.
“Where are we going?” I asked when he stepped outside into the cool afternoon air.
“Somewhere you’re gonna love.”
“But we’re already there.”
