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“We could sort of lean up,” I said. “Like pigeons on the railing.”
Lacey coughed. “Lean up?”
“Yeah, like… come here.”
She didn’t move. I huffed, frustrated.
“Just come sit next to me. I’m not going to grab you.”
I heard Lacey swallow, the click in her throat. “Okay,” she said. “We’re both adults, right?” She took her time coming over and taking her seat, and when she did sit, she left a good foot between us. I leaned across it to press our shoulders together.
“Like this, you see? We’d lean on each other, heads and shoulders, that’s all. My arm around you if you want to get wild.”
I felt Lacey exhale a shuddering breath.
“Okay. I can live with that. That’s not too extreme.” She relaxed, and her head nudged up against mine. Her hair smelled of almonds, and I breathed it in deep.
“Nice shampoo,” I said.
She smacked my knee. “Pervert.”
“How’s that perverted?”
“I don’t know. It just is.” She smacked me again, but with no force, no venom. Her hand drifted down and bumped up on mine. She hooked our pinkies together. “We could hold hands.”
“Might be a bit high school, but yeah. Yeah, we could.” I gave her hand a squeeze, and to my surprise, she squeezed back. A reflex, most like, but it felt nice. Relaxing.
“We could nuzzle,” I said. “Sort of rub noses.” I turned my head to rub my nose on her cheek. Lacey hissed and went tense, but she didn’t pull away. I glanced down and saw gooseflesh rise down her arm.
“We should do your thing,” she said, her voice gone hoarse. “Dive into the role, you know, like the whole thing’s a movie. I’m playing Lacey on set, playing Kate. A movie within a movie.”
“Yeah. That could work.” When I spoke, my lips brushed her cheek. If I turned just a hair, we’d almost be kissing. Her lips would be soft, her breath warm and sweet. Her hand would come up to drag through my hair. I’d hold her close, one hand on her shoulder, the other pressed up to the small of her back.
“This is stupid,” she said. “Wearen’tpigeons. Who sits around rubbing their faces together, holding hands like a couple of middle-school sweethearts? Let’s just, I don’t know—”
I cupped her cheek. “Kiss?”
“No!” She pushed me away. “No, I meant… wait. Did you just almost kiss me?”
“Kissyou?Miss Uptight? The bird would kiss better.”
Lacey shrieked. “Excuse me?”
I smirked. “Peck-peck-peck.”
“Says you, with your stubble, your sandpaper chin.”
I waggled my brows at her. “I’ve had no complaints.”
“Well, neither have I!”
“Peck-peck—”
She grabbed me hard by the scruff of my neck. I gasped with surprise and caught her shoulder for balance. Her angry grip tightened, nails to my neck, and she pulled me toward her, her eyes drifting shut. Her hair brushed my arm, my lips grazed her chin, and then—
“Room service!”
We sprang apart at the knock. My elbow smacked into the sofa’s hard frame. I cradled it, groaning. Lacey leapt to her feet.
