Page 27 of A Little Tempting
He chuckles softly. “Is that a bad or good thing?”
Staring at how his shirt stretches across his chest, I concede, “I’m not sure.”
“Do you not like me?”
“I hardly know you.”
“Yet you treat me like I’m infected with cordyceps.”
“Cordyceps?” The foreign word is lost on my tongue, and I glance up at him, confused.
His eyes widen. “You’ve never seenLast of Us?”
“Am I supposed to know what it is?”
“Seriously?” He looks at me like I’ve grown a second head, then pinches the bridge of his nose in defeat. “I want you to know your brothers failed you.”
“Yeah, well, I guess you’ll have to take it up with them.” I turn on my heel and keep making my way across campus, but those same long strides catch up to me in an instant. “Why aren’t you leaving me alone?” I demand.
“Because you’re avoiding me, and I hate to break it to you, Dylan, but I'm kind of a catch.”
“Then maybe you should spend your time stalking one of your other girls.”
His heels dig into the ground, and he cocks his head. “Who says I have other girls?”
“Call it a hunch,” I answer vaguely, but the guy’s eyes spark with understanding.
“Everett said something to you, didn’t he?”
The knowing look in his warm brown gaze makes me want to cower, but I manage to stand my ground, refusing to throw Everett under the bus for being a good friend to me.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I reply.
“Did he tell you to stay away from me?”
“I stay away from everyone.”
“Everyone except Everett.”
“And Griffin,” I offer.
“Griffin’s your brother. It’s different.”
“I’m not sure how,” I argue. “Everett’s been part of my life as long as Griffin has. And even if he hadn’t, I keep everyone at arm’s length, Reeves.Everyone.So don’t take it so personally.” The words leave a bitter taste in my mouth, the memory from the costume party fluttering through my mind like a dying butterfly, but I push the thought away. Maybe the wolf is right not to approach me in the light of day. To keep his distance. Knowing it’s the way I prefer things.
“Why do you keep everyone at arm’s length?” Reeves prods. Carefully. Like he’s treading on thin ice. Then again, maybe he is.
“Because if I don’t keep my distance, then I catch feelings,” I admit, “and then I turn into a bull in a china shop, or…whatever, and it isn’t good for anyone..”
“Ah, so that’s what it is.” His smile is warmer this time as he drinks from his cup while studying me over the rim of his black lid. “You don’t push Everett away because he’s a friend. And since he’s officially earned the label, you don’t feel the need to impress him or be on your best behavior or pretend you’re someone you’re not, which makes you feel comfortable, and you rarely feel comfortable. Am I getting closer?”
It’s disarming. How observant he is. How spot-on he is. With reading me. My thoughts. My feelings.
“Am I getting closer?” he repeats.
“Maybe.” I peek up at him again. “Is this the part where you ask if you can be my friend?”
“Depends,” he murmurs. “Are you gonna friendzone me if I do?”