Page 87 of The Scientist
I exhaled a laugh. “Yes,” I said. “And I see you. You’re unbelievably handsome, freakishly intelligent, and you have the kindest heart. I’ve wanted this for a long time now. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
He was looking at me like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. I was looking at him like I wanted a repeat performance of what we were just doing. We started to draw closer together. As we leaned in tentatively, there was a loud knock at the door, making us both jump.
“Lex, you in there?” It was Stuart, and I smiled widely when Lex let his head fall backward, hitting the wall behind him with a thud.
“He’s not going to give up,” I said, still smiling.
He gave me a frustrated look. “I know.”
“Maybe we should let him in.”
“I’d really rather not,” Lex said.
I giggled at the look on his face, and his features softened.
“This won’t be the last time we do this, I promise,” I said. “No need to rush things.” And I meant it. I wanted to do this right.
He let out a rough exhale before he finally nodded. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“That depends,” I said.
“On?”
“If we can go somewhere where Stuart can’t find us.”
His mouth split into a breathtaking smile. He was so incredibly beautiful. I bit my lip, wanting to grab his face and pull it back down toward mine.
“Deal,” he said. “But you need to stop looking at me like that, or I’ll never be able to walk out this door.”
“Hadley, it’s Stuart,” Stuart called out like I didn’t know who he was. “Are you guys alright?”
Lex gazed at me for a few seconds longer before he finally opened the door to find Stuart standing there, shaking in his huge overcoat.
“What the hell is wrong with you two?” Stuart yelled, running inside. “Hadley, you ran out of the party without any explanation, and this moron ran out into the frozen tundra wearing a T-shirt. Are you two fighting?”
“No, we’re fine,” I told him. “Just a misunderstanding.”
“Come on, let’s go home,” Lex said, still sounding frustrated. He grabbed Stuart’s arm, pulling him back toward the door.
“Wait! At least let me grab you a jacket or a blanket,” I called to Lex.
“I’ll be fine.” His eyes moved tenderly across my face as he said it. “I’ll only be outside for a few seconds.”
“Lex—” I started to complain, but he cut me off.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Definitely,” I said, smiling. He grinned back at me before walking out into the freezing night air.
“What are we doing tomorrow?” I heard Stuart ask as they jogged back to their house.
I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. It was really happening. I wore that same smile to bed that night, all the way into the next morning.
Chapter 20
The butterflies were setting in as I rifled through my closet the next evening for something to wear for our date. Lex had texted me when he got home last night asking if he could take me somewhere after he got off work. Of course, I’d agreed. He’d been working most Saturdays lately, which now made me wonder with a pang of guilt if that was because he was having to take on extra work for the trial.
I didn’t know what to expect or how to dress because he wasn’t giving away what we were doing. He had called earlier that morning while I was still in bed, and he was already at work.