19. Reese
19
REESE
What was that? What was that ?
My brain is screaming and unable to process, well, everything that has happened in the last five minutes.
There’s no way. He did not waltz over to me and announce that for everyone and their mother to hear. He did not tell me to ditch Caleb for him. He did not call me baby.
Flutters awaken in my stomach, and I’m acutely aware of how breathless I feel. Of how fast my heart is racing. Of how warmth is spreading between my thighs—I exhale roughly.
He’s messing with me. There’s no other explanation. No other fathomable reason. It’s not like he hasn’t done it before. He likes getting a reaction out of me; only this time, he’s taken it way too far.
That’s why he called me baby, right ?
Something unfamiliar stirs low in my belly. I suck in oxygen between my teeth and freeze when it finally dawns on me that everyone has witnessed this. Oh God.
Embarrassment unfurls through me like wildfire. I avert my gaze and catch sight of Caleb’s expression. He looks half as flabbergasted as I feel.
“I… Um… He was joking,” I squeak, because what else am I supposed to say? He wasn’t ? He actually wants me ?
My pulse quickens at the thought, and I swear, every part of my body thrums with anticipation. But then I find myself wincing when I realize people are still staring. And whispering .
Flustered, my stomach starts to cramp. My nerves unravel. I hate this sort of attention. I don’t want the spotlight on me. I never have.
Ducking my head, I turn and stare pleadingly into Caleb’s eyes. “Can you take me home, please?”
The sound of my door being banged on repeatedly jostles me awake and shoves my heart into my throat. I go deathly still, my breath trapped in my lungs.
“ Reese . I know you’re in there!” Lilian’s voice shunts me back to reality. “Let me in. Let me in right now .”
Crap. She’s too loud, and the couple below me just had their baby. With a deep inhale, I rush to the door and unlock all the deadbolts with clumsy fingers.
She barges inside before I can say anything and stabs a finger in my direction. “ He. Wants. You ?”
Three words and my heart reacts instantaneously, drumming a relentless beat against my breastbone. I linger for a moment, then muster up an easygoing smile and redirect my attention to the deadbolts.
As I triple-check and make sure they’re locked, I can feel the heat of her thunderous glare on the back of my neck. “He was joking,” I insist, because that’s likely the case. Dane didn’t mean a single word he said last night.
Besides, I don’t think guys like him go for girls like me. I’m too much of a hopeless and anxious ball of disaster, and he’s… so self-assured. Brash. Devastatingly good-looking .
My eyes widen, but then I startle when my sister groans. I peek over my shoulder and nearly flinch at the sight of her gritted teeth. Oof. She’s definitely not happy. If she bares her canine, I’m in for a reckoning.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous he is?”
“Lili—”
“Do you?” She steps closer and rakes her hands through her blonde hair. “ He’s fucking dangerous .”
It takes everything I have not to sigh as a hint of annoyance creeps to the surface. I love my sister, but there’s no point in arguing with her. I know I’m not going to win here.
Even though I want to tell her to back off, I know how this will play out. If I give her a nudge, she’ll push back even harder. I’m conflict-avoidant and too much of a people-pleaser. She’s stubborn and will not let things go until she gets her way.
As frustrating as it is, I know exactly why she’s like a mama bear on steroids. She’s overprotective for a reason, and it’s because she feels like she failed me.
“But what if he’s not?” My tone is soft and placating in an attempt to calm her down. Only, it’s not very effective.
“You can talk to Travis Walker if you don’t believe me,” Lilian snaps. “He broke his arm, Reese. He broke his arm .”
My reassuring smile evaporates, and I swallow thickly. The Dane Kingsley she talks about doesn’t seem to align with the Dane Kingsley I know. Suddenly, I’m torn.
He told me he doesn’t get into fights for fun, and I believe him. I do . But Lilian would never lie to me.
“Does it matter if he… wants me?” My pulse ratchets up a notch, and I draw in a lungful of air to steel my resolve. “ Caleb Marsden . Remember him? I like Caleb.”
The very same guy who has never kissed me or shown any remote interest in me. Okay, that’s not a fair assessment. He has asked me out a few times. They might have ended on a boring note, but they were still dates he wanted to take me on.
Some guys like to take things slowly. Caleb is one of them. Maybe a year from now, he’ll finally have the courage to hold my hand.
My face almost scrunches at the thought. Do I really want to endure that for the rest of eternity? Wait with bated breath for him to take things a step further?
Or is it time for me to bite the bullet, figure out the moment, and finally get the guy I’ve been crushing on since last year?
I try to picture it, but it’s not Caleb and his dreamy smile my imagination conjures up. It’s… Dane. Dane and the teasing smirk he barely conceals as he gazes upon me with this… look of such sweet longing.
My heart takes off racing; my pulse trips over itself. I find myself irrevocably stunned. I shouldn’t feel so strongly, so intensely, over him. Not when he only crashed into my life just a short while ago.
Not when we have so little in common.
Dane is not the type to take me to used bookstores, art galleries, indie concerts, or even the movies. And certainly not the museums. He’s been very vocal about this.
And yet he’s… already done most of that.
My heartbeat goes erratic, and my mind scrambles in every direction as it tries to make sense of it all. Maybe he’s just a really good friend ?
Underneath that rough exterior, Dane can be surprisingly sweet at times.
What about last night was sweet ? Either he was messing with me… or he meant every word he said. The latter sends an electric current down my spine.
No. It’s impossible. He doesn’t seem like the type to do relationships. Heck, Lilian called him a skirt chaser, and he never denied it when I brought it up.
If anything, the truth is probably something very simple. Maybe he declared his supposed feelings for me because he owes me one. This is his way of repaying the favor: by letting Caleb know the clock’s ticking. It’s… so far-fetched, but I wouldn’t put it past him.
Would he do that, though?
Any guy with anything other than rocks for brains ought to know they should be afraid of someone better swooping in and stealing you in a heartbeat if they could.
Dane’s words echo in my head and sear my chest, and an alarming amount of disappointment overwhelms me in the seconds that follow.
Before I can spiral any further, Lilian interrupts my train of thought.
“You need to steer clear of him.” Genuine worry floods her eyes when I reluctantly find her gaze. “The guy is bad news, Reese.” She pauses, then releases a shaky breath. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of him.”
An influx of emotions swells in my throat, and I force my lips into a soothing smile. “Don’t worry about Dane.” Before she can cut me off, I continue. “He was just messing around. He… wasn’t serious.”
She allows herself a quiet sigh and scrubs her hands down her face. “God, I hope so.”
I know so . Something inside me deflates, and I struggle to ignore my heart as it hopelessly clings to the idea that maybe, just maybe , Dane wasn’t messing with me.