Chapter 20
What in my closet was dressy and casual?
I slid hanger after hanger across the pole.
I didn’t know where we were going, only that we were going to have dinner.
Why couldn’t Ni at least tell me how to dress?
I had a pair of black slacks for interviews, and I could pair them with a short-sleeved, emerald-green blouse.
I hadn’t even noticed the looks and whispering after the first few days; I was so caught up in Ni and our new relationship.
We walked together from class to class. Had lunch together.
Studied in the library. When I’d finally stopped to look at the reactions of those around me, the attention was there—but not as bad as I had assumed.
And honestly, some of that could just be the fact that Ni was actually dating someone.
I wriggled into the slacks and tied the ribbon at the neck of the blouse.
We’d been together for an entire month, and I still hadn’t told him I was in love with him.
We hadn’t even been on a formal date. I didn’t count him inviting me over to his dorm to finally vanquish the last boss in our Shadows of Forgotten Lords quest. That had been really fun!
Maddox being ShadowImp still spun my head as the huge guy pretended to be a silent assassin, and VerdantArcher had turned out to be one of Ni’s wingmen whom I’d seen in the bookstore the day he had asked me to the dance.
Neither had known who I was IRL. Ni played things close to the vest. Lin had gotten jealous when Maddox had become chatty and warmed up to me.
There’d been a bit of hero worship from him at first, which was crazy, since he was a close friend and roommate of the legendary player IvoryKnight.
I think it had something to do with the newness.
I French braided my hair, the same way I always did.
Some habits die hard. I wore black flats.
Thank goodness, he was only slightly taller than me.
It was a great excuse not to wear heels.
I applied a lavender-scented lotion to my arms. It made me think of Mom.
I shuddered. She still didn’t know I had a boyfriend.
I had no idea what I would tell her; she was still in her anti-men phase.
The doorbell rang. Lin answered the door, and Charisse sat on the couch, pouting. She was still a little upset that her Ni-guy was taken. I stopped in the entryway, spellbound.
He was sizzling in black slacks, a black button-up shirt with the top couple of buttons undone, and a black blazer.
I swallowed and knew at least Charisse was doing the same.
He was bootless. I think he’d been waiting for his leg to be mostly healed to take me out on this date.
Because shiny black dress shoes completed the ensemble.
I knew he was still doing physical therapy, and I was helping him massage his lower leg daily.
He held out a purple-wrapped bouquet. “You seemed to like them last time.”
I’d deny from now until the end of time that I still had the card from graduation tucked away in my desk. He’d just arrived, and my face was already aflame.
“No grape soda?” I asked, trying to diffuse the heat a little. My fingers brushed his as I grasped the flowers and hugged them close to smell their sweet fragrance. I’d been so jealous and so focused on IK that I’d thrown the first bouquet away. I was keeping this one.
“Not tonight. But you can have all of them in the future.” We might have stood there all night just looking at each other, if it weren’t for my two pseudo-moms.
“Here.” Lin tugged the bouquet from me. “I’ll put them in water. You guys go have a good time.”
Charisse must’ve forgiven me, because she dropped a black faux fur jacket over my shoulders. I was glad of it as we headed out into the cold evening.
The car was silent as he drove—no music—as if he were hoping one of us would say something, anything. “I wanted to make sure I matched whatever you wore.”
I was confused for a moment, then realized he meant the all-black ensemble. “It looks good.” He’d done the same thing for the dance. I folded my hands in my lap and tried not to fidget.
At the restaurant, I ordered a steak salad.
I needed everything bite-sized, so I didn’t choke on my nervousness, and a salad with meat was a suitable compromise between eating healthy and eating a substantial meal.
I didn’t want to look like a pig in front of him.
I mean, I’d eaten snacks and lunches with him, but this was a dinner date. An actual date. A date-date.
I was so nervous I wasn’t thinking straight.
With the formality of the restaurant, things were awkward, and we barely spoke during the meal, except for inane conversation about the food and the setting.
I didn’t remember any of it. I think the restaurant had been fancy.
I was pretty sure there’d been white tablecloths and napkins, with soft music in the background. But it was over in a flash.
We got to the car in the parking lot, loose bits crunching under my flats.
The night was dark and cool. This Halloween would be moonless.
He reached around me to open the door, like an old-fashioned gentleman.
But then stopped. Close. I breathed in his soap and the scent of his hair gel.
His arm trapped me. He turned to me, and I raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Can I...” His voice was hoarse, and his eyes locked onto my lips.
Those lips suddenly went dry, forcing me to wet them. I still couldn’t speak, so I nodded.
He caged me with his arms against the car and lowered his head inch by inch.
When I thought I couldn’t bear it any longer, his lips finally met mine.
They started out warm and soft, but the heat and pressure increased quickly.
His mouth opened as if he were going to consume me whole, and I responded.
I’d never been kissed before, but I followed his lead.
The kiss was like our first dance, but a million times more everything.
I felt like I was going to explode into a dozen pieces.
Ni broke away and leaned his forehead on mine. His warm expellations fanned across my face. We both slowly caught our breath, though my heart still pounded loudly.
“Well, that was more than I was expecting.” He chuckled, the vibrations running through me as we were still pressed against each other.
I laughed softly. Nervous energy spilled out with the sound. The cold metal dug into my back.
He stepped back and opened the door, waiting until I settled, then shut me in.
The dark silence gave me a few more moments to calm down while he circled the car and got in.
I was in big trouble. IK combined with Ni was like handling an explosive potion.
The question wasn’t if it would go off, but when.
Once we got back to Lin’s house, Ni stopped me on the porch.
“I have a present for you.”
I opened the small green box with a red bow that looked like it had been wrapped at a Christmas department store. Sitting on a velvet base was a pretty two-toned watch.
“Look on the back.”
I flipped it over and read the engraving: N + M—Your Knight Forever—3:27.
“What does 3:27 mean?”
“When I woke up in the hospital, you were the first thing I thought of, and I knew then that I was in love with you. So I made a memory and burned that time into my brain.”
He loved me. Though partial to princess movies, I suddenly understood how the Grinch had felt when his heart grew three sizes.
My chest felt about to burst, and my eyes watered.
I went up on tiptoe. With the box still in hand, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in.
He groaned against my lips. Our second kiss quickly got just as steamy as the last. He was too irresistible.
I pulled back and rested my forehead on his chest. His heart thundered against my ear.
Then, no longer able to hold back the flood, my sobs exploded through the dam, past the holes and cracks that I’d plugged for so long.
“Shh.” His hand caressed my back as I soaked his shirt.
“I was so broken-hearted when you didn’t show up that night.
And I wondered if I would talk to you again or ever get to meet you.
I had no one to talk to, and then you—Ni-you, wasn’t there with that smile I’d somehow come to rely on to brighten my day.
And when I found out you had been injured playing football, it made my imagination spiral, and I thought you—IK-you—had been in a car accident.
And my whole world was crashing down all because you were the same person. ”
“I’m so sorry.” He hugged me tight against him, lending me his warmth and strength.
He sighed in my ear. “I love being able to hold you.”
There was that word again. I sniffed several times and nuzzled against his chest. The buttons on his shirt got in the way of feeling the muscles beneath.
“I promise to do my best not to make you worry about me again. I won’t be playing football anymore, and I’ll make sure someone lets you know. I reamed out the guys when I realized that neither one had bothered to tell you. I mean, I know they were worried about me, but I was worried about you.”
I looked up into his molten-gray eyes. “Promise?”
Creases around his eyes smiled down at me. “I promise.”
“I love you.” I finally got the words out.
“I love you, too.” Then his mouth met mine again, stealing my breath away.