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How could I show him that what he did was more than enough? That I was so grateful for him always being there, even when I didn’t necessarily want him to be. It almost feltunfair that I had all this gratitude shining inside me and he was unwilling or unable to accept it.

I cupped the side of his face and gently turned it toward mine so that he had to look at me.

“Have you eaten yet? I’m guessing the cafeteria’s closed, but we could share another after hours snack together. Like old times.” I smirked playfully, even though “old times” was only just a week ago.

He looked at me with that steely gaze for a moment, then his sullen exterior finally cracked and he huffed a laugh. “Only if you load up on fish and seaweed.”

“Deal,” I said with a wide smile.

We both got to our feet, and to my mortified irritation, my legs were still a little wobbly. He gripped my hips with both hands to help stabilize me, but his intimate touch warmed me so thoroughly that it made my legs feel even more like noodles.

He arched a brow at me, a playful expression tugging his lips. “Do I need to carry you to the cafeteria?”

I rolled my eyes even while I slung my arm around his neck for support. “No, but just until I get some food, I’d appreciate a helping hand.”

He bit down on a smile. “You got it.”

Our gazes lingered for long seconds as he held me upright, his eyes drawing me in like magnets. And suddenly, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I leaned in and touched my lips to his. He held me tighter, his palm flattening against my lower back. It wasn’t heated and passionate like our kiss at the party. There was no anger or jealousy or possessiveness in this moment, but softer, more tender emotions that were just as raw.

Our mouths didn’t open, our tongues didn’t touch, and we let each other go at the same time, looking at each other for a long moment.

“Let’s go get you some food,” he said breathily.

I nodded, noting my own shortness of breath. How had such a chaste kiss taken both of our breaths away?

He walked me across the campus and into the main building. There were students in the great hall, but none of them paid us any attention as I hobbled with one arm slung over Tobias’s shoulders into the cafeteria. I was grateful for that. I had no patience for dealing with the gossip train tonight.

Just as I suspected, the cafeteria was empty, the buffet station closed up. Tobias escorted me to the kitchen, which was thankfully unlocked again, and he helped me to a chair up against the counter—the same chair I’d been sitting in when we first met.

He went about preparing various food items for us on plates and popping them in the microwave, then brought them to the counter and sat across from me, just like that first night.

I couldn’t help but smile. I’d had no idea then how much I would come to feel for this beautiful, stoic boy. Not that I really understood exactly how I felt about him now, but whatever these feelings were, they were deep. The kind that could be just as devastating as they were wonderful.

We ate our food in comfortable silence, our eyes meeting and locking for micro eternities intermittently as we chewed. I heard in a movie once that a real connection was being content to be quiet with someone for longer than five minutes. That’s what this felt like. I didn’t feel anxious or uncomfortable or need to fill the air between us with words.

I could sit in this moment with him forever.

Eventually, he looked down as if thinking hard about something, then looked back up at me with purpose in his eyes.

“Seeing as youdidn’tdie in the sim room,” he began with a chuckle that was meant to be playful.

I grimaced.

“Too soon?” he asked.

I pursed my lips. “Maybe. But continue.”

He hesitated a few seconds before going on, and it was kind of cute how timid he suddenly seemed. “I was wondering if you might consider having a proper meal with me tomorrow night. On purpose. Outside of the school.”

I blinked at him a few times, a smirk quirking the edges of my lips. “Are you asking me out on a…date?”

He smiled. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

I bit my lip to hide the fact that my breath was hitching in my throat. “And your friends won’t happen to be there, like the party?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Just the two of us. A proper date.”