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“Then I guess I’ll remain here.” I smiled. “I’m a legal adult, so I can make whatever decision I want.”
“I never asked you—does it feel different?”
“Only when the gods of consent came down and told me I could do what I want.”
Alden rolled his eyes, but one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Yeah, yeah. You didn’t even see the real gods anyway. You can’t drink.”
I scrunched my nose. “Not that I want to. But no, it doesn’t feel different to me. Why do you ask? Do Ilookdifferent?”
“N-no.” He said it a little too slowly.
“Come on. You can admit it.”
The muscles in his neck tightened.
This conversation was charged in ways none of our previous ones had been. Even when we were both minors, I was too awkward, and he was too close to Nick to look twice at me.
But now it was just the two of us and anything could happen.
“You look like you’re ready for a good night.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “If you wanted to go hang out with the jocks, you could. I won’t tell anyone.”
My eyes stayed on him. “I’m good right here.” I tilted my head, the way Winnie told me looked best, andAlden’s gaze lingered on my neck for a second longer than usual.
“Your hair is curled today,” he said.
“I figured this was a special occasion. Do you like it?”
“It looks nice.” He said it lowly, in a voice I’d never heard before.
“I’m not used to it like this.” I swished it over my shoulder and his eyes followed the movement. “But maybe I’ll curl it more often.”
I waited for the moment that he would look away and pretend he never saw it. But his eyes stayed on me, and I would bask in every second of it.
I took a chance and stepped closer. In his space, I could see the stubble on his jaw and his dark-brown eyes. Christmas lights illuminated him, giving him an ethereal glow.
“You should try some of this.” I held up my cup of hot chocolate. “It’s delicious.”
His hand curled around mine for one second as he grabbed the drink. “Is this where you tell me it’s spiked?”
“Not this time. It’s just delicious chocolate and milk.”
He took a sip from the cup, mouth exactly where mine had been. I bit my lip as I watched him closely.
“It’s good.”
“You have a little on your—” I leaned forward to wipe it from his bottom lip, bringing us closer. His eyes closed as I grazed my thumb over his mouth and I let it linger for a few seconds longer.
My hand trailed to his shoulder. I waited for him tostep away and steer the conversation back to something casual.
He did not do that.
I should have gotten him away from Nickmuchsooner. This was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
My fingers pressed into the hard muscle. “You seem stressed.”
“Yeah, my finals weren’t easy this time, which makes no sense since I’m not in one of the fancy schools like you are. Plus, I have the added pressure of figuring out what the hell to do with my life when I graduate.”
“That sounds like a lot. Need to forget about it for a bit?”