Page 34 of The Grump I Loathe

“There could be. We should find out for sure,” Cassie looked elated by the idea.

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You should ask him,” she said. “Then you’ll know if we’re reading too much into it. Maybe it was harmless dancing?—”

I crossed my arms against my chest. It didn’t feel like harmless dancing.

“—but maybe,” Cassie gave me a wicked grin, “he wanted to do some horizontal dancing.”

“Oh my God,” I groaned, picking up my pillow to whack her.

Cassie giggled, holding her hands up to deflect. “You know what they say about answers. Ask and ye shall receive. So just text him!”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna do that. Get out.”

“Dooooit!” she insisted. “It’s late, so if he responds then you’ll know?—”

“Exactly,” I said, hauling her up by the arm. Connor wasn’t interested in me like that, and I couldn’t be interested in him. “It’s late, and we both have to work tomorrow. I will see you in the morning.”

“Boo,” Cassie said, pouting as I escorted her to the door. “I want to know what he says.”

“I’m not texting him.” I pushed her into the hall. “Goodnight. Drink some water.”

“Fine! Don’t listen to my good ideas.” She sighed dramatically and stomped down the hall.

I closed my door, flopping down on my bed as a surge of…somethingflashed through me.Text him?Honestly, it was ridiculous. I closed my eyes, trying to wind down and clear my head, but my dress was itchy and my thoughts kept drifting back to those hot, sweaty moments on the dance floor, in his arms, when it felt like the entire world had narrowed to the two of us.

I remembered the way his eyes drank me in, his stare intense as his hands fisted in my dress. I remembered the feel of muscle as my back pressed against his broad chest, and it almost made me dizzy. An insistent pulse started between my legs.

I groaned, sitting up and looking for my phone.

Stupid idea.

I grabbed it from my desk, my eyes landing on the employee contract. There was an “in case of emergencies” contact page. Leigh’s number was in there. Darius’s.Connor’s.

Stupid. This was stupid.

And this certainly wasn’t an emergency. I bit my lip, flipped open the contract to the contact page, and entered the number into my phone.

Hey, I wrote.It’s Eddie.

I sent the message before I could talk myself out of it. Maybe Cassie was right. If he texted back tonight…maybe that would prove he was thinking about me, too. Maybe he was trying to figure out what had happened tonight. Maybe we could work it out together.

I started typing, then deleted it. What did I say now? I had to be subtle—if I’d read him wrong, I didn’t want to end up looking like an idiot. I locked in on something work related.

Had a thought about proposing a companion NPC. I think it’ll be a good way to deliver dialogue lines in sequences when Juni is alone. Maybe a little animal or something she befriends on the ship.

I released a pent-up breath and lay on my bed, contemplating my entire life, my heart pounding against his ribs. If he responded tomorrow, that meant he’d fallen asleep, and tonight didn’t mean anything. Right?

My phone buzzed against my chest. My pulse kicked up as I glanced at it. Holy shit!Is this your way of trying to work Mr. Cheesers into the game?

I mean, I was going to put the exact type of animal to a vote, but if you insist.I added a winky face.

Are you really texting me about rats this late?

I do my best work in the middle of the night.Had I meant for that to have a double meaning? No. Did it? Maybe—if he read between the lines.

Why am I not surprised?