Page 98 of The Haunting of Lockton

Me:OMG you are.

Paxton:It’s actually amazing. How dare you insult it.

I responded with the puking emoji with the green face.

Paxton:More for me then.

I stifled a laugh as he sent a row of pineapple and pizza emojis. Crazy how a simple text from him pulled me out of my low mood. He just made me feel… happy. I took a selfie of me making a silly face with a caption of “what I think of your nasty taste in pizza” and sent it to him.

Paxton:That’s your new contact pic.

Me:My new one? Does that mean you had one already?

Paxton:Maybe.

Me:What was it?

It showed that he’d read the message. The three dots moved as he typed, but then they stopped. I waited for a text to comethrough. Two minutes later, I was still waiting. Looked like I needed to jump in for the rescue.

Me:Did you sneak a pic of me in the shower? It’s okay if you did ;) let me know next time and I’ll even pose for you.

Paxton:Lol. No. It was the one of you eating the donut.

Dear god. The way my heart grew tiny wings and flapped up a storm. The donut selfie had just been me being a dork, but he’d saved it as my contact photo. Paxton might not have been as forward as me when it came to our relationship—or whatever this thing was called between us—but the small things added up. They were proof he felt the same as me, even back then.

Me:I need one of you to make this fair.

Paxton:You’re saying you haven’t taken a creepy stalker pic of me yet? Wow. You’re falling down on the job, Knox.

Another laugh rumbled in my chest, this one I couldn’t fully hold back.

I felt my smile falter as he then sent a selfie. His face was turned to the side just a smidgeon, and he peered at the camera in a sideward glance. The angle emphasized his long lashes and the profile of his lips. Lips that were curved a bit, not into a full smile, but almost. His pale skin contrasted with the dark auburn strands of his hair. And his eyes…god, his eyes… the light hit them dead center, bringing those warm pools of bourbon to life.

My fucking heart stopped.

Me:You’re beautiful.

I reclined on my bed and stared at the photo, then felt, well, like the creepy stalker he’d accused me of being and clicked out of it—but not before saving it first.

Paxton:Beautiful enough to convince you to eat pineapple on pizza?

I rasped a laugh and turned over, hiding my face in the pillow. My cheeks felt hot. So did my chest. The guy was seriously something. Something amazing. Special.

Something worth holding on to, at least for a while longer.

Chapter Fourteen

Paxton

“Will you please not watch me while I eat?”

Skyler curled his nose at my pizza and slouched forward in the booth, bringing us closer together. He then did a voice that sounded an awful like a certain feral creature fromLord of the Rings. “You ruins the precious.”

I choked.

“See? It’s so nasty that your body is literally trying to expel it.”

I laughed harder.