Page 99 of Wicked Little Darling

I was so, so tempted to tell him.

If I ever found him.

I would have to lure him out of hiding somehow.

I decided to use the only weapon in my arsenal I could think of that might draw him to me: our project.

We’d worked on it here and there, but if we didn’t get going on it soon, we’d fall behind.

I was only fifty-fifty that he’d even respond, though. All my texts to him had gone unanswered, and my only consolation was that he’d been reading every single one.

So I kept sending them.

Me:

Where are you?

I cleaned up your side of the room. I’m thinking about taking it, actually. It’s not fair you get the window the whole time, you’ve hogged it long enough.

We can forget everything that happened, okay? You don’t need to avoid me like this.

As soon as the words were typed out and sent, my chest felt too tight, and I wanted to delete the message.

Fucking hell, I couldn’t forget a single second of what happened. Reese’s touch had been imprinted on my skin, seared into my psyche, and the enormity of how it all made me feel was too much to just lock away in a box.

Me:

Never mind, I lied. I honestly can’t forget any of that, they were some of the best moments of my life and I’d do all of it the exact same way if I was given a redo.

I don’t think you understand what you’ve done. You’ve created a monster, darling.

Fuck, Reese. Can’t you at least tell me if you’re okay? I know you’re reading these.

See, you read that.

And this one.

You’re still reading them.

When do you want to practice our duet? Class starts up again soon and I don’t want to fall behind.

Thatfinally got a response from him.

Tiger Darling:

Can you do today at four? I’ll reserve us a booth.

Me:

I can do anything you want

He didn’t respond again, but he read the message. I felt like him reading the messages was as good a response as any. It was like when he glared at me without saying anything. Those eyes of his communicated everything just fine.

And I was going to see those gorgeous eyes again soon.

Fuckingyes. Finally.

I practically skipped my way to the music building; I was so excited to practice with Reese that I got to the sound booth half an hour early. I had to wait while whoever was in there finished up, so I was sitting on the ground near the door when I spotted Reese coming down the hall. He had his backpack and his violin and an adorable sour expression on his face.