Page 42 of Obsession

“Oh.” Her face fell, her eyes dropping to her coffee mug.

“You should have someone inside.” Vander shrugged. “There will be too many people to follow her on cameras.”

The suggestion seemed strange, since he hadn’t wanted to protect her at first. Maybe her actions today were changing his opinion.

“I do have a plus one.” A smile spread across her face. It made the vice around my chest tighten. “You can be my date.”

Date?

My gut hardened. My hands shook, and I gripped the mug tighter. I kept my expression neutral, hoping she couldn’t see my fear.

I didn’t date. I’d tried back when I was still wishing I was normal. Still trying to be what I thought my father wanted. Then he’d died, and I’d stopped caring. My brothers had accepted me and I’d forgotten about anyone else.

My dates often went to the bathroom and disappeared. Or left with other men. Or called me a freak. And those were the good ones. I didn’t want Lark to do any of those things. I didn’t want her to leave me.

“It’ll be better for me to watch the feeds.” If they noticed the waver in my voice, they didn’t say anything. “Then I can run everyone through the facial recognition. We might be able to find out who’s trying to hurt you.”

Her mouth flattened. I hated putting that look on her face.

“Zara can do that.” Vander slapped me on the back again. Only this time he added a finger jab like he wanted me to pay attention. “It’s not like Zara can be her date.”

I swallowed the saliva on my tongue. It tasted like trepidation. Like bad decisions. But I was backed into a corner. And I couldn’t stand to see the sadness in Lark’s eyes.

I was starting to realize how far I’d go for her. I’d cut off my own hand if she needed one.

“I suppose not.” My nod was jerky at best. “Okay then. I’ll be your date.”

She closed the distance between us. Her breasts pressed softly in my arm. My entire body stilled. I had no idea if she was doing this on purpose, but I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want her to pull away.

Her soft voice coasted across my skin. “We’re going to have fun.”

My heart tripped over in my chest. She confused me. I wasn’t sure if this was a game. If she’d later tell me, it had all been a joke for her entertainment.

Touching herself to drive me crazy. So my obsession became unbearable. Talking about it. Making me think she wanted me to see.

Why would she want that? Did… did she like me? The possibility was insane. But it didn’t stop the hope from forming. Latching onto my skin until I knew it would never let go.

25

Lark

My fists tightened, resisting the urge to hurl the hairpin across the room. Sweat slid down my spine underneath my towel. Steam filled the bathroom, not making the situation better.

My chest rose with a frustrated breath. I pushed it out, trying to calm my frayed nerves. I’d been frantic since Nathan dropped me off an hour ago to get ready. Honestly, I’d been anxious all day.

Seeing him sitting in the corner of my classroom working had made it difficult to do my job. I kept stealing glances, hoping he was looking at me. But each time, his head was down, focused on his laptop.

The tension inside me grew because we hadn’t been able to talk since this morning. I still wasn’t sure how he’d felt about catching me on the cameras. Or why he’d been resistant to being my date tonight.

Maybe I’d been reading this whole thing wrong. Projecting my crush on him. And what I thought was his attraction to me was actually just my own attraction to him.

I groaned as I yanked the bedroom door open. I didn’t care if the cameras caught me in my towel. It was too damn hot in the bathroom. Anxiety about tonight only made my skin warmer.

I hated these events. The pretension. The fake congratulations. All the eyes judging. My parents always made me to feel like I had to be extra perfect because we were on the outside.

They might be the number one doctors in their company’s research department, but we still didn’t fit in. We weren’t white enough. Rich enough. Smart enough. No matter that, we all had doctorates. And money.

The need to please my parents was so engrained in me. It ran through my veins as surely as my blood did. It controlled my choices. In where I went to school. Where I worked. What I wore tonight.

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