Page 72 of Before I Loved You

“I always watch scary movies, so I want to watch something different tonight.” She pulls the blanket up higher on her waist.

“You do?”

“Yeah.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I can’t explain it, but those movies are like comfort movies. Like It, Halloween, Sleepy Hollow.” She looks lost in thought when she says, “It’s probably because Halloween was…is my mom’s favorite holiday.” She gazes over at me. “You think I’m weird. Don’t you?”

My lips curve up as I shake my head. She’s worried I’m going to think she’s weird when I was worried she was going to think I’m weird. “No, not at all.” As she turns her eyes toward the screen, I say, “So, my buddy Will told me you were at my game the other night. Heard you had special seats.”

She subtly shakes her head, pursing her lips. “Nope. He must have me confused with another girl who wanted to watch you play.”

I rub a hand over my face, laughing. “Why can’t you just admit you went to my game?”

She sighs, tossing her hands in the air. “Fine. I went to your game. Happy?”

“Why did you go?”

She looks down at the remote in her head. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

I let out a deep breath. “Can we cut the crap, Sarah?”

Her eyes shoot up to mine, widening.

“We both like each other. Probably more than like each other. And I’m tired of dancing around this thing we have going on.”

She bites down hard on her lip, her brows pinching together in concentration. “You shouldn’t like me.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t know, we’re just…different.” She looks away from me. “You’re this gorgeous basketball god that all the girls at this school fawn over, and I’m just…me. I’m nobody.”

I reach out for her, gently tilting her chin toward me. “Hey, you’re right. I am a gorgeous basketball god,” I tease, making her scowl.

“You’re a real piece of work.” She nudges my arm with her shoulder but eventually lets out a little laugh. She turns to face me. “You seemed kind of tense when you first got home. Bad day?”

I know she’s deflecting, hoping I forget what we were just talking about and I’ll give her a few seconds to think that.

But only a few seconds.

“Yeah, kind of. Just a lot on my mind.” My fingers push back her hair, combing through the silky strands. “But it’s a lot better now.”

She blushes, easing into my touch.

“So, you going to tell me the real reason why you aren’t going home for Thanksgiving break?” I ask. “Because I know you didn’t give Natalie the honest one.”

She tenses, withdrawing from me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her against me. “We don’t have to talk about it, but I’m not okay with you spending the holiday alone.” I twirl a piece of her long, dark hair between my fingers. “You’re coming to my house for Thanksgiving.”

“W-what?” She laughs nervously. “I am not coming to your house for Thanksgiving.”

“And why not?”

“Because…” She fiddles with the blanket on her lap. “Because we barely know each other.”

I arch a brow. “You’ve come multiple times on my cock. I would say you know me much more intimately than most people do.”

Her cheeks blaze in a red hue. “You know what I mean.”

“All right.” I shrug. “My favorite color is green, my favorite season is winter, I have a lightsaber collection, I’m not big about going out and being with crowds, but I do like to read, and I’ve read every Harry Potter book five times. I have two brothers and I’m the middle child, I drink only iced coffee no matter what the temperature outside is, I’d like to get a dog someday, I can’t cook for shit but I’m really good at ordering food, I’m basically a Ping-Pong pro, and I like you.”

---