Page 59 of Fire

And he might not be wrong to feel that way.

“I don’t know what to say.” I chew my bottom lip. “This is…”

Generous.

Kind.

Way too much.

“You look mad.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“You didn’t need to spend this kind of money on me, especially when we don’t know how long I’ll be living here. I’ve got that job, which means an apartment is just around the corner…”

Micah’s shoulder slump. His smile disintegrates. His heavy sigh fills the room, and he lifts a hand only to let it drop to his side while he shakes his head.

“But thank you,” I hurry to add. “This is incredibly thoughtful of you.”

Micah’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Well, you know, what are friends for?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ivy

Thunder rolls low and ominous as I slide into bed. I tell myself I don’t mind, but the shock of lightning chases the thought right out of my head.

I mind.

I definitely mind.

No matter how hard I tried to outgrow such a childish fear, storms scare me to death.

Wind buffets the window and I clap my hands over my ears, which works, until lightning illuminates the room, with a crack of thunder that rattles my bones. Whimpering, I burrow deeper into my pillows. Micah is downstairs in his room. In the past, he’d wrap his arms around me during a storm. He’d promise everything would be okay and I trusted him enough to believe it. I’ve always felt safer with him.

Then…

…and now.

Rain ricochets off the windows and that’s it. The last straw. I wrap a blanket around me like a piece of armor and swing my legs off the bed.

I’ll go to Micah’s room, just until the storm is over. That shouldn’t be too much of an overstep. We’re not dating. Basically, we’re two friends, raising a kid together. And friends take care of each other when they’re scared. Right?

Only, I’m fully aware that if I go to Micah’s room, I’ll be sliding into bed with him. I’ll tuck myself against his rock-hard body and let him soothe me and who’s to say what will happen next. Because we’re also two friends with a hell of a lot of history and—

“Damn it,” I mutter, flopping back onto my pillow. I can’t go to him. It’d be a total annihilation of the boundaries I’ve worked so hard to build. Our one-time thing will become a two-time thing and then what? I prove Julian right? That’s the last thing I want.

I yank the covers over my head. “It’s just a storm, Ivy. People have been surviving them for thousands of years.”

A sound at the door catches my attention. I peek out from under the covers, listening. Just as I convince myself there’s nothing to hear but rain and my imminent death, the door cracks open.

“Nell?” I’ve done my best to hide my fear of storms from her, in case phobias are contagious, but if she walks into this room, the gig is up. There’s no hiding that I’m scared out of my mind.

“It’s me, Ives.” Micah’s deep voice instantly takes my nerves down a notch, then sends them back into the stratosphere. “Are you doing okay?”

This is my chance. I’ll tell him I’m fine and he’ll go back to his room and I won’t have to worry about ruining everything.

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