Page 228 of Collided

The longer I stare, the more I want to keep looking at her. She looks perfect tonight.

Marie appears behind her, looking like a model with her blonde hair set in unruly curls and perfect makeup. She's wearing something black… I don’t know and I don’t care. I can’t look at her when my eyes seem to be glued to someone else.

Sebastian approaches Hope and she smiles as they talk.

“Thank me,” Marie says to me as she stands beside me.

I give her a confused look. “For what?”

“The list is very long, but I’ll start with tonight.” Glancing at Hope, she turns to me with a smile. “I did her makeup and hair. I didn’t do much because she’s so beautiful—”

“She is.”

Marie smiles big. “—and kept everything minimal.”

I seek Hope’s attention but she’s busy chatting with my best friend. What the fuck are they talking about?

“Let me handle this.” Marie skips over to Sebastian. When he looks at her, he forgets about everything and eye-fucks her openly.

I’m about to yellget a fucking room. If I do, it’ll be a room in my house where I can hear them.

Hope stands in the corner, her eyes are fixed on a random spot on the floor as her fingers twiddle with each other—a nervous habit of hers that I find incredibly cute.

Without wasting a second more, I stride toward her. The moment she sees me, her eyes light up and a soft smile appears on her lips.

My stomach fills with creatures that jump around in excitement.Fucking butterflies.

There are three steps left between us, which is a fucking lot. I’d very much like there to be no distance between us, but her romance novel taught me boundaries are important. I want herto reach me. If not, then I’m fine with it, too. Just being this fucking close to her is enough.

She. Is. Enough.

“Hi,” she whispers.

“Hi,” I rasp.

She blushes.

My favorite shade of red paints her cheeks, and I’m a fucking goner.

Her red cheeks dosomethingto me. She can ask me to buy her all the books in the world and I’ll fucking buy them for her. Or she can ask me to read them to her and I’ll do it without hesitation.

She brings me to my fucking knees, and I’d gladly kneel in front of her.

Lifting her hand, she tries to push back her hair, but I catch her wrist.

“No, let it be. I like it,” I say.

Her eyes widen. “Okay.”

I feel her hand shiver in mine. I quickly engulf it in between my palms.

“Are you cold?”

She shakes her head.

“Scared?”

She shakes her head again.

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