Page 121 of Collided

I glare at her. “I don’t want a girl.”

“Well, good luck dyingsinglethen.” With a wink she abandons me.

A woman drops off my order. I take it back to our table and put it in front of Hope.

I sit down next to her, and she whispers, “You didn’t have to, Heath.”

Blood rushes through my veins and heats my skin. In a T-shirt, I’m sweating when the AC is working to its fullest. It’s happening just because she said my fucking name.

I gesture toward the food. “Eat.”

Hope smiles.

I finish my beer and see Sebastian and Marie grinning at me. I roll my eyes and check my phone to catch up on my emails and other work stuff. I like earning money so I can do things freely. One day I’m going to be as rich as my dad, and none of my wealth will be connected to his.

The music stops and Marie jumps up. “My turn! My turn!” Hurrying toward the jukebox she slides in the quarter. I know the song even before it starts playing.

‘Shut Up and Dance’ by WALK THE MOON pours out of the speakers. Marie’s favorite song that she’s played so many times I’ve gotten sick of it. Not Sebastian.

Sebastian joins her and they dance in the middle of the floor while laughing at each other. Their moves are absurd, and they look awkward in a group of people who at least know how to dance, but none of that shit matters to them.

Bodies close, and eyes locked, they’re lost in each other as the world around them fades away. It’s been exactly like that since they met each other. To them onlytheymatter and no one else.

“They’re so in love,” Hope says.

“Yeah.”

I can feel Hope’s gaze on me. “Do you believe in love?”

“I don’t.” Despite those words, I feel a weight on my chest, as if I’ve lied to her which is confusing.

I meet her gaze. “Do you?”

She shakes her head. “It only exists in books.”She’s lying.There’s a flicker of longing in her eyes as she watches our best friends.

“You’re a hopeless romantic. You’re supposed to believe in it,” I argue, wanting to dig deeper for God knows why.

She eats fries as if she’s stalling, but I wait for her.

“Idobelieve in love, but only when it’s in the fictional world. Love feels real and safe between the pages of a book.” With a sad smile, she adds, “Marie and Sebastian contradict my belief. I mean just look at them. They are in love, and it exists in the outside world.”

She stares at them, and I stare at her.

Her brown eyes are so beautiful when they’re filled with emotion, or the way the golden light of the bulbs in the bar gleams in her eyes.

I realize she steals every molecule of my breath and owns every beat of my heart.

I’ve never been enamored by a girl this fucking much.

At once she glances at me. Her lips part in surprise when she finds me notlooking at anyone but her. Clearly, she has no fucking idea what she does to me.

The black in her eyes dilates and a bright flush adorably covers her cheeks.

I can’t help myself as I lean down. I press my lips to her ear and pick up her hand from her lap.

My fingers find her pulse that’s fluttering under her warm skin. And fuck, she smells like a field of lavender. Lately, it’s become my favorite fucking scent.

“How many chapters have you read?”

---