Page 111 of Stone Cold Touch

Two fingers suddenly pressed under my chin, forcing my gaze up to his face. The corners of his lips curled up as I flushed. “You were talking about going with me to the town house?”

“Oh. Yeah. That.” Important stuff that didn’t involve touching his stomach or anything like that. “It will be really productive.”

Zayne chuckled as he dropped his hand and returned to the bag. The way his muscles worked along his back and stomach as he threw punch after punch was truly fascinating.

I was sure if I sat here any longer and watched him, I’d turn into a puddle of goo on the mats, but I didn’t get up. This was better than looking through Tumblr posts of hot guys.

When he was finished, he swiped a fresh towel off the rack. I was pretty much still sitting on the mat with my tongue lolling out. He lowered the towel. “So, about the movies tomorrow...”

That was like having a bucket of ice water thrown in my face.

Reality sucked. I pushed to my feet, keeping my eyes trained on his sneaks. “Yeah, about that.” I exhaled slowly, working through the lump in my throat. “I guess I’ll text Stacey and let her know that the movie thing is a no-go for us—I mean, for me. There’s really no reason for me to go and it’s probably better that way, because it’s, like, Sam and Stacey’s first date and all.”

I started past Zayne, but he reached out, wrapping his arm around my waist. As he snagged me, the bare flesh of his arm connected with my stomach and I froze at the sudden intrusion of emotion. It was a tangled ball I wasn’t skilled enough at deciphering.

“Whoa,” he said, dragging me back so that I was right in front of him. He dropped his arm. “You don’t want to go anymore?”

“Well, I guess... I figured that after Thursday night and stuff, you wouldn’t want to go.” I stumbled over my words as though I’d just learned to speak yesterday. “And I completely understand that and—”

“Did I ever say to you that I’d changed my mind about tomorrow?” he asked, frowning.

“No, but—”

“But I never said that and as far as I knew we were still going.” He flipped the towel over his shoulder, watching me. “You didn’t change your mind. So we’re on.”

I gaped at him, wondering if I’d stared at his abs so hard that I’d given myself a stroke. “But why?”

“Why?” he repeated softly.

“Yeah. I... I screwed up. Big-time.” It seemed unnecessary to explain this. “Why would you want to go to the movies with me? Stacey and Sam are going to think that means something.”

His hand snapped out, catching my wrist and stopping me from fiddling with the hem of my shirt. “Do you think us going together means something?”

My tongue felt tied.

He lowered his head, his steady gaze searching mine. “Do youwantit to mean something?”

“Yes,” I whispered, and there was a whole lot of truth in that one word.

His hand slipped up my sleeve, curling around my elbow. “Then we’re going to the movies tomorrow.”

It sounded so simple, but I truly didn’t understand why he’d still want to. A small smile crossed Zayne’s face, as if he seemed to know what I was thinking, and the words sort of fell out of my mouth. “I don’t deserve you.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” He reached up with his other hand and tucked a pale escapee from my ponytail back behind my ear. “That’s where you’ve always been wrong. You deserve everything.”

Perhaps my priorities were all kinds of jacked up, but as I applied the finishing touch in the form of lip gloss, the Lilin, the wraiths and the difference I felt inside me were the furthest thing from my thoughts.

As I leaned back from the mirror in my bathroom, I took in my outfit with a critical eye. Stacey would say I needed to show more boob. The dark jeans were tight, paired with a loose white blouse cinched at the waist with a dark blue braided belt and the black heels that made me feel taller than the Lollipop Guild.

My hair was down, falling into loose waves and the pink sweeping across my cheeks told me there’d be no need for blush. My pulse was a steady thrum as I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. Was I really going out on a date with Zayne? Was this really happening? Excitement hummed through my blood, making Bambi all kinds of antsy, but there was a part of me that felt as if I was dreaming.

Never once had I thought this day would ever,everhappen.

I picked up the tube of mascara, wondering if another coat would make it look as though spiders had mated with my eyelashes.

“You look great. So stop messing around. We’re going to be late.”

I jumped at the sound of Zayne’s voice and dropped the mascara. The plastic tube clanged off the sink basin. He stood just inside my bedroom and the smile he wore made me feel as if I’d spotted a rainbow.

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