Page 35 of Perfect Score

He lets out a chuckle. “Didn’t we take the same anatomy class junior year? Do you need me to explain arousal and blood flow?”

I cover my face to hide the very obvious blush that’s about to bloom on my cheeks.

“No… I guess I didn't meanhow. I suppose I meant,whydid it get hard for me?” I ask, meeting his eyes again.

Though this conversation makes me want to squirm out of here as quickly as possible, I also know that this is the most honest he and I have been with each other in years—maybe ever.

I need to see how far this honesty will go and if he’ll finally tell me why he ditched me at prom. Or at the very least, why he even bothered to ask me to go with him at all.

“Because you're gorgeous and because I’ve thought about having you in my lap for as long as I've known you."

He has?

My pulse kicks up and there's a warmth low in my belly at his admission.

I bite down on my lip at the thought that Brent was attracted to me back then and I had no idea.

It’s a little hard to imagine but I don’t think he would lie to me about this. He could have just chalked it up to, “I’m a guy… I have no control over it,”and I would have accepted that explanation.

“When you say you’ve thought about having me in your lap… do you mean present or past tense?” I ask, going for broke at this point.

I’ve never been brave enough to be this open with Brent before but something about this protected space in the elevator where it’s just me and him, makes me feel a sense of urgency to get all my questions out before this moment of courage fades again.

The elevator door dings and opens but Brent steps forward and hits the "close" button. The elevator doors close again, sealing up back inside and then turns back to me.

“I think you’ve used up all your follow-up questions. It’s your turn to answer my question.”

I run my hand up the side of my arm and let out a sigh. Being this honest with Brent is hard but it’s only fair, and now that I know he was at least physically attracted to me at one point during our years together, I feel a little less self-conscious about the bold plans I'd made for us and that hotel room.

“I asked Abigail to reserve a room for us since I wasn’t old enough to book it myself," I admit, tucking my hair behind my ear and stare down at the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he says softly.

“What difference would it have made? Would I have been worth taking to prom if you knew I was planning on putting out for you?” I say, a little bitter at the thought now.

Now I’m glad I didn’t tell him about the room beforehand. My embarrassment could have been exponentially worse. Then Liam and I might not have gotten back together that next morning if he knew that I had slept with his best friend the night before.

“It would have changed everything," he says, stepping closer. "I wouldn’t have let you go after that without a fight."

“Without a fight?” I ask, looking up at him.

But then the doors to the elevator open and Liam walks up like he’s about to enter the elevator until he’s startled to see us.

He wasn’t expecting us to be standing in an elevator that hasn’t moved in the last ten or so minutes.

There’s an awkward moment between the three of us that lasts only a second until Liam speaks up.

Liam doesn’t enter the elevator. Instead, he stands outside of it with his hand against the side of the door to make sure it doesn’t close with Brent and me inside.

“I was just dropping Shelby off in the room. She doesn’t feel well,” he says, his eyes only on me.

He doesn’t bother to look at Brent at all.

I just nod and Brent doesn’t say a word. Do we get out now and still head to our suite on this floor or do we go back downstairs with Liam?

“I’m glad I bumped into you. Can I borrow you for a minute?” Liam asks me.

I say yes as Brent says no at exactly the same time.

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