Page 69 of The Heir

“I know, but I wanted to give this to you. I have wanted to give this to you for a long time.” We'd been outside for a while, and I could hear the sounds of a slow song coming on. “Would you liketo dance?” he asked, standing up, fixing his jacket, and stuffing the little velvet bag into his pocket again.

“Sure,” I stood, and he took my hand into his.

We walked back into the gym, and he pulled me right into his arms, very close. As we danced, I placed my head upon his chest. He led me about the dance floor, slowly, and I was able to observe all the other couples in the room. I had yet to see Ash, and wondered where she was. Everyone was kissing, it seemed to me. I felt a tinge of sadness because I wished I could have been kissing Shad right then, too. I was falling for him, and I was falling hard. That was clear. I moved my head from his chest and looked at him again. He smiled down at me and brushed his nose with mine. Being so close to him clouded my judgment, and I quickly stood on my tiptoes to close the distance between our lips. He was too quick and pulled back before our lips could meet. I dropped my gaze, hiding the shame that washed over my face in a bright crimson.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Shad. I seriously wasn’t even thinking. This song and all these people dancing, I think it got to my head.” I wanted to scream at myself out loud; someone needed to dump a cold bucket of water over my head. He lifted up my chin so our eyes could meet.

“No sorry necessary, but this isn’t the ideal location for a first kiss, now is it? I can do a lot better than that.” His face held a different emotion, one that I had not seen before.

Is that desire?

His eyes were so close to mine, and I wanted to drown in them. Seriously, I was losing my mind.

“So you think we are going to have a first kiss?” I asked softly.

“Yes, and a second, third, and so on,” he answered rather quickly.

“But you didn’t–are you upset I just tried to kiss you?” I asked, hoping he would disagree, but my humiliation got the better ofme and I kept speaking. “We can still be friends, right? It does not have to change things–”

“Yes, Emma, I will always want to be your friend,” his voice low and deep.

“Shad I—”I am an idiot and want more with you than friendship. I am just an idiot who cannot speak.

He touched a finger to my lips.“Let’s get out of here.”

I only nodded.

He pulled me along as we moved through the many distracted couples and out of the gym. We walked through the school at an incredibly fast pace. Shad opened his car door for me and then closed it after I got in. Once buckled, he sped off.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” I laughed.

“No hurry,” he said, leaning back in his seat and finding my hand.

I think I am falling for you! Kiss me!I need you to kiss me now, please—before I fall off the face of the earth! But, I am so scared of you. If I let myself fall in love with you, what if you leave me, too, like my parents, or even become distant like Ryker is now? Is that what love is? People care about you, and you them, but it never really lasts?If I had been brave, I would have actually spoken some of my feelings and my thoughts out loud, but I wasn’t.

He sat there, looking at the steering wheel, while stopped at a red light.

“Are you okay?” I asked, looking at him, confused. “Shad?”

“What?” he returned, shaking his head. “Oh, yes, I am fine.” The light turned green, and as we drove to my house, it was still dead silent between us. The conversation we had at the dance was becoming more and more like a dream to me, fantasy instead of reality. I pulled at the crystal on the necklace he’d given me, and I felt a little more confident that he, at the very least,likedme.

He parked at the curb in front of my house and put his keys into his pocket. We made our way up my driveway, and before we even reached the porch steps, he pulled me into his arms and gave me a hug. We stood there for a moment, our hearts beating as one, and his song played in my head. It was soft and was so faint; I could barely hear it. As I hummed along with it in my head, it grew louder.

He lifted up my chin so that I was looking at him, and he smiled a very wide smile. His eyes were so golden and so full of what seemed to be warmth and light and happiness, and I wanted all of it.

“You are not at all what I thought you would be like,” he said.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he added, pulling away quickly and taking my hand.

If he liked me, which it really seemed like he did, why hadn’t he kissed me yet? Was he waiting for some perfect moment?Because hello, now is pretty perfect. If we are more than friends, please, kiss me, now!I screamed in my head.

As we reached the front steps of my house and then walked slowly up them, our conversation stopped.This is it—either he is going to kiss me here on my porch tonight, or tonight's not the night.I stood in front of him and looked down at my feet.

“So, I guess I will see you at school tomorrow?” I finally broke the silence, looking up at him.

He had let go of my hand, and both of his hands were in his pockets.

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