Page 65 of Creatures of Chaos

Clearing his throat, he rubs the back of his neck. “Hey. I tried to check on you this morning but couldn’t get a hold of you.”

Suddenly shy, I duck my head, willing my face not to start heating. “My parents didn’t buy the story of me falling on a run. They confiscated my phone. I don’t get it back for a couple of weeks.”

Wincing, he nods. “That sucks.”

I look up at him and my stomach flips. Over the last several months I might have thought I caught him staring at me a time or two with a hint of longing, but I easily talked myself out of believing it. But now Becks’ emotions are reflected on his face, clear as day, and all the feelings and sensations from the night before come rushing to the surface.

“So, ah, how’s the hand?”

“Better.” Lifting it, I open and shut my fingers a few times as if to prove that it’s in working order.

I’m very aware of Ensley’s gaze ping-ponging between us. Becks has yet to even acknowledge her presence and I’m sure she thinks this interaction is kinda odd.

I clear my throat, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “So, um . . . did you sleep well last night?”

Groan. That was such a cringy thing to say. We got home so late that he, like me, probably didn’t even get any sleep. But I can’t take it back now.

The corners of Becks’ mouth twitch, but he manages to hold a straight face. “I had a decent night’s sleep.” He moves a little closer, and I’m hit with his delicious scent, vanilla with a hint of burnt cinnamon. “I had some pretty good dreams actually. How about you?”

“Me?”What were we talking about again?

He takes a half step forward, his voice dropping an octave and his gaze flickering to my mouth before jumping back to my eyes. “Did you have good dreams last night?”

“I, ah . . .” Did the temperature in the hall just jump a million degrees?

Reaching out, he lightly circles my bicep. He’s so close I have to tilt my head back to keep eye contact. “I wanted to talk to you about . . . things.”

Becks drinks in my features, looking like he’s memorizing each contour and slope of my face. I’ve never been looked at like that before, and in that moment I fall for him a little bit more. My worries about him not being into me anymore are swept away like dust particles in the wind and I just stare back, soaking up as much of him as I can.

I swallow. “Things?”

“Yes, whatthings?” Ensley asks, and I jerk my head in her direction to see her grinning at us with a smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat.

“Yo, Becks! You ready for Saturday?” comes another voice from behind Becks.

The spell is broken, and releasing my arm Becks turns away and toward one of his vodenball teammates, Tyler, who’s coming down the hall toward us.

Becks greets him with a quick nod. “Yeah. I’m ready for this weekend.”

“Sweet,” Tyler says and then slaps him on the back. “Wanna get in an extra practice later?”

“Yeah, sure. After classes?”

“Awesome. Let’s go find Owen and see if he’s in.”

Tyler takes off, fully expecting Becks to follow. With one last lingering look he says, “We’ll talk later,” and then takes off.

I watch him stride down the hall and disappear into the sea of bodies.

“So that’s it,” Ensley says, and when I look at her she’s still wearing that same maniacal smile. Looping her arm through mine, she drags me toward the nearest bathroom.

“That’s what?” I ask, playing stupid.

She shoots me a knowing look, and after she strongarms me into the bathroom she checks the stalls to make sure we are alone. Satisfied they’re clear, she turns toward me, a smirk on her face as she crosses her arms. “You and Becks totally locked lips.”

I stare at her in shock, sputtering nonsensical words before regaining some sort of composure. I can’t believe she just put it out there like that.

“What makes you say that?” I say, trying to keep it under wraps, but my friend knows me too well and can see a lie coming a mile away.

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