Page 75 of Fragile

“I’m crap at card games,” I say, leaning closer as we reach my dorm. “But I’m really good at other things, you know, sexy things. So maybe we should start there instead?” Wiggling my eyebrow, I swipe my keycard at the door.

As we step into the dimly lit hallway, the sounds of other students echoing faintly in the background, and I can tell she’s on edge. She has been since the scrapbook club.

“Jay knows,” she blurts, as we round the corner to my room.

I flick my eyes down to her, wondering what she’s feeling. “He figured it out?”

She nods. “Pretty much.” Pausing, she looks down at her shoes. “I want to tell my brother, but I…” Her eyes meet mine hesitantly. “I like having you to myself.”

Stopping in the hallway, I know I’m playing with fire here out in the open, testing to see how far she’ll go before she panics. I pull her into me, her head immediately tilting to look up at me. Those green eyes glisten against the luminescent lights above us. “I’m ready when you are. I don’t love lying to my best friend, but I can’t deny that I’m a little scared too. Plus, I don’t hate all this sneaking around. It is kind of hot.”

She smiles, before I press a kiss to her forehead, not wanting to push her much more. Holding her this close is a big deal anyway, as any of my teammates could be out here.

I’m not lying when I say I’m scared. Seb jokes about none of us in the group being good enough for her, but has he really thought that through? Does he mean that? Would he really feel so badly that me, the guy who’s known and protected her most of her life, would want her like I do?

“Maybe Seb will just figure it out like Jay did,” she says casually as head up the stairwell.

Then, I remember the conversation I had with Jay and a very unhelpful Hudson a while back, knowing that probably tipped him off. “I, maybe, sort of, spoke to Jay about this girl I liked a while back.”

“A girl?” she asks, stumbling up the last step.

She rights herself, getting to the top step, and I grasp her wrist, stopping her from going further, pulling her back to my front. “It was you. I was talking about you. I didn’t know how to express everything. I know I’m still not very good at it.” Walking us forward, I feel her body relax in my arms, and I relax too. “I don’t think Jay will out us. So, when we’re ready to say something, it should be to your brother first.”

She hums her agreement.

I reach out and softly tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger near her cheek. Taking a small step closer, our bodies almost touching, I meet her gaze with a steady, reassuring look. “I’m ready when you are, Queenie.” I repeat my words from earlier, meaning every syllable.

We reach my room, and she pauses before opening the door. “You know, we could always skip the movie,” she suggests, her voice sweet and sultry.

“And miss out on another terrible rom-com, or have you scared and jumping into my lap with a horror film? Not a chance,” I say, dipping my head to kiss her jaw quickly as I push the keycard again to my door, walking her backward into my room.

Smiling, I push the door open and motion for her to enter. She walks over to my bed, flopping down with a familiarity that makes my chest tighten. She’s wearing her cargo pants and plain cropped t-shirt that she looks so damn good in. What am I saying? Quinn looks good in everything. She always has.

“I may have brought our favorites. Even if we don’t eat them tonight, I’ll leave them here for next time.” She opens her totebag on the ground and pulls out popcorn and gummy worms. Watching her open the candy, she offers the first one to me, and I don’t even think before I dive in, capturing it with my mouth, my tongue brushing against her fingers ever-so-slightly. Her breath hitches, eyes widening just for a second.

“Who said anything about not eating them tonight?” I hum. Licking my lips, I let the sweet raspberry flavor envelop my tongue. “Mm, so sweet. Pick a movie, Queenie,” I say, passing her the remote.

She chuckles as she leans back on the pillows, legs crossed, the hem of her t-shirt riding up higher, exposing that sliver of skin. She scrolls through the streaming options, her focus seemingly on the screen, but I can tell by the way her fingers hover over the buttons that her mind is elsewhere too. After a few seconds, she lands on some cheesy rom-com, that I’m sure we’ve watched before, but I can’t help but chuckle. “I thought we were going scary movie tonight?” I tease, jumping on the bed next to her, leaning in a little closer, so close that our shoulders brush, sending a jolt through me.

“You said I could pick,” she shoots back, but there’s a softness in her voice that makes my heart skip a beat.

“Fair enough.” I settle back against the pillows, but my hand lingers near hers, the temptation to close the distance between us almost unbearable.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and pulling it out, I see a message from my dad.

Dad

I need to talk to you, Miles. I’m tired of your excuses. I need to discuss some things with you, and I’m done waiting.

My throat dries like I’ve swallowed sawdust. I don’t want to deal with him. I’ve managed to ignore him for a while now, brushing him off with the fact that we’ve got finals coming up and I’ve been playing well. But I know I’ll have to figure all this out soon before it blows up in my face. Just not tonight. Tonight, I need my girl. I turn my phone off and push it away.

“Everything okay?” Quinn asks, staring at my discarded phone.

“Yeah. I don’t want distractions tonight,” I say, grabbing the remote and pressing play.

As the movie starts, the room falls into a comfortable silence, the flickering light from the screen casting shadows across her face. I can’t focus on the movie at all—my mind is entirely consumed by the feel of her beside me, the soft, sweet scent of her perfume, the way her breath hitches just slightly whenever I move a little closer.

Minutes tick by, and I can feel her stealing glances at me, just as I’m doing the same. Every accidental brush of our arms, every time our legs bump against each other, makes my blood rush through me, making it harder and harder to pretend I’m watching the movie.

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