Page 66 of The Ruse

That was still up for debate. I was hiding in this bedroom for a reason.

“Just tell me one thing,” I said.

“Okay.” I heard him sigh through the door. After a short pause, he said, “You were wearing vanilla-sugar-flavored lip gloss when you kissed me last night.”

What?

“Now can you open the door?” he asked, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he’d just told me our kiss had registered enough in his mind for him to remember what kind of lip gloss I’d been wearing. “Please.”

I turned the lock on the doorknob and opened it. But instead of saying hi, or scolding him for scaring me, I asked, “Why did you choose that particular detail?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders as he stepped into the room. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt now and black-and-red plaid pajama bottoms. “I figured I was the only guy you kissed last night, so it seemed like something only I would know.” He leaned his back against the wall and looked at me. “I was the only guy you kissed last night, right?”

“Of course you were!” I said indignantly.

“Sorry if I offended you.” He held his hands up. “I was just trying to follow your instructions, and it really was the first thing I could think of that no one else would know.”

“No, it’s fine.” I walked to the side of the bed where I’d dropped my pillow on the floor earlier, picking it up and setting it down at the head of the king-sized bed. “I’m just on edge right now. I thought you were coming to murder me.”

His expression fell. “So you still believe those rumors about me?”

“No,” I said, realizing that I’d just hurt his feelings. “I mean, I might have been worried for a little while when we first got stuck here, but since you haven’t done anything yet, I’m telling myself that I’m safe.”

“Nice to know you have so much faith in me,” he said.

“Sorry.” I sighed as I sat on the edge of the bed. “I just mistook a pillow for an intruder upstairs, so I’m not exactly functioning at my best.”

“Well, if you want to give me a good pat-down to make sure I’m not hiding a butcher knife under my clothes, you have my permission.” He held his hands above his head, like people did in the movies.

For a split second, I pictured myself running my hands along his chest and sides like I was doing a sexy pat-down, but then I came to my senses. “No, it’s okay. I, um, I trust you.”

“Okay, good.” He lowered his hands, and my eyes lingered on the vein lines protruding from his forearms. All I could think of was how it was a shame he had to wear his long-sleeved school uniform so much because his arms were quite the works of art.

Seriously, Asher could have one of those social media accounts where all he had to do was stand and look into the camera with a sultry gaze, and he’d have millions of views and followers in a matter of hours.

He cleared his throat, and I realized I’d been staring at his arms for way longer than a normal person would.

“You done using your X-ray vision to see if I have any knives hiding beneath my shirt?” he asked.

“I wasn’t looking for a knife.”

“Oh, so you were just checking me out then.” A cocky smirk lifted his lips.

My face burned instantly. “I wasn’t checking you out.”

“You don’t think I know when someone is checking me out?” He arched an eyebrow. And of course, he would notice something like that. Hot guys thrived on their ability to turn heads and make people lose their train of thought.

“Anyway.” I rolled my eyes. “Why did you knock on my door?”

“Oh, that.” He rubbed his jawline with his fingers, as if suddenly embarrassed. “I just wanted to apologize for acting weird earlier.” He moved his hand to rub the back of his head, and I hated that my eyes instantly went to his bicep as it flexed with the movement. “I kind of have this thing where I always assume people don’t want to be around me, and so I got a little grouchy tonight when your call took so long.”

“I wasn’t trying to avoid you, if that’s what you thought,” I said.

In fact, it had been the opposite. If I hadn’t thought it was my mom calling me, I never would have gone upstairs to get my phone—I had wanted to hear what he’d been about to say.

I was still interested in his story and wanted to ask him to tell me more, but sadly, that moment was gone.

Hopefully, I’d have another chance to ask him about it later.

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