Page 20 of Dared

Right?

“You did so good today. I’m really proud of you.” I lay back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The bed dipped, and Leo’s face appeared in my field of vision, his brows pulled together as he stared down at me. “What’s that voice for?”

“What voice?”

“Finn. Something’s wrong, and I want to know what it is. Did I do something wrong? Did something happen when I was helping Millie with her website?”

Fuck. How could I explain to him what I couldn’t even explain to myself?

Closing my eyes in the hope it would help me get the words out, I sighed. “It’s not that. I am proud of you. I want you to know that. It’s just that when Charlie invited everyone to the club and you said yes, it made me realise you didn’t need me anymore.”

“I—”

Fuck. My eyes flew open, and I reached up, covering his mouth. “Wait, no, let me finish. I know how fucked up that sounds. I don’t want you to have to need me, but I guess…I guess I like being needed or something. But I don’t want you to have to need me. Fuck. I just said that, didn’t I?”

“Finn.” His lips curved into a smile beneath my fingers. When I removed them, he raised his brows. “Hug?”

I nodded, stretching out my hand, and he collapsed onto his side next to me, slinging his arm across my stomach.

“I…I like being around you. I liked you being there today. It’s not that I need you, or you’re my security blanket, or I’m using you to make myself feel more confident. It’s that I know I have you in my corner. Supporting me. It gives me the strength to push myself out of my comfort zone. Okay, maybe I do need you.” He bit down on his lip, staring at me, before he moved closer, curling his body into mine.

His voice was muffled by the pillow when he spoke again. “I need you to be my friend and to push me. I need you to team up with me on our campaigns so we can get all the loot and XP. I need…”

He shot upright. “I need us to be a team. Or to keep being a team. Because we are a team, aren’t we? Equals?”

I looked at him, and then I reached up, pulling him back down to me. “We’re the best team. Hammerhead and his Viking. Who can stop us? No one on earth can possibly beat a sharkanda Viking.”

He laughed against my throat as I wrapped my arms around him, shifting so his torso was almost fully on top of me with his legs to the side, resting on the bed. I ran my hand down his back, and his fingers found their way into my hair, tugging lightly. I shivered.

His fingers immediately halted their movements. “Want me to stop?”

“No. It’s nice.” Sliding my hand into his hair, I twisted the strands between my fingers and pulled gently. “See?”

“Mmm.” His head rose, his eyes meeting mine. “Is it weird for us to be doing this?”

I shrugged, jostling him. “Sorry. Uh, maybe it’s weird, maybe it isn’t, but I don’t really care. Do you?”

“No. Just making sure.” He laid his head back down again, his nose pressing into the side of my throat. “Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“I know I’m supposed to be interested in Millie, but I don’t know if I am…I think…I don’t really know how to be attracted to someone. What if I’m broken?”

My jaw tightened. “Don’t ever think that. You’re not broken. There’s nothing wrong with you. Some people aren’t attracted to anyone, ever. I can’t remember the name, but it’s a thing, and it’s okay if it’s you. I promise there’s nothing wrong with you, Leo.”

“Oh,” he said quietly.

“Do you wanna skip the club?”

“No. I want to experience this. I want to go. With you. Just maybe…what if Millie wants to dance with me? Or more?”

“You’re a great dancer. But you know you don’t have to dance if you don’t want to. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You can say no.”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I want to try, though. I just don’t want to lead Millie on if I’m not interested. I mean, I guess I might be interested? I just… I’m not very good at recognising if I am or not. That probably makes no sense.”

“It does make sense. Just remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Ever.”

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