Page 64 of Dared

I felt his lips against my ear. “You know what I was talking to that girl about?”

“No.”

“You,” he breathed, punctuating the word with a soft kiss.

My body froze in place. “What?”

His thumbs caressed my hips before tapping lightly, and I took the hint, rolling my hips back in the lazy grind we’d fallen into.

“Yeah. I guess you didn’t see, but I was talking to Charlie before that, and he mentioned that dance I did at Sanctuary, and, yeah…I got talked into doing a demonstration. Asha asked where I got my moves, and I told her all about how you taught me the dance and how you were an amazing teacher if you could make someone like me look good. Then, I told her how talented you were and how you could do anything you put your mind to.” He huffed out a laugh against my skin. “Honestly, I think she got the impression I was obsessed with you. Although I guess I am your biggest fanboy, huh?”

I was warm all over, overflowing with it, happiness spilling out of me. This man. What was I supposed to say in response to that, other than I was so fucking grateful to have a friend like Finn?

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was one in a million.

I loved him.

Whoa. Wait a minute.

I loved him.

24

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

I stopped in my pacing to see Sam Payne, one of my classmates, leaning back against the computer lab’s door frame with a relieved grin stretching across his face. Sam was one of the few guys I interacted with in my computing classes, and— Oh, fuck. He was kind of a friend, wasn’t he? Why was I so bad at recognising the signs? Why did I always think the worst of myself?

“Your group presentation?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep last night, worrying about it, but it went well, I think.”

“Youcouldn’t sleep?”

There must’ve been something in my voice because his brows rose. “Yeah, isn’t that a normal thing when you’re stressed about something?”

Maybe it was. “Uh…me too. I couldn’t sleep, I mean.”

“You’ll be fine. It’s honestly not as bad as you think.” He pushed off the desk. “Good luck. You’ve got this.”

I hoped with everything in me that he was right.

Connor and Niall entered the computer lab, closely followed by?—

“Finn?”

He came straight up to me, pulling me into a hug. “Don’t sound so surprised to see me. I wouldn’t miss this.”

“But—”

“But nothing. I’m here to support my best friend.”

I love you.

I didn’t say it aloud, but I wanted to, so badly.

“Thanks for being here,” I said instead, burying my face in the crook of his neck and breathing in his spiced apple scent. My heart rate slowed straight away, his calming presence surrounding me. Last night, I’d decided to spend it apart from him, instead choosing to stay up late with Connor and Niall, going through every aspect of our project, the three of us quizzing one another until we knew the material inside out. Finn had texted me in the morning to wish me luck, but I knew he was supposed to be in a lecture right now. It hadn’t occurred to me he’d come here instead.

But it should have, because of course he would. Because he was Finn Carsley.

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