Page 27 of Bonding with the Beta

I nod.

She laughs again. “O-kay, good one, Kayden.”

The room turns to silence, and she wipes her eyes and looks up at me.

“Does it look like I’m joking?”

She analyses me for a long moment before her mouth falls open.

“Apparently not,” she whispers under her breath. “We’re not going on a date.”

“Why not?”

Kayleigh’s throat tenses as she presses a hand to her chest. “I don’t do dates.”

“There must be a reason,” I arch a brow.

She simply shakes her head. “No reason.”

Not after last time. You need to focus on yourself.

“Fine,” I rasp. “It doesn’t have to be a date. It can be a meet-up between friends.”

Kayleigh narrows her pretty, suspicious eyes at me. “We’re barely friends.”

“Sorry, am I not allowed to get to know you, Kayleigh?”

Her lashes brush her cheek when I say her name. “Depends what the reasoning is for.”

“For fun,” I state simply. “For letting your hair down since it looks like you need it.”

My eyes flick down to her mouth as she bites her bottom lip. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Remember the cheese toastie?”

“Okay.” She waves a hand in the air. “You don’t have to bring it up again.”

I hold my hand out to her. “Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in. If you change your mind and want to forget about all the essays and university work for a few hours, let me know.”

Kayleigh sighs and removes her phone before handing it over to me. “Why does this sound like a bad idea?”

I flash her a feral grin. “I don’t think you’ll regret it, Kayleigh.”

My fingers work over the screen before handing it back, and she looks at me with those big blue eyes full of curiosity. “I guess we’ll see.”

“I guess we will.” I wink.

10

KAYLEIGH

“Oh my God,” Evie gushes as she stares at me. “You look so cute.”

I press my hands down against my pink dress and grin. “Yeah, I feel pretty,” I admit. “I feel good.”

“Josh isn’t going to be able to keep his hands off you,” she says and winks.

My heart swells. I hope so. He’s been distant lately, but I’ve put it down to not spending quality time with each other. This should bring us closer again.

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