Page 123 of From Now On

One corner of his mouth curves up. “I’ve got a good poker face, Eve. Doesn’t mean I miss anything.” He reaches out, twisting the laces of my Converse around his thumb. One of his fingers brushes my ankle, sending shockwaves across my skin. “You having fun?”

“More, now.”

“Good answer.” Hunter reaches out with his other hand, taking the cup I’m holding. He sniffs the cup’s contents. “I’ve never seen you drink beer.”

“It took me ten minutes to fight my way to the keg. No way was I looking for anything else.”

“Want me to get you—crap.” The laces he was playing with unknotted.

Hunter lifts my cup, clutching it between his teeth so his hands are free, and deftly reties the knot.

It’s hotter than watching him change a tire was. Because he’s not looking after his car; he’s taking care of me.

I slip off the railing and close the short distance between us. People are staring at us—at Hunter, rather—and that would normally make me uncomfortable. But his attention on me is too consuming. It’s like blinders, blocking out everything else I’d normally be aware of.

“Did Clayton tell you I was here?” I ask.

“Mm-hmm.” I’m standing close, but he tugs me even closer until I’m standing between his spread thighs. His hands slip under the hem of my shirt, palming my lower back possessively. More shivers dance along my nerve endings, raising goose bumps on my skin.

“You told him about me,” I state.

Since Hunter’s half sitting, leaning against the railing, the height difference between us is several inches shorter. Blue eyes hold my gaze as he nods. “Yeah. I did.”

I smile. “I like that you did that. I like that you’re here.”

“I would have been here sooner, ifyou’dtexted me.” His tone is teasing. But there’s an unspoken question in it too.

“I wanted to add this to my fuck-it list. I’d never gone to a party alone before. Also, I don’t have your number.”

His thumb draws a tiny circle on my back. “Yeah, you do. I wrote it on your sketchbook before I left last night. It’s on your desk.”

“Oh. I, uh, I didn’t see it.”

I’m pretty sure I dumped a load of clean laundry on my desk, actually. I need to clean my room again.

“I should’ve just texted you. I got your number from Conor, but I wasn’t sure what to say.”

His honesty is refreshing. It’s reassuring to realize I’m not the only uncertain one.

“‘Hi, Eve. It’s Hunter’ would have worked,” I tell him.

He chuckles. “Yeah. I was attempting to come up with something alittlemore memorable than that.”

He was honest; I decide to be the same. “Anythingyou sent me would have been memorable, Hunter.”

“That’s good to know.” The corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles. His hands are still roaming my lower back, the sensation distracting enough that I have to force myself to focus. “You want something else to drink?”

I glance at the cup I abandoned by my former spot. “I think I’m good. I mostly was just sipping to look busy since I showed up alone and my phone is dead.”

He frowns. “You came to a party without a phone?”

“I didn’t realize it was dead until I got here, but yeah. I usually charge it overnight, but…”

Some of the concern evaporates from his expression. Worry forme, I realize. “So it was my fault?”

“Pretty much. If you were bad in bed, I’d have remembered to charge it.”

He laughs. It’s tenfold the thrill of a full smile, like a straight shot of adrenaline. “So your lack of a working phone means you’re admitting I’m good in bed?”

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