Page 103 of Caught Stealing

Holden smirks as he slides through the opening and steps into my room. “No, but Iamrescuing you from a lame and boring night.” His eyes shift over to my laptop and he frowns. “But I take it you weren’t watching porn, after all.”

Jesus Christ.

“Why would I need porn when I’m sleeping with you?”

A thoughtful look crosses his face before he nods. “Fair point.”

He kicks off his shoes and pads over to the door before clicking the lock in place. Then he drops to my bed, making himself comfortable, and it only adds to my confusion about why he’s here.

“I thought you said you were rescuing me?”

His brow arches playfully as he settles in amongst the pillows on my bed. “Yeah, I am. From having a lonely night here all by yourself when you could have a date-night-in instead.”

“So you’re not trying to drag me out into society right now?”

“I’m capable of being low-key too, you know. We don’t need to go allFight Clubat a concert every date night to keep things spicy.”

“There will be no spice, and you have to be quiet,” I tell him with a pointed stare. “Kason’s down the hall.”

“Fine, then get over here,” he whispers, motioning to the bed. “We’re gonna Netflix and chill. But without the chill, since you insist on living up to your reputation as a human chastity belt.”

I roll my lips inward to keep from laughing too loud as I cross over to the bed.

This guy.

Something about him lightens the air around me. Makes me feel like I can breathe again, even through all the shit plaguing my thoughts.

As quickly and quietly as I can, I climb in beside him and situate the laptop between us. Which Holden seemingly has a problem with since he grabs it, puts it over to his other side, and drags me toward him until my head is resting on his pec.

“So you’re a cuddler, huh?” I murmur before wrapping my arm around his waist.

“Just with you,” he whispers, his eyes still on the screen while he hits play. “But don’t let it go to your head.”

Except it does. Every time he says something sweet or even a bit corny, it sends my head straight into the clouds, at the same time vines of barbed wire wrap around my heart.

We settle in after that, silently watching a few episodes of the craziest friend group to ever grace television. His calm breathing and steady heartbeat beneath my ear ease some of the tension coiled inside me like a snake, and the deep rumble of his chuckles creates more butterflies in the pit of my stomach.

And it’s being wrapped up together like this that brings the sense of peace I’ve been craving all week.

Holden presses a kiss to the top of my head halfway through our fourth episode before shifting his position, sliding down flat on the mattress and rolling to his side to face me.

“You’re bored already?”

“A little.” A small smile works its way on his lips. “But in my defense, the show is older than we are.”

My mouth drops open. “It’s a classic.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s good,” he murmurs, and from the way his lips quiver, he’s just trying to poke fun. A feeble judgment call on his part, especially since it happens to be my favorite show of all time. But regardless, I slide down lower too and mirror his position, only for him to make my stomach somersault when he drags me straight into his chest.

My eyes sink closed, and I let the steady thud of his heart ease the rapid beating of mine.

His fingers dance up and down my spine in relaxed, soothing patterns that could very well put me to sleep if he didn’t bury his nose in my hair and whisper, “Where have you been lately?”

“Gym, practice, class—”

“Not what I meant, Nix,” he murmurs. His hand reaches up and he rakes his fingers gently through my hair a few times before lightly tapping the index one against my temple. “I mean in here.”

My throat constricts, the question taking me more off guard than anything. He never fails to surprise me with how much he notices. All the little ticks or quirks or comments that no one else ever picks up on, he does.

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