Page 85 of Caught Stealing

“Artist presale?” I ask with a laugh and a shake of my head. “You really are a closet emo, after all.”

“I just have good taste in music,” he says, brow lifted in a defiant way I find oddly sexy. Funny, seeing how a couple of months ago I would’ve only found it irritating instead.

“I don’t buy it. I think you’re afraid for the world to find out the golden retriever is really a black sheep.”

His lips quirk up in amusement. “Black sheep? Really? I think you’re projecting a bit there, Nix.”

“Mmm,” I hum while walking toward him. “And I think you’re just wearing a mask of the popular playboy when you’re really just as sad and lonely as the rest of us.”

He kicks a brow up, even more amused now. “Well, if that’s the case, I don’t feel very sad or lonely right now.”

God.I don’t know what to say or think when stuff like that comes outta his mouth. But I do know it makes my stomach twist and swirl with a strange feeling I can’t decipher.

As I approach, he slides his feet apart, leaving space for me to stand between his legs that I’m more than happy to occupy. My hands land on either side of his head, caging him in the way he has me so many times before. From the bright smile taking over his face as his arms wrap around my waist, he’s thinking the same thing.

He links his fingers at the small of my back, holding me against him. “What the hell am I gonna do with you, hmm?”

“You know, I’ve been asking myself the same question for weeks now.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, if you’ve come up with any answers, please do feel free to share them with the rest of the class.”

My head dips and I whisper in his ear. “Why would I do that? You’re the one with the photographic memory. Surely you can figure it out.”

His soft, throaty laugh sends my heart bouncing through my chest cavity like a pinball, but not as much as the brush of his lips against my jaw.

“And you saidIwas trouble.”

There’s nothing I want more at this moment than to show him just how much trouble I can be. Lay one on him right here and now with countless people around us; be freely affectionate without worrying about it somehow getting back to Kason. It’s more than tempting.

My phone vibrates against my thigh, and when I check the screen, I expect it to be my dad again. So when it’s not, and I see the name, my stomach drops instantly.

Kason: What are you doing?

Swallowing harshly, I lift my phone between mine and Holden’s body and type out the most watered-down response I can think of without lying to him.

Me: On a date.

His response is almost immediate.

Kason: Wait, since when are you dating someone?

I’m painfully aware of Holden’s eyes on me while my fingers hover over the keyboard, not entirely sure what to say.

Me: It’s new. A first date. Nothing serious.

My own screwed-up version of two truths and a lie.

The first two sentences aren’t a lie at all. This is Holden’s and my first date. And new…well, I guess it depends on what we’re defining. The feelings rapidly developing for him since we got back are undeniably new.

Still, the part about it not being serious? Shit, I know deep in my gut it’s a lie. Nothing about this thing with Holden feels casual anymore. In truth, it hasn’t since the moment I cuffed him to his bed before we ever went to Florida.

I watch as the three little dots move while Kason types out a response, feeling a mixture of relief and shame as I read his final text.

Kason: Oh, okay. Well, have fun. Let me know if you need me to call with a fake emergency like they do in the movies. ;)

Groaning softly, I shove my phone back in my pocket before gripping Holden’s waist and resting my forehead in the crook of his neck. His fingers scrape against my lower back in a soothing caress, and I feel him brush his lips over the spot above my ear.

“Nothing serious, huh?” he murmurs, and even though I hear the playfulness in his tone, I don’t have it in me to look at him. Probably because I’d be forced to acknowledge just how false my statement was, and that’s not something I’m ready to do out loud.

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