Page 52 of Ink & Stardust

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I stretch out my legs, drawing my attention to Kai’s shirt that hangs loosely over my thighs. Since he made me swap his shirt for Owen’s, I had no choice but to wear it home.

“Just had a nice little dose of reality tonight. It’s fine. I needed it.” She plops back onto her pillow. “I should really try to get some sleep. I have practice in the morning.” She groans, rolling to her side.

“Yeah,” I agree, trading my shorts for a pair of pajama pants before climbing into my own bed. And before you ask, yes, I still have on Kai’s shirt, and no, it has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t want to take it off and everything to do with the fact that I don’t want to have to rummage through my clothes to find a shirt to change into.

A lie, of course, but I’m giving myself the rest of the night to live in delusion. I’m sure reality will be there to rear her ugly head when I wake up in the morning.

“Good night,” Maisie calls from her bunk, waiting until I’m settled in mine before clicking off her lamp.

“Good night,” I say back, tugging the blanket up to my chin as I stare up at the now-dark ceiling.

It doesn’t take long for sleep to come, but even there, Kai follows me like a shadow I can’t outrun, no matter how hard I try. The only problem is, I don’t want to escape him. If anything, I want to hold on to him and never let go.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a very big problem.

Chapter Nine

After a not-so-sound night of sleep, I crawled out of bed just after Maisie left for practice, thankful that Charlotte did, in fact, stay over with her friends last night, which gave me the room to myself. I showered, piddled around the room a bit, tried everything to keep myself from thinking of a certain someone, though I can feel the reminder of himeverywhere. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so sore, not that I much mind, given what, or rather who, made me this sore in the first place.

By eleven, I’m so restless I can barely stand it and equally hungry. After waiting for Charlotte to get home for what felt like an eternity, hoping she would join me, I finally decide I can’t wait any longer and that it’d be better to eat alone than starve to death.

Slipping on the white Converse still spattered in paint from the glow party, I grab my phone and wallet before heading to the door. Tugging it open, I freeze in place at the sight of Kai standing in front of me, hand raised as if he were just about to knock.

“Hey,” I croak, heat sliding up my cheeks when his lips quirk into a smile and I remember exactly where those lips were last night.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be here.” His eyes scan the length of me in one swift motion, stopping briefly to look at my shoes.

I smile internally.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, forcing my feet to move as I step over the threshold. He moves back just enough to give me space to enter the hallway, shutting the door behind me.

“It’s Sunday.”

“And?” I quirk a brow, trying my damnedest to seem cool and calm when inside I feel anything but.

“You’re usually at the library on Sunday.” He seems so at ease, like he didn’t screw my brains out less than twelve hours ago.

“How could you possibly know that?” I give him a funny look, or at least that’s how it feels on my face.

“It’s my favorite day to study too,” he says in way of explanation. “Quieter on Sundays.”

“It is,” I agree, wondering how on earth it is that I’ve never seen him there if he does, in fact, actually go on Sunday. “Though I can’t say I’ve ever seen you there.”

“I usually sit in the back. You wouldn’t know I was there unless you were looking for me.”

“And yet, somehow you saw me.”

“MaybeIwas looking.” He smiles, giving me a flash of his perfect white teeth.

I’m convinced this man doesn’t have a single physical flaw. And considering I’ve seen him naked... Well, sort of, I’m even more sure of this fact.

“So why aren’tyouat the library today?”

“Light load week. You?”

“Same,” I lie, knowing I’ve got more schoolwork to do than I care to even think about but don’t have the mental capacity to focus on it today.

“I like the shoes, by the way.” He gestures to my feet. “You were right, the paint does give them something.”

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