Page 105 of Inception

“Meaning?” There was a strange undertone I couldn’t ignore. It sounded a lot like jealousy.

“Nothing. Forget it.” He shrugged it off but I couldn’t help but notice the tension in his jaw.

“Oh-kay.” I dropped it, sensing he wasn’t going to elaborate. Plus, I had more important things to ask him. “So, um, who are you going to the dance with?” I asked choppily. My attempt at sounding casual was a miserable failure.

“I’m not.”

“You’re not going?”

“Nope.” He cocked his head to the side and watched me.

“Why not? I mean, isn’t this thing supposed to be sort of a big deal around here?”

“You’re spending too much time with Taylor.”

I laughed outright because that was exactly who I’d gotten my intel from. Serves me right.

“Besides,” he continued, glancing down at my lips. “The girl I wanted to take is already going with someone else.”

My insides pinched.

Even though my instincts were to assume he was referring to Nikki, I couldn’t stop myself from replaying all the things Taylor said to me the other day. That he looked at me in a special way; that he liked me. I felt the knots in my stomach tighten as my silent hope ignited.

“That’s too bad.”

His eyes flickered down to my mouth again, this time lingering on them as though he were trying to memorize their shape. “It’s probably for the best.”

“Yeah.” My voice was a disappointed whisper. “Probably.”

He dragged his eyes back up to mine. “I’ve been thinking about thattripwe talked about the other day.”

Trip? What trip?

“I decided to take you.”

My eyes swelled. Oh my God, he was talking about time traveling—to see mydad. “But what about the um…obstacles?”

“I’ve got it covered.”

“And the…risks?”

“I’ve weighed them out.”

“Are you for real?”

His magnetic dimples flashed as he nodded.

“When?”

“I was thinking Friday night,” he said, working his jaw.

I shot him an irritated look. “Very funny. Friday night is the dance.”

He leaned in close again, this time throwing off my concentration with the comely scent of his cologne. “I know.”

“Why Friday?”

“Why not Friday?”

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