Page 37 of Between Us

Is that what it’s called when a guychoosesto spend his entire day off helping you get your tires fixed, and carrying the bags that the shop owners keep shoving at you, and comforting me with his hand on my back?

I’m new to all of this but it feels like… more than that.

Too bad

I would’ve said yes

I stare at the screen for probably about three minutes, not sure what to say. There’s no way to save face afterthatand I don’t knowhowto flirt. I know I can do it sometimes, when I’m not thinking about it, and I don’t feel the pressure to perform. And that’s whatthisfeels like.

There’s a simple comfort that comes from his soft eye contact and amused smirks. It fills me with this sense of calm fortitude I’ve never felt before.

When my phone buzzes again, I look down. When itkeepsbuzzing, I just stare. And stare. And stare.

Adrian is FaceTiming…slides across my screen over and over.

When I wait too long, the call ends. “Oops…” I mutter.

I know you’re awake

And looking at your phone

My phone starts buzzing again, but this time, I answer on the second ring. His easy smile lights up my screen. “Hi.”

“Hey, Storm Cloud,” he says quietly.

“You don’t have to whisper,” I laugh.

“You are.”

“Yeah, but I live with my parents.” I watch my face turn pink in the little rectangle, and I have to consciously stop myself from tapping my thumb along my fingers—my most stubborn nervous tick.

He shrugs. “It kinda feels like we’re in on a secret, you know?”

“I don’t know what kind of secret that could be,” I scoff with an eye roll.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind being yourdirtiestsecret,” he says smoothly. My eyes pop up to meet his gaze, and he winks back at me. When I let out a little gasp, he tips his head back and laughs. It’s easily become one of my favorite sights but getting to watch it happen when he’s in bed—one arm crooked behind his head as the other holds the phone in front of him—it feels intimate and… yeah, quite secretive somehow.

He shakes his head and gives me a long, assessing look. “Nah, I’m playing, Blake. You don’t deserve to be a secret, and I’d never let anyone treat you as one.”

With a small smile, I admit, “I don’t know what to say when you say things like that. And it makes me feel bad…”

“Why do you feel bad? Because you can’t wax poetic about how much you like me?” I just roll my eyes even though we both know that,yes, that is exactly what I meant. “Don’t worry, I have a huge ego. I can be patient while I work you open.”

My eyebrows flick up and my mouth drops open at his innuendo.He’s on a roll today.

After a second, he chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. I’ve learned his tells—he bites the left corner of his bottom lip and scrunches his nose almost unnoticeably when he’s embarrassed. It doesn’t happen often, but it makes him look cute and boyish when it does. Right now, he’s grimacing hardcore and refusing to make eye contact with me.

Seeing Adrian so flustered makes me absolutely giddy.

To the point agigglepops out of me. I slap a hand over my mouth, which only makes us both laugh even more. I don’t think I’ve ever made the squealing noise that just burst out of me.

Plus, Adrianaccidentallysaying something totally filthy to me makes me laugh harder than I have in a long, long time.

The fact that it was an honest to God accident somehow makes it the perfect cherry on top of the day with him.

After a couple minutes, I realize that he’s stopped, and now he’s just watching me. It almost looks like adoration in his expression but let’s not be ridiculous.

Right? Right…

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