Page 72 of Choosing You

Garret is staring at me. I’m wondering if I have marinara sauce on my face. Maybe it got on my dress. I glance down to check. He catches my chin with his finger and brings my face up to his. “You look amazing tonight, Jade.”

“It’s just a dress. You saw me wearing it at your parents’ house.”

“I know. And you looked nice then, too. But now you’ve got your hair like this and, I don’t know, it’s just different. Probably because you’re not glaring at me from across the dinner table.”

I laugh. “Yeah. That’s probably it.” He’s still staring and it’s making me self-conscious. I break free from his arms and go sit on the bed. “So you’re going out with Blake tonight?”

“That’s the plan.” He sits down next to me. “But if you want me to stick around, I can skip the party and do something with him tomorrow instead.”

“You should go since you told him you would.”

“I guess, but I really don’t want to hang out with him.”

“Garret, you made a deal with the guy.”

“And I shouldn’t have had to. He should keep his mouth shut if he thinks we’re friends.” Garret kicks off his shoes and scoots behind me to lie down on the bed. “Hey, check this out.”

Seriously? Is he trying to test every ounce of self control I have? He wants me to lie next to him on the bed under the sparkly blue lights? Like we’re just innocently checking them out? Damn, he’s good. Very smooth. He’s clearly worked these tricks on girls before. And like the girls before me, I totally fall for it. But at least I’m aware of what he’s doing. I give myself points for that.

I lie next to him, keeping a safe distance between us. “It’s even better from this view.”

“See that section right there?” He slides closer and points to the area above us. “I wanted to make a constellation with the lights but I ran out of time.”

When he puts his arm down, we’re so close the sides of our bodies are touching. I roll on my side facing him and putting some distance between us again. “You should really get going.”

He turns on his side as well and removes the distance I created. He rests his hand on my hip, making my heart pound faster. “Are you trying to get rid of me, Jade?”

“No, but you have to go to that party with Blake. And I should get to sleep.”

He leans in so close I can feel his breath. He lowers his voice. “It’s not even 10.”

“Really? It seems later.” My heart’s now beating out of my chest. I know I should back away but I can’t do it. I keep imagining that kiss from last night and I just want him to kiss me again and end this torture. “It’s probably 11 by now.”

“It’s 9:40. I can see the clock from here.” His eyes never left mine. I’m sure he didn’t check the clock. “So are you sure you want me to leave?” He gives me that cocky smile which I find so damn irresistible.

“Positive,” I say in a tone that’s not at all convincing.

He’s so close to me now that I’m sure he’s going to kiss me. I shut my eyes, preparing for it.

“Okay. Then I’ll leave.” The bed shakes as I feel him jump up. “I’ll see you on Sunday.”

I open my eyes and find him almost at the door.

“Sunday?” I get up from the bed, feeling the heat in my cheeks, which I’m sure are bright red.

“Pancakes. We’re still going right?”

“Well, yeah. But what about tomorrow?”

“What about it?”

“Don’t you want to do something?” I can’t stop staring at his lips, wishing he’d just freaking kiss me.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Well, think about it and if you decide you want to do something, you know where to find me. Goodnight, Jade.”

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