Page 31 of Remade

Oof. If I was strong enough to stay upright, maybe. Although, there was a comfy plastic chair in the medic bay’s shower.

“I don’t know. Nurse Tina is very talented,” I said.

He narrowed his eyes, and his jaw ticked. “You can joke about that when I’ve convinced you to give us a real chance—not a minute sooner.”

Whoa, that was…direct. I furrowed my brow and cupped his cheek, wanting to get a good look at him.

He was behaving in a very…non-Leighton way.

“Tell me what’s wrong, pup.” I brushed my thumb over his bottom lip. “This is unlike you.”

He dropped his gaze but stayed close. “I don’t know how to explain it,” he mumbled. “Something happened to me out there.”

In the clearing?

He swallowed. “For a second, I thought I lost you.”

Aw, fuck.

I cupped the back of his neck and rested our foreheads together. “I’m sorry I scared you. It terrified me too, to worry about you.”

He drew in a breath and closed his eyes. “I want us to be real, Bo. I can be patient, I swear—but I don’t wanna settle anymore. I wanna know there’s a chance. Because…I don’t know. At the hospital yesterday, I kept thinking, so much is at stake. I’ve never had that. And I don’t mind being scared, as long as I’m afraid for a good reason, not because I’m a chickenshit who doesn’t have the balls to go after anything.”

I pressed my lips to his cheek, then opened my mouth to respond, but he wasn’t done.

“I’m not the same guy anymore.” The admission left him in a whisper that radiated vulnerability. He was anxious. “I feel…impatient. I wanna lock this down because I’m so hooked on you, and I want you next to me when I meet my family.”

Jesus, this kid. He had my heart in a fucking vise.

“Sounds to me like your first encounter with close combat unglued you a bit.” I carefully rubbed my thumb over a bruise on his cheek.

“Maybe. I sure woke up feeling like the whole world was different.”

I took a deep breath as something settled within me, something comfortable and reassuring. This was a huge leap forward for him, and for whatever reason, he wanted to take a chance on me.

“Not the whole world,” I murmured. “Just you.”

He opened his eyes and swallowed again.

It was my turn to be nervous, because even if he was different from anybody else I’d ever been with, I was still the same.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Leighton. I’m absolute shit at dating. I went for all the clichéd bullshit with my exes because I couldn’t be assed to get to know them properly. So…” I cleared my throat and hoped for the best. “While I figure out how to actually make someone happy—makeyouhappy—can I take you out on my kind of date?”

He eased back with a confused expression.

Was I already screwing it up? It might be a record.

“Listen,” I said. Holy shit, I was uncomfortable. Had two hours passed? I needed my happy pills. “For the first time in my life, it feels like I’ve met someone who can make or break me—and it’s a fucking pain. I don’t like being nervous and worried. But since I can’t get you outta my head, yeah, we gotta give this areal shot. I want that too. As long as you’re patient while I work past my complete inability to be a decent partner. I might as well put a reminder on my phone right now so I don’t forget your birthday, and you better give me a list of your favorite meals and whatnot so I can find restaurants.”

At least the confusion seemed to be clearing. That was good, right?

“Um.” He scratched the side of his head and grinned faintly. “Before we get into the fact that you seem to believe I know what I’m doing, can I ask what your kind of date entails?”

“A good burger,” I said right away. Because it was a thing for me. I hated dressing up to go to a fancy-ass restaurant and listening to specials where half the words were in another language, followed by stilted conversation and mediocre sex. “I want a good burger at Big Buns. A few beers. Then a movie in my bed. Possibly popcorn or chips. Chips and salsa—I like that a lot. I’m a sucker for a good steakhouse too—and Mexican and Brazilian food. Actually, most foods from South America. And really good chicken.”

He flashed a quick grin, and for the first time today, I caught a glimpse of the shyer Leighton I’d gotten so ridiculously attached to. I was glad he was still in there in this new version of him.

“I mean…all that sounds perfect to me,” he said. “Especially if the steakhouse has burnt ends and pork belly.”

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