Page 132 of Wonderstruck

He chuckled, nudging me lightly as he sat up. “Ipromise you that it’ll be okay.”

Resting my cheek along his hard shoulders, I thoughtit over, before the mental image of Christmas in Honeywood, snow-capped mountain tops and a main street drowned in twinkle lights was all I could see. “Then okay,” I whispered. “I’ll come.”

We settled into each other again, his heartbeat callingon the tiredness I’d only just shaken. We watched the sun cast across his room, the dust particles floating between the shadows as our hearts seemed to sync.

It was a good ten minutes of existing like that beforehe broke the silence.

“It’s crazy,” he said, his head resting back. “We grewup in the same town and never crossed paths. Not once.”

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “I don’tknow about that. Seems pretty strange if we never saw each other.” I peered at him fully. “Maybe we did but just didn’t notice.”

“Oh no,” He said, tightening his arm around my waistand tugging me closer, making my stomach drop. “I would’ve noticed you. Wouldn’t miss a smile like that.”

I felt my cheeks flush pink as my heart skipped. “Onne peut pas être jolie et charmante, ce n'est pas juste.”2

“Ce qui est injuste, c'est qu'il suffit de sourire pourgagner tous les arguments que nous aurons jamais.”3

Before I could steal a breath, his mouth landed onmine, his hand holding me steady as he titled it back.

I was positive that I'd never get tired of these kisses, the onesthat felt like he’d been trying to wait for the right moment to claim me. They reminded me of all the ways I fell for him, all the ways I knew I liked him last year.

Millions of embers sparked my skin as he drew hishand up my arm, not stopping until both his hands were cupping my jaw. His tongue swept over mine, demanding entry that I granted. A pleading sigh drifted from my mouth to his when his thumb caressed my jaw, dipping low enough that I felt pressure on my neck.

Huh. Funny. I felt the same kind of pressure last night when he—oh no.

I pulled away quickly, almost reading his thoughts. “As much as I’d love that, we need to get up.”

He ignored me, slipping his hands to my waist andtugging me under the covers. “Says who?”

“Aspen.” I giggled as his hand wandered to my ribs,tickling on instinct. “If I’m late, she’ll kill me.” I giggled, fighting for air. “I’m serious, okay?”

“And I’m seriously okay with being your bodyguardwhen you turn up twenty minutes late.”

Through the giggles and the gasps, I managed to pushmy hand out of the covers and drag them off us, the cold attacking us without a second thought.

“Jesus,fuck, it’s cold!” Finn hissed between his teeth,scrambling to get the covers.

I swung my legs off the bed, the hardwood floor coolbeneath my feet, and padded to the door. I reached for the first piece of clothing I could see and threw it over my head, only realising once I felt the familiar softness against my skin that it was his jersey.

“And you call me a tease.” Finn sighed from the bed,resting on his elbow. “Get back here now.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Never!”

I headed to the door and yanked it open fast, confidentthat he would chase me in only his boxers just to catch me and win whatever that moment was, and slipped out into the hallway of the guy’s apartment. Quiet voices and the clatter of dishes drifted through the kitchen as I rounded the corner, the smell of coffee beans making me float towards the noise.

Andthen, mid-daydream about what I’d eat alongsidethat coffee,smack, I walked straight into a flash of blonde and baby yellow.

Goldie.

She looked at me, her wide brown eyes blinking insurprise before they fell up and down my body. I did the same with her, almost instantly recognising the black shirt drowning her tiny frame as one of Tristan’s tour t-shirts.

Her mouth broke into a grin at the same time minedid. “Morning roomie.” She giggled as her narrowed gaze flew to my hair. “You look… well rested.”

It took all of two seconds for us both to double downand belt out cackles that travelled through the hallway, loud enough that Jesse eventually popped his head around the wall that led to the kitchen, a frying pan full of something sweet in his hand, whilst his head shook.

“Being the fifth wheelandthe designated cookfucking sucks.”

1.Breathtaking

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