Page 122 of Play the Part

Today, I receive it wholeheartedly.

Today, I believe it.

49

CONNIE

Ican barely stand still, bouncing on my toes while I wait for the elevator doors to open. I’m vibrating with excitement, counting down the seconds before Huxley appears. When the elevator finally dings, I leap in place, my smile widening when Huxley’s gaze falls on me.

“Hi,” I chirp, unable to hide my elation.

“Hi,” he says, looking at me up and down as if trying to decipher what’s going on with me.

He strolls in, the tell-tale sound of his keys jingling against his pants tickling my ear. Sliding both hands around my waist, he pulls me into him and smirks, his face now close to mine.

“Nice looking picture you posted earlier,” he says smoothly, giving my ass a small, playful tap.

I giggle, circling my arms around his neck.

“Yeah? You liked that, did you?”

His smirk turns into a grin. “Does that mean I can start calling you my girlfriend now?”

The word girlfriend has my stomach doing a little swoop, and I pretend to act aloof when I answer, “I don’t know … Only if you want, I guess.”

He gives my ass another little love tap and I let out another giggling laugh as he shuffles us backward until my thighs hit the couch behind me.

“Let me hear it,” he orders, his mouth trailing down the slope of my neck.

“What?” I ask innocently as he nibbles my earlobe. “You want to hear me say that you’re my boyfriend, is that it?”

His groan rumbles in his chest, and I can’t stop smiling. His head pops up, eyes darkening as he stares at me.

“Say it again.”

I smirk. “Boyfriend.” I say it slowly and deliberately, a subtle tease in between the curves of the letters.

His lips claim mine, and I moan eagerly into his mouth, perfectly happy to spend the evening right here, making out with Huxley. Eventually, I do pull away, but not before I give him another quick kiss as I push him on his shoulder so he can release me.

“I have a surprise for you,” I say giddily. “Sit, sit.”

I motion to the loveseat I purchased especially for us to watch the sunsets. Just like I had envisioned when I first moved in. He looks at me with amused suspicion but still sits down and waits for me to join him.

I sit on my bent leg, facing him, and just blurt it out, my lack of impulse control getting the better of me.

“I bought us tickets to Brazil!”

I expect him to match my excitement, but his face drops instead. My stomach sinks along with his reaction; I’m not really surewhyhe’s reacting the way he is.

“What just happened?” I ask slowly. “Why aren’t you excited?”

Huxley’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t say anything, and with every passing second, my anxiety heightens.

Finally, he speaks. “Do you think I’m some kind of … charity case?”

Nothing would have prepared me for what just came out of his mouth. Dumbfounded, I stare back at him. His tone isn’t exactly defensive. But he said it much too quietly for me to dismiss the gravity of his statement.

“Wait,what? Charity case? Where is this even coming from?”

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