Page 30 of Once Upon a Boyband
She yawns, and I glance at my watch. It’s just after ten, but she probably got up early. I should get her home sooner than later. “Consider yourself hired,” she says.
Diana crawls off my lap and sniffs at Laney’s toes, then wanders back to the bed, where Aretha is softly snoring. It’s actually nice visiting the puppies this late. They’re definitely more chill when they’re sleepy.
“When are they ready for adoption?” Laney asks. “I can’t remember how old they are.”
“Eight weeks tomorrow,” I say. “But I’m keeping them until they’re twelve. My trainers are working on crate and house training over the next couple weeks, plus basic obedience commands. I like to send them home with a good foundation.”
“Trainers? On staff? Or just volunteers? That sounds amazing.”
“A little of both? There are a couple of trainers in town whom I hire to come out a few times a week. As for volunteers, the ag science program at the high school keeps kids coming on a regular basis. I worked it out with the administration. They get service hoursandextra credit, and I get a lot of help.”
Laney scoops up another puppy—George, I think?—but he’s squirmy and won’t settle, so she lets him go and he wiggles his way over to me, where he latches onto the cuff of my sleeve with his tiny puppy teeth.
“Okay. Time out for you,” I say, picking him up and setting him back on the floor next to his mom.
Laney’s quiet for a beat before she asks, “Can I ask you a totally invasive, outrageously personal question that you absolutely don’t have to answer unless you want to?”
I will my muscles to relax. “Go for it,” I say. “But I’m not telling you how many hair products I use on my beard. Or anything about the cats in the freezer.”
“I mean…in my line of work, cats in the freezer aren’t entirely unheard of, so if you’re looking for shock value, try again.”
I tsk with disappointment. “I should have just gone withbodiesin the freezer.”
She laughs. “That might have done it. But for real more than one product on your beard? Or were you making that up too?”
I lift a hand and rub it down my beard. “It takes a lot to keep it this soft.”
She reaches over and lifts a hand to my face, sliding it along my jaw.
I lean into her touch without thinking, like there’s some kind of gravitational force that triggers whenever we’re close.Justcloseisn’t good enough. I want closer.More.Anything she’ll give me.
“You’re right. Thatispretty soft.” Her thumb lingers on the edge of my lip and she tugs it down for a brief second before her hand falls away and she smirks. “Now we’re even,” she whispers.
I immediately know what she means. I touched her lip the same way at dinner, and the air crackled with the same kind of heat and tension. If this is the game we’re playing, teasing, pushing boundaries, trading touches and looks, then send me in, coach.
I swallow and force myself to look in her eyes, but then she licks her lips, pulling my gaze downward, and I start to lose my resolve. It’s impossible not to notice the way her teeth are tugging at her bottom lip, or the curve of her neck as it slopes down to her shoulder. There’s a tiny chain holding a circle studded with pale blue stones in the hollow of her throat, and it rises and falls with her breathing, which appears to be as shallow and fast paced as mine.
I have never wanted to kiss someone as much as I want to kiss her, but there’s something holding me back.
It could be that we’re sitting on a cold epoxy floor with nothing but a thin blanket underneath us. But…dammit.That’s not it.
I need to tell her before I can kiss her.
I need to tell her about Deke.
I don’t know why I feel like I do, but it feels important.Necessary.
It has never felt important before. I haven’t dated a ton in the past few years, and it’s only ever been casual. A few dates here and there. I’ve never been tempted or felt any sort ofobligation to come clean about Midnight Rush. A relationship never lasted long enough for it to matter.
But this thing with Laney…it’s different. Even one date in, I can already tell.
When I kiss her, everything is going to change.
And I don’t want there to be any secrets between us when that happens.
I drop my gaze and lean away so we’re no longer touching, forcing a deep breath.
Laney must feel the shift, because she moves too, pulling her arms a little closer around herself.
