Page 33 of The Crush
He presses his hand over my mouth, making me laugh as he repeats a pained, “Don’t.” Then he starts laughing too as he cups my chin, “What about you, bonita? What do you want? Would you ever want to do something else?”
“I’d like to see places.Anyplaces,” I tell him, realizing he’s the first person who has ever asked me that. “And, maybe…I think I’d just like to dosomething. You know?”
The corner of his mouth turns down into a frown, his thumb brushing against my cheek, and he looks like he’s about to say more before we both notice the way the restaurant staff has started to politely linger.
“We should probably get out of here before they kick us out.” His hand falls away, but stays close enough for his fingers to play with a few loose pieces of my hair. “You ready to head back? Or we could go get a drink? Find some live music? Go for a walk?”
“I wouldn’t mind going back…” I say, ready to have him all to myself again. “Is that okay?”
“Fine by me.” He kisses me quickly, then slides out from the booth to stand before helping me do the same. “We can do the rest next time.”
“Yeah.” My heart is close to rioting in my chest as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and we head for the door. “Next time.”
Twenty-Seven
Daniel
There’s been a shift.
I don’t know exactly when it happened. Maybe it was tonight at dinner or maybe it was when we first arrived in the hotel room. Maybe it was when I picked her up at the bus stop or maybe it was far sooner than that.
Maybe it doesn’t really even matter, because none of it changes the fact that I’ve clearly stopped thinking of this as a distraction and started thinking of this as my focus.
The things she wants. The things she needs. More and more I want to be the one to give them to her. I just don’t fucking know how.
“Danny?”
At the sound of her voice from the bathroom, I toss my button-up onto the chair and walk over to the shut door. “Yeah?”
“Can you, um, close your eyes?”
“Close my eyes?” I reach for the door handle, wondering if she’s sick. She had seemed okay when we got back, giving me a quick kiss and a coy smile before telling me to give her a few minutes and then dashing to the bathroom. “Are you all right? Can I come in?”
“No, no, I’m fine.” There’s a pause. “Can you go sit on the bed and close your eyes?”
I hesitate for a moment, still not quite convinced, but then I do as I’m asked and walk back to the bed, dropping down on the edge. “All right. They’re closed.”
The bathroom door creaks open, and I hear her tentative steps cross the room and stop in front of me, her unsteady inhale as she pauses.
“Sorry, sorry. I…um… Actually, I’ll be right back—”
“I’m opening my eyes.”
“No.”
I drag a hand down my face, but my eyes stay shut. “You’re killing me here.”
“Okay, I—I got you something today at the mall.”
“Oh.” I smile, relieved, but then I feel her fingers, skimming over the back of my right hand, bringing it up, and turning it to the side. My fingertips brush warm, soft skin, the gentle sweep of her waist that I recognize even with my eyes shut. She guides me higher, up over the side of her rib cage, letting me feel her breaths coming in quick, shallow doses. Higher still, until… Fabric, delicate and thin, the texture immediately making me think of—
My eyes fly open before I can stop them and I see that sheiswearing lace, so pale blue it’s nearly white.
“I…”
I look up at her when she speaks, and I know—Iknow—I’m not hiding my emotions well by the way her eyes widen. “I thought you might like to see me in something prettier.”
My other hand reaches out to turn her slowly, watching the way the underwear curves high over each of her hips before delving back into a thin strip between her cheeks. Then there’s the bra, cutin a deep low V at the front and held together by a hand-tied, silky smooth bow at the back.
