Page 17 of Some Kind of Forever
“Here,” he says, and the next thing I know, he’s placing the hood of his sweatshirt over my head and pulling the rest around my shoulders.
He adjusts the sleeves on his long sleeve tee as I look at him, shaking my head. “I’m really okay. I just need coffee,” I say, putting down my tray before sliding the jacket from my shoulders. It’s warm and smells like him, and these reminders of yesterday are doing nothing to help me forget about the wall.
“You’re clearly freezing,” he says, pulling the sweater back over my shoulders. He puts his hand through the bottom of the sleeve, grabs my fingers, and guides my hand back through the hole with his. “Just wear it until you warm up.” He works on the other sleeve, grabbing my hand and pulling it through. Then he flips the hood over my head and zips it up for good measure, smiling. “There.”
I stand stiffly, my mouth hanging open as I decide whether I want to feel annoyed or flattered. The kindness in the act isn’t lost on me, and under any other circumstance, I’d probably think it was sweet. He gave me his jacket and zipped me up in it like a burrito, and the longer I wear it, the less I want to take it off. “Thanks…” I say.
“Sure. Besides, it looks good on you.” He winks before walking off to sit at a table, sending flutters surging through my stomach.What am I supposed to do with that?I’m wrapped in his warm, amazing smelling hug of a sweater after he manhandled me in the sweetest way possible, and then hewinks?I have no words—no thoughts except for taking a hit of the sandalwood scent coming from the fabric of this hoodie.
I make it to a table with my breakfast, sitting as far away fromChase as I can without it seeming weird. My thoughts are already swirling, and I don’t want to find out what a double dose of being close to him will do to me right now. Luckily, Kyle is sitting at one of the table ends, and I plop my tray down next to him. He looks at me, tips his chin up in greeting, and returns to his eggs and bacon. I’ll take silent company over the unpredictable jacket giver over there.
“Well, it looks like we’re stuck inside today,” Claire announces across the mess hall. “The forecast says the rain won’t let up until sometime tonight. We’ll pivot to wellness activities today and move survival to tomorrow. Meet me upstairs in ten for journal work.”
I take one last sip of my coffee, load up my tray, and head for the kitchen. If I get upstairs before the others, I can claim the little nook by the window. It’s just big enough for one person, the perfect spot to box me in, away from blue-eyed distractions.
The loft upstairs is open and cozy. Large brown floor pillows lay scattered around the hardwood in front of the crackling fireplace, and a foosball table is across the room, near couches by the windows. Claire hands me a notebook and pen, and I scurry to the corner, a little relieved I’ll have some room to breathe. The nook has one small window overlooking the forest behind the building, and the storm puts on a hypnotizing show as I turn to watch through the raindrop-streaked glass.
It’s a lot warmer up here, so I shrug off Chase’s hoodie and hold it to my nose one last time before laying it across my lap.
“Dear Diary, the cute girl at the window just sniffed my sweater…” Chase says.
Damn it.
He stands next to me with his head turned slightly, pretending to write in his notebook. An amused look has settled on his face like he’s fighting the urge to smile. “Does this mean she likes me?”
“Why would I sniff your sweater?” I ask, trying to deflect as I turn to facehim.
“Whydidyou?” He smirks, and I bite my cheek to keep from smiling back.He’s cute and I hate it.I hand him the hoodie and swear he purposely grabs it in a way that our hands touch, watching me expectantly, waiting for an answer.
“I’m trying to figure out what’s mixed with the sandalwood,” I finally admit, looking down at my hands.
“Cedar,” he says, tossing the jacket over his shoulder. “You like it?”
“I…it’s?—”
“You can admit it. I won’t tell anyone you were sniffing my jacket,” he says, the smirk from before changing to a full smile. “But just so you know, it sticks around for a while. You’ll probably smell like me for the rest of the day…”
I roll my eyes, sucking my teeth. He’s having fun with this, and I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much. “I wasn’t sniffing it; I was smelling it.”
“Mmm, and there’s a difference?”
“Yes.”
“Which is…?
“Was that your plan all along?” I fold my arms, raising an eyebrow as I attempt to change the course of the conversation. “Force me into your clothes and mark me with your scent?”
“Nope.” He chuckles as he shakes his head. “I was just being nice. Everythingelse is a perk.”
“A perk? What kind of perk?”
“Two perks, actually. One: I got to see the way you look in my hoodie, which definitely lived up to the fantasy. And two: now I have the satisfaction of knowing you’ll smell like me all day, hopefully thinking about me as much as I’ll be thinking about you.” Hefuckingwinks again—and I don’t know what my problem is—but my breath catches in my throat while my cheeks burn. Maybe I’m not as immune as I thought I was.
He chuckles the entire time he walks over to the couch across the room, fully enjoying the rise he just got out of me. I groan tomyself when I realize he was right. I do smell like him, and I can’t make myself hate it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHASE
