Page 28 of I Would Stay Forever
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to help. I mean, you’re staring at it like you’ve never seen a shirt before, so I just want to make sure.”
I rolled my eyes again but then put the shirt on exactly as he had described. I’d barely pulled it over my head when he moved forward in front of me and ever so gently grabbed my hair, pulling it out from where it was being held under the fabric against my back. It was such an intimate gesture that I wasn’t sure how to react. My brain short-circuited as he stood so close, our chests almost pressed together as I stared at him and he stared back at me.
His eyes were so beautiful up close. I’d never noticed before what a deep brown they were or the way he had such a light dusting of freckles just underneath them. I’d also never noticed the way he smelled before, like sandalwood and the sea, even though we were so far from an ocean. I felt like I could breathe in that scent all day—and I guess I would be tonight if I was wearing his shirt.
“Thank you,” I murmured. He finally let go of my hair, letting it drape across my back with a light swish. It was the moment he should have stepped away but he didn’t. He stayed right there, so close that I could feel the rise and fall of his chest with every breath that he took.
“I guess I should get back in there,” I said softly. But I didn’t step away either.
“Lavender, I…”
“There you are!” a girl’s voice called from down the way. Instinctively, I shoved Dean away from me, but either I was stronger than I thought or he’d already been off-balance,because I sent him sprawling into some overgrown bushes. He let out a strangled yell as he fell and my hand flew to my mouth, but I didn’t get a chance to ask if he was all right before Zoey came down the path. “I was starting to think you got mauled by a bear or something.”
I stepped in front of the bushes, blocking Dean from view. I felt a little bad for hiding him instead of trying to help him up after I shoved him, but from the lack of noise behind me, I had a feeling he was staying completely still anyway. I was sure we’d both defaulted todon’t let her see us together, even though there was no reason for us to cover any of this up. He was just one friend helping out another. But I knew how Zoey would read this situation and I didn’t want to have to explain to her yet again why I couldn’t go out with my brother’s friend.
“Right, because bear attacks are so common in the suburbs,” I said drily. Even in the darkness, I saw the way she rolled her eyes.
“Figure of speech,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “What’s taking you so long?”
“I, uh…” I panicked, trying to think of a plausible excuse that explained both my long absence and the fact that I wasn’t wearing my own shirt. “I ran into Sebastian! Turns out his team building thing was down the street so he had his car. He lent me his shirt.” I picked at the black shirt I was wearing. “And I just came over here to get changed.”
Luckily, Zoey was too drunk to notice my obvious lie. “Well, come back inside. We’re starting a game of beer pong and I managed to convince Colby to be on my team, but we need another person to go with his friend.”
“Just ask Molly or Paige.”
“They’re too busy showing some sophomore guys in the backyard how to volley.” She made puppy dog eyes at me. “Please, Lavender? This is my shot!”
I could point out that Colby wasn’t exactly her soulmate and she would forget he existed before the night was over, or remind her that Leah was probably still inside and willing to claw her eyes out if she saw Zoey and Colby together. But the only reason I would say either of those things would be so I could stay out here longer with Dean, and I couldn’t think of a good enough justification for that. Helping Zoey might end in her making out with Colby. Staying out here with Dean would only gain me… well, honestly, I had no idea.
It felt like something was happening before Zoey showed up, but it must have just been the heat of the moment. The end of the first week of school, the alcohol running through my system, the way he had to stand so close to help with my hair. It didn’t mean anything. I was sure he was anxious to get back to the party anyway. There was no reason for me to stay here. And yet, it felt like a sacrifice for me to say, “Okay. Let me just style this shirt better and I’ll come back.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you!” Zoey proclaimed, squeezing my hand. “We’ll get the game set up. Don’t take too long, m’kay?”
She went skipping off and I waited until her shadow disappeared before I spun back around to face Dean. All I could see of him were his jean-clad legs sticking out from the bushes, making him look like a weird adaptation of the Wicked Witch of the East.
“I amsosorry!” I said, rushing over to him. The bushes rustled loudly as he tried to get up with a groan. I grabbed one of his arms, trying to lend support, although I wasn’t sure I did much to help. He staggered forward as he got to his feet and ran a hand along the back of his head.
“If you wanted me to move away, you could have just asked,” he said jokingly. I was relieved to see that he wasn’t mad.
“I am so sorry,” I repeated. I really had no idea how I’d managed that. “Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head or, like, bruise your ribs or anything?”
He shook his head. “I’m all good. Not nearly as bad as a football tackle, trust me.”
“Yeah, but you don’t usually play football shirtless.” I bit my lip as I looked him over, checking for any scratches. I wasn’t sure what kind of bushes those were, but at least they didn’t seem to have thorns. I could only imagine how painful that would have been.
“You should really be more subtle about checking me out or I’m going to start thinking you’re into me.”
I forced my gaze away from his chest to look at his grinning face. Even though I knew he was joking, I flushed with embarrassment as I realized what I must have looked like, running my eyes over him like this.
“Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “I guess I should get back to Zoey before she comes looking for me again. Wouldn’t want you to take another swan dive into the bushes, right?”
I took one step before remembering how gigantic Dean’s shirt looked on me and how stupid I was going to look in it, and I quickly grabbed the hair elastic off my wrist and tied the back of the shirt, tucking the extra bit underneath so that it was more of a tight crop top than an oversized shirt.
Dean frowned at me. I worried that he was going to say I’d done something wrong until he asked, “How did you just do that?”
“Do what?”
“The shirt.” He made a general gesture at it. “How…”
