Page 40 of Keep Me Still
Now that he’s calmed down a notch, I smack him in the chest. But he catches my wrist and uses it to pull me into the danger zone where I am his to do what he wants with. Landen and my lungs are not friends. This close to him they deflate and I’m gasping for breath in a pathetic attempt to refill them. I’m about to curse myself for being so weak until my eyes find his. He’s just as lost as I am. We don’t know how to do this with each other. We didn’t get this far before. High school was a slow burn, a lit fuse taking its sweet time. This time we’ve hung out once and we’re already sorting through the debris from the explosion. We’re standing over that gaping canyon again. This time it’s Landen who jumps first.
“None of them even rate compared to you.”
Relief floods me, and I couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across my face if I tried. “I don’t even have anyone to compare you to.”
“Guess I’ve cornered the market where kissing is concerned, huh?”
“Something like that.” Kissing and everything else.
“You kids about done here?” Corin says, pulling me from Landen-land.
Landen sighs. “Seriously, Ginger, your timing is impeccable. Can I get you a collar with bells or something so I can hear you coming next time?”
“Behave yourself,” I whisper, but I can’t help but grin.
He lets me step back, and I feel the effort it takes. His expression relaxes visibly, and I wonder if maybe letting me go is easier. Letting him go would definitely be easier. Smarter. Cut and run before one or both of us gets hurt. But I really don’t want to. Because I am a fool of the lowest form, one who repeats the same mistakes. With a smile on her face.
Igive Ginger all sorts of hell about interrupting us, but honestly, I’m only mildly pissed and mostly grateful. Because Layla has the power to crack me open and leave me bloody on the sidewalk. This close to her, my thoughts hang out way too close to my lips.
“So we have an inter-squad scrimmage Tuesday night if you ladies want to come,” Skylar tells the girls as we drop them at the door.
“We’ll see,” Ginger says, playing coy. I raise a brow to smirk at my roommate, hoping to convey my thoughts to him.So much for getting lucky.I feel ya, buddy.
“Hey,” I say, pulling Layla a few feet from the other two. “Ginger was right about one thing. I owe you some romance. Milkshakes after the game Tuesday night?”
Her delicate lips, still swollen from my kiss, work so hard not to curve into one of her breathtaking grins.Say yes. “We’ll see,” she murmurs, following her roommate’s lead.
So she wants to play hard to get? That’s fine. I can chase her as hard as she wants. Leaning down, I whisper into her ear, “Extra cherries if you’re a good girl.”
There’s no containing the shiver that pulls her body closer to me. “Hmm, what does being a good girl entail exactly?”
“Cheering loudly for me and not at all for anyone else.” Especially Lucas motherfucking Taite.
“I think I can manage that. What about Skylar? Can I cheer for Skylar?”
Laughing, I nod. “Yeah, he’s the goalie. But I think he’s already landed his own personal cheerleader.” Layla follows my gaze to my roommate—who is getting a lingering hug from hers.
“This door’s locked after hours,” Ginger tells us, breaking from Skylar and heading our way. “We have to go in the side entrance. Layla, do you have your card with you?”
“Yeah,” Layla answers, and we head around to the side of their building. I don’t really like how isolated it is, and I make a mental note to make sure she always gets back in time to use the main entrance if I’m not with her. Or maybe I can just make sure I’m always with her. Yeah, I like that idea better.
Just as I pick up my jaw from the ground after watching Layla fish her student ID access card from her bra—which is pale pink, by the way—a group of guys slamming out of the metal door make her efforts unnecessary. Fuck, I didn’t realize she was in a co-ed dorm.
Instinctively, I press myself to her, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I start murmuring directly into her ear. But she’s not trembling. Not even a little. And all three of them are looking at me like I’m nuts. Looking down, I can tell, even in the dark, how red her face is. And I’m confused. “Are you okay? You didn’t—”
“I’m fine,” she says sharply, extracting herself swiftly from my grasp. “They didn’t even run into me.”
Run into her? Damn right they didn’t or they’d be flat on their asses. I’m flipping my shit like a little girl because the ear-shattering clang of that door should’ve sent her straight to the ground. But it didn’t. Is she cured? What else have I missed?
I stare at her, waiting for an explanation, but she just nods towards our roommates. Oh, she doesn’t want them to know. Dumb jock finally gets it. But she and Gingerlivetogether. And Ginger knew exactly who I was at that party. So she told her about me, but not about the seizures? I’d be flattered if I wasn’t so pissed.
“Layla,” I say, wrapping my fingers around her upper arm. “You need to tell your roommate about—”
“No.” She presses her lips together tightly and shoots me a death glare. “Goodnight, Landen.”
I have officially made it weird. But I don’t care. Even if she is better, Ginger needs to know in case Layla has a random relapse or something. I know from experience—that’s some shit a person needs to be prepared for. Or warned about at least. “Layla,” I demand, and now the girls are glaring at me like I’m Asshole of the Year. Skylar pulls my arm away from Layla and presses his weight against me, forcing me to take a step back. “You have to tell her.”
Layla lifts her chin, her eyes flashing at me. “I don’thaveto do anything.Goodnight,Landen. Skylar.”
