Page 45 of Awakened
Zach dramatically shuffled the cards, then turned to Seth.
The rest of us held our breath, waiting to see if Seth would go with the flow. Much to our relief, he rolled his eyes and guessed. “A ten.”
Zach peaked at the top card and said, “Higher.”
Looking right at me, Seth answered back, “Queen.”
I snorted and almost choked on my beer.
How cheesy.
“Unbelievable. You fucking got it.” Zach took his drinks, then turned to Michael.
In the end, the cards never even made it to me. Brandon was the fucked dealer and completely wasted by the time we called it a night. Emily helped him to the guest room, and Sarah got ready to go back to Michael’s place.
Zach pulled me next to him on the couch. “Am I staying, or will I see you tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow. I have some things I need to figure out.”
He gave me a knowing smile.
“Thanks for coming over. You really know how to bring the party.”
Zach chuckled and kissed my forehead. I couldn’t believe how much of an awkward mess I was.
Why does he want to hang out with me?
Zach followed Sarah and Michael out the door just as Seth came back to the living room. We stared at each other for a minute, and then there was a loud thud upstairs. Our faces morphed into smiles, and we raced up the stairs, bumping oneanother to get the first peek. I was hoping to find Brandon passed out in a funny way, as he was want to do in the pack house.
Oddly enough, the guest room next to mine was empty, and the door to Sarah’s room was firmly shut. Stifling a disgusted shudder, I walked into my room. Seth covered his mouth and followed me, closing the door behind us.
“So gross,” I groaned, jumping around, trying to shake off the ick. No one needs to know their brother is having sex.
Seth laughed and flopped down on my bed. Once I had wiggled my limbs enough to expel the demons created by the abomination happening down the hall, I sat on the edge of the mattress.
Seth’s smile slowly softened as he sat up. He picked my hand up and rubbed his rough thumb over my smooth skin. Raising it to his mouth, he gently kissed my knuckles.
I swallowed hard. There was no good way to start, so I blurted out, “You wanted to talk?”
TEN
The air in the room grew stagnant, and all the moisture in my mouth evaporated.
“Yeah, Les—” He sighed and looked down at the comforter. “I’m not even sure where to start.” He looked back up, and it was all there in his eyes—the nerves, the hope, the fear.
“From the top?” I offered in a super unhelpful move.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Okay. I love you. I’m in love with you. Have been for a while.”
So much for easing into it.
I wasn’t sure what to say. An uncomfortable silence fell over us as I pulled my hand from his and tucked a curl behind my ear. I needed to say exactly the right thing. I couldn’t hurt this beautiful man. I also couldn’t lie to him.
“Okay.”Brilliant Celeste.That was the best I could come up with, and frankly, it sucked.
“Okay? That’s it?” His face fell, and panic seized me. Everything I had left was slipping through my fingers.
“No. I don’t really know what to say. I love you, of course, but I’m still, I’m still . . .” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
