Page 42 of Three Pucking Words
“Of course.”
I rub my arm. Does he seem taller than before? It must be the skates that makes him feel so much more domineering. “It was very sweet what you did,” I add, peeking up at him through my lashes and seeing him already watching me. It takes everything in me not to blush under his gaze but it’s hard when those eyes are so…intense. “You must have spent a lot of money on all of that stuff. I know from personal experience how much supplements can be.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not exactly hurting for money, Honor.”
“I know that, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend it on me. I’m trying to tell you I appreciate it. That’s all.”
“You don’t need to thank me, honey. It’s the last I can do.”
There’s that damn name.
The goosebumps on my arms spread, and I have to look down when I feel the heat settle into my cheekbones and back of my neck. “You like to call me that, huh?” I question.
There’s a smile in his voice when he says, “You haven’t told me not to.”
It makes me look up at him in challenge. “I didn’t say I liked it,” I counter.
He takes a step closer until the tips of his skates brush my black Converse. “You haven’t told me you didn’t.”
I swallow at his closeness. Clearing my throat, I wet my lips and look up at him. Why is my heart beating so fast? If he gets any closer he’ll be able to hear it.
“So?” he asks quietly.
“W-What?”
He chuckles. “Do you like it or not?”
That’s a loaded question.Because there’s a lot I’m liking right now. Way too much. I blame hormones for the way my eyes scan over him as if I can see every square inch of muscle that exists under his uniform. He’s covered from head to toe, but he may as well be naked in front of me.
And…
God. Am I really checking him out while he watches?
When I force my eyes to go back to his face, there’s no cockiness in his eyes like I expect there to be. He’s simply watching me with interest, one eyebrow quirked.
That’s when I realize he’s waiting for an answer. “Maybe you should stick with Honor,” I force out.
His cheeks twitch. “And why is that?”
For once, I don’t bother lying. “Because it seems safer that way.”
Bodhi’s eyes flash, and a softness takes over his playful expression. To my surprise, he takes a lengthy step back.
To give me space, I realize.
To make me feel…safe.
This version of him reminds me of the one I met at the bar. He’d been drunk, of course, but he was sweet. He’d listen to me talk and ask me questions to prove he was paying attention. He’d watch me in a way that I’d never been looked at before. How could one night with a stranger change so much of my perspective?
I won’t let it bother me that he doesn’t remember it as clearly as I do. I hold fondly onto the memory, and that’s enough.
“You’re a good guy, Bodhi,” I say, shaking my head in slight disbelief.
“That’s usually what women say to men before they friend zone them,” he teases with an easy-going smile.
I narrow my gaze at him. “That would imply we’re friends.”
“Aren’t we?”
