Page 25 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

He smiled out of the corner of his mouth again.

My eyes gravitated toward his lips. "And your smile. The way it's weighted to one side. It makes my insides melt."

He laughed and pushed his hair off his forehead.

"God, and that too." I mimicked his action, by pushing my bangs out of my face.

"Is that all?" His eyes danced across my face, studying me.

"No. There are a million more reasons why you're making it impossible to stay away from you. And before you give me some line about how you don't want me to stay away, you should know that I'm breaking all sorts of rules right now. And..." I lowered my voice to a whisper..."I'm so drunk."

"Oh yeah, I can tell."

I laughed. "I thought I was hiding it pretty well."

"Not at all."

"Well, aren't you going to report me or something?"

"No."

"But you're my RA. It's your job to turn me in." I put out my wrists.

He looked down at my outstretched hands, and I could have sworn I saw his Adam's apple rise and then fall. What on earth is he thinking right now?

"Turn you in? I'm not a cop. And I may be your RA, but I have the biggest crush on you. I think I've made that pretty obvious."

I put my hands back to my sides. "I'm dating someone."

"You're looking at me like you're not."

I blinked away the stars in my eyes. "That's not true, I..."

"Are you two serious?"

Again, Eli and I had somehow avoided the boyfriend/girlfriend conversation. And he had ditched me again. I never seemed to know where his head was at. "I don't know, we haven't really talked about it. I should report you, you know. For not reporting me."

"Maybe wait until the morning. You may reconsider."

"I don't think so. You, sir, are in a whole lot of trouble."

"How about you sleep on it?"

"I'm not sleeping with you. I just told you that I'm seeing someone."

He laughed. "I said sleep on it. Not sleep with me. Now let's get you back to the dorm safely. See, I can be a good RA."

A spark shot through me when he placed his hand on my lower back. I let him escort me toward the elevator. There was this weird tension building in my chest. Suddenly my crazy drunken mind seemed perfectly clear. And my heart was still broken. Miles had broken it. It was still beating, just barely. And it beat for

him.

"Was that you who pointed the telescope at Sagitta?" I asked. I had to know if he still looked at that constellation and thought of me the way I thought of him. I needed to know if his heart beat for me too. The girl I used to be. Not this drunken mess in front of him now.

It looked like he was studying my face again. "Do you know a lot about astronomy?" he said.

Why didn't he answer my question? "When I was little, I loved looking at the stars."

"Me too."

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