Page 2 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

I chuckle. “Oh! Well, in that case…”

As I start to walk away, he grabs my wrist and pulls me back to him. My hands rest on his chest as he stares into my eyes, like he’s been missing this all his life.

“I’m already there, but I figured you deserve to hear it first.” He takes a nervous breath and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I love you, Laiken. I amsomassively in love with you, and I’m sorry that I didn’t realize it sooner.”

There are no words that even begin to explain the feelings shooting through me like the finale of a fireworks show.Three years.Three damn years I’ve fantasized about him telling me those words. And hearing them now, I don’t think I ever could’ve imagined it would feel this incredible.

My eyes fill with tears of joy as a gush of air leaves my mouth and I smile back at him. “I’m in love with you, too.”

I wish someone was getting this on camera—the way we’re looking at each other like there’s nothing and no one that could make us happier. Sliding his hand to the back of my neck, he pulls me in and kisses me.

It feels so different, being able to be with him like this and knowing that it doesn’t matter who walks by. He won’t push me away or play it off like nothing was happening. It’s just us, and this moment, and the love between us that demands to be felt.

As he pulls back to look at me, my mind clears a little and my eyes narrow.

“Are you fucking crazy?” I ask, smacking his chest with every word. He catches my wrists and chuckles, but I’m not done yelling at him. “What were you thinking, handing him a knife? What if he actually stabbed you?”

The grin doesn’t leave his face as he shrugs. “I would’ve deserved it. I knew the rules. But I couldn’t stand to be away from you anymore. The pain of missing you is worse than anything he could’ve done to me.”

Sighing, I wrap my arms around him, and we hold each other close, my head on his chest. “I wasn’t trying to force you into telling him, you know. I just wanted to know it could happen eventually. That you saw a future with me.”

“Lai,” he says, bending his neck and moving me away so he can look into my eyes. “You are theonlyfuture I see.”

I kiss him again, unable to help myself. It’s been too long since I’ve been in his arms like this. And now that I know that my feelings are reciprocated, I just want to stay here and never move.

But an old garage turned workshop isn’t exactly the most sanitary place, and the things we’re sure to be doing soon will only cause further injury if done in here.

Hayes grabs his switchblade and closes it, putting it back in his pocket before interlacing his fingers with mine. It honestly feels surreal to be able to walk outside holding his hand. Something so small to anyone else, but it’s everything to me.

As we get closer to the house, I cringe when I realize Mr. Zimmerman is still here. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision to ditch my boss and run after Hayes like a crazy person, but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have heard his confession.

So, if he fires me for being rude, at least it was worth it.

“I should probably handle this,” I tell Hayes.

He nods. “Do what you need to do. I’m going to go attempt to defuse the chaos bomb I just set off.”

“Be careful, please.”

“I will.”

Kissing the top of my head, he releases my hand and I instantly feel colder without his touch. Hayes gives Mr. Zimmerman a respectful smile and heads inside.

“I’m sorry,” I tell my boss. “That was rude of me.”

He waves it off, much to my relief. “Don’t worry about it. Is everything okay?”

I don’t think there’s any way I can explain this without someone coming out of it looking like an asshole. “It’s a long story, but it’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?” he questions. “Your brother looked pretty pissed.”

He did. And now he’s inside. Alone. With Hayes.

Glancing back at the house, I wince. “Yeah, I should probably get in there before you lose your best player because his best friend slaughtered him with a broken hockey stick.”

Mr. Zimmerman nods as he snickers. “I’d appreciate that. I’m looking to take home another championship title this year.”

“Then Idefinitelyneed to get in there,” I joke.

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