WRIGLEY DID TEXT ME later that night. He wanted to know what movie he should watch, Logan or the last Fast and the Furious. I truly didn’t want to pick. I knew whatever movie I chose; he would be watching with Livi. I couldn’t give away that I even cared so I told him to go with Logan, which was probably the least likely that Livi would enjoy. He said it was a good choice and one he’d wanted to see. I got the impression he may have wanted to ask me to come watch with them, but, for whatever reason, he hesitated. He kept the conversation going for a little while, but eventually said goodnight.

I went to bed that night feeling bitter, with a pint of ice cream sitting in my stomach. Wrigley being around me was throwing my emotions all over the board. It was like life wanted to screw with me and see how I could handle the only crush I’d ever had and see how I dealt with it. Here’s a game of Monopoly, Hadley. Wrigley is Park Place and you can’t afford him. You can’t pass GO, and no collecting two hundred dollars.

I was invested no matter what I told myself. I got a thrill when I heard my phone go off and it was a text from him. I liked the feel of his touch as he’d carried me out of the water. I liked that he was making the effort to be my friend. These were all feelings I didn’t want to allow, but they were creeping in without my permission. And I oddly wanted to see where this was going. The one thing I couldn’t shut off was the attraction.

My weekend dragged, and so had the following week. When I’d seen him in our poli-sci class, he wasn’t as chatty as normal. The girl, Ryian, seemed to have his attention and I did my best to grit my teeth and walk out at the end of class. It was annoying that my emotions were being toyed with. What was worse was that he didn’t seem to realize he was doing it. I wish I could say his playful winks and sideways grins were special, just for me, but Wrigley was the type of guy who was flirty. Not with just females but with males too. And not in any kind of attraction kind of way, he was just extremely friendly with everyone. So any extra thing he did to me, I knew he would do for anyone else. There was, honestly, no way for me to tell if he ever had feelings towards me.

I was getting into a routine as the semester wore on. Early morning classes, stopping at the coffee cart, gym time three days a week, studying; wash, rinse, repeat. Repetition was good. I liked it. It made me feel accomplished and normal. Wrigley was the only abnormal part of my day. As per usual, there was a ding from my phone a few minutes before ten p.m. and I was about to close my books and head to bed.

Wrigley: What r u up too?

Me: What do u think?

Wrigley: You’re such a book nerd.

Me: Is that supposed to be an insult?

Wrigley: Nah. I don’t insult my bestie.

Me: Ha ha...Lame.

Wrigley: You about to go to sleep?

Me: Yeah, why?

Wrigley: I can always count on you to be like clockwork

Me: That’s me. Accountable. I frowned as I stared at the text. Was I ever rebellious?

Wrigley: You make it sound like a bad thing.

Me: I guess.

Wrigley: Hey, seriously, it wasn’t an insult.

Me: Ok.

Wrigley: You ok?

No reason to pout like a child because he’d said something true, even if I didn’t like it. Just go with the flow, Hadley.

Me: Totally good.

Wrigley: Ok, well, I was going to ask if you wanted 2 come over this weekend and hang out. Pizza night.

I trill of panic flooded through me. I didn’t know what he meant by the invite. Was it me going over to his house to eat and chill? Or was the Hulu and chill? I didn’t freaking know. I just knew I was being invited over to his place and this was epic for me. Play it cool.

Me: Let me check my schedule.

Let me check my schedule? What are you, fifty?

Wrigley: lol. Hadley, ur free. I know u. Be here by 7.

Me: You know nothing. I could have major plans... I bit my lip as I read my text and then added quickly, or a date.

There was a long pause. So long, I checked the time between texts; it was coming up on five minutes before it pinged again.

Wrigley: So do u have a date?

Me: No, of course not

And now I sounded desperate. Like I never went on dates. Or even got asked for that matter. Flipping great, Hadley. Just keep sounding like the pathetic loser. I swallowed and looked around my room for a bottle of water. This conversation was making my head hurt.

Wrigley: K then be here at 7. Night!

There was no sense in me even responding. I wouldn’t protest because I didn’t want too. I wanted to go. And I felt like the bigger person leaving him hanging without saying goodnight back. I was definitely too cool for that. Now you sound like a twelve-year-old texting. I needed to set my phone down and go to sleep.

I lay there awake for a good hour wondering what pizza at his house would entail. My brain came up with every possible scenario. It ranged from sitting on his couch, watching movies and eating pizza, to pizza and a heavy make out session where I promptly ended it before it gets to out of control. The last part I allowed myself to think about just to satiate my wild desires and put them to rest. It wasn’t going to happen. For now, sleep was all I could muster, and I’d have to wait two more days to actually find out what our pizza night would look like.

I was officially in panic mode. When I woke up the next morning, I moved through the motions of my routine but I didn’t hear a single word my professor said. It was math and something to do with variables but it went in one ear and out of the other. I sat there wondering what was going to happen Friday. My political science class was two days a week, and I still had one more class tomorrow, which would involve me seeing him prior to going to his place.

I made the decision I wasn’t going to go seconds before the class. I felt a pang of guilt about skipping my first college class. I felt like I was going to hell for it or worse, that I’d fail and my parents would be called and told I was being kicked out. Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but skipping felt like the worst thing I could do as a college student. Drastic times called for drastic measures. I had to come up with a plan of action. I had no idea if tonight was a date, something super casual and he was inviting a ton of people over as well, or if he was still doing things to prove his friendship. The best person I could ask was none other than my roommate; I had zero experience in these mattes and she could lead me in the right direction. Besides, she was officially seeing Bishop now. I had to admit, they made a super cute couple.

When I got back from class, I found her outside in a pair of shorts, and a bikini top, sunbathing while guys walked by with gaping mouths. I had a feeling she wasn’t even aware of the stares. Or, more likely, she didn’t really care. It was the middle of October and while most other states were just beginning to bundle up and deal with cooler weather, southern Louisiana was still hot and humid. For a girl from the north, she was soaking this up.

As I approached her, she looked up from the book she was reading. It was some romance novel. A guy with long hair blowing in the wind and on his knees while he looked up at some seductress, who’s thigh he was gripping. I blinked. Maybe I should be reading trash novels and take notes.

“What’s up, Buttercup?”

That relaxed nerves I hadn’t realized were tense. “Hey. How’s the sun?”

“Erm… hot.” She giggled at my awkwardness. “How’s class?”

I sighed and plopped down on the grass next to her. “I don’t know. I barely paid attention.”

She set her book down. “Oh man, this sounds serious. Studious Hadley couldn’t pay attention. What’s going on?”

She teased, but I knew once I told her, she would jump into action. “Well, I got a text two days ago.”

“Wrigley.”

“Mhmm. I’m not sure what to think about it.”

“What about it?”

“He told me to come over and have some pizza.”

She stared at me blankly. “Okay… and?”

I looked her straight in the eyes. “And? And what does that mean?” Where was my roommate who would be circling me like a shark by now saying we needed to prepare?

“It means he wants you to come over for pizza. What is it supposed to mean?”

I sighed. I guess I really was looking too far into it.

“Let me see the texts.” She held her hand out. “It depends on the tone of his texts, I guess.”

I dug into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. Opening to his texts, I watched as her eyes scanned the screen.

“Hmmm, now that’s interesting.”

“What?”

“This part right here.” She pointed. “Why did he wait to respond?”

“You noticed that too?”

“Yeah, I was curious about the times. Was he pausing because you might have a date and he wasn’t okay with that, or was he pausing because he was busy doing something? Seems weird to me.”

Her dissecting my text messages was making me antsy. At least I wasn’t the only one who noticed. But did it honestly matter? At this point, I’d rather grab my phone and go upstairs. I really needed to sit down and try to learn what I missed being off in La La Land in algebra. Even a bath sounded good right about now.

“Well, no sense in getting overly excited.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself by saying that. How about we play it safe?”

“Meaning....”

She rolled her eyes like I was missing the obvious. “I mean, dress nice but not overly dressed. Light make up will seem casual but good for any circumstance, and I can put soft waves in your hair, but make it look like it wasn’t done just for you going over there.” She flipped her wrist up with my phone on her palm. “And wah-lah, there’s your solution.”

I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to wear. This was all too much detail. I’d never been on a date before so I didn’t know what it entailed besides what I’d seen when my mom would get ready to go out with my dad. And, of course, what I’d seen from Aurora since she’d started dating Bishop.

Unlike my mom, she was a bit more strategic about what she wore. She wanted to impress Bishop but still be herself. I wish some things were instinctive or something I wished I’d had experience with it, but I hadn’t. I’d never been on a date. I’d never even kissed a boy. And that one time in kindergarten when I kissed a boy on the cheek as a dare didn’t count. It wasn’t even comparable. All of this was new.

“You make it seem so easy.” I looked down at my hands, discouraged.

She did what my mom would’ve done if she’d seen me looking like this. She brushed a few strands of hair out of my face and said, “Because it is. Overthinking is what kills things. Hadley, you’re beautiful, you do know that, right?”

I wasn’t her, or Claire, or Natalie from high school. But I didn’t think I was ugly. “Sure.”

“Be brave, hold your head high, and demand that people see you for who you are. That doesn’t mean you have to storm into a room and be loud and crazy. It means, you wear who you are proudly. When you do that, they’ll take notice.” She paused and smiled. “And by they, I mean guys. You act like the quiet wallflower that doesn’t want to be noticed, you won’t be. We all put out vibes, no matter what we look like or how we are dressed. If you want to be seen and you feel good about you, he will see it.”

I nodded and wiped a stray tear I hadn’t noticed had formed. “Think you can work with this?”

She laid her head on my shoulder and laughed. “Yes, I can definitely work with this.”

Her and I started giggling when a couple guys walked by and whooped and called out “Get a room!” I looked at her and busted out in full belly laughs. I was handing it all over to her. For the first time in my life, I was trusting someone other than my parents.

This whole thing seemed like a conundrum. I shouldn’t want to impress a boy who has paid no mind to me for the better part of the last fifteen years of my life because there were other people around who dictated what he did. He may say he makes his own choices, but let’s face it, like the rest of us, society can influence who we are and what we do. It says don’t hang out with the unpopular girl who is slightly weird, so you don’t. And like right now, it says dress up for a potential that maybe the handsome guy will notice you and see what he’s been missing. Seems beyond silly, but it is what it is.

I allowed Aurora to dress me and do my hair and makeup like she’d promised. When I looked in the mirror on Friday afternoon, nearly two hours before I was supposed to be at Wrigley’s, even I couldn’t deny she had done a bang-up job. I leaned toward the mirror to see a girl I recognized, but also one that was blinking back at me with curiosity. I started from the top to the bottom, my bewildered eyes scanning the image in the full-length mirror.

I took a step closer to inspect myself. Bright eyes framed by long black lashes blinked when I did. Cheerful pink cheekbones were highlighted with a touch of blush. Full lips shimmered with a sparkle of nude gloss. And my body was covered in an off the shoulder black eyelet top, and white cut off shorts that flirted with the idea of being slightly too short. Aurora had lent me her tan strappy sandals that laced up at the ankle and drew attention to my tan legs.

I had to admit, I felt pretty. Pretty enough to want to take a selfie just so I could remember this moment. One where there was still hope in my eyes and a possibility that Wrigley wasn’t as stupid as I knew he might end up being tonight.

“Damn, I really out do myself sometimes.” Aurora said, beaming at me and admiring her work.

I turned around and grinned at her. “I’m not really a hugger, but I could literally hug you right now.”

“So you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” I exclaimed. I stopped for a moment then turned back to the mirror. “For the first time in my life, I don’t just feel like normal Hadley. I feel… pretty.”

She stepped up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. “Hadley, you’re always pretty. Tonight, you are gorgeous. And that guy of yours would be blinder than Stevie Wonder if he doesn’t notice.”

I grinned. She was right. I wanted to deny it because that’s what was natural to me. But she was right. If I passed by myself walking on the street, I know I would have given me a compliment. I straightened my shoulders and Aurora dropped her hands. I was walking into tonight with so much more confidence than I’d thought possible. Tonight, I was ready to be noticed. If this didn’t work, then I knew I’d done what I could to open Wrigley’s eyes. If he blew me off, then I would officially quit this silly lifelong crush and move on knowing I had, at least, tried.

“I’m ready.” I walked over to my bed, grabbed my phone and started towards the door.

“Go get em’ tiger.” She beamed. “Text me if you need anything.”

“I will! Oh, and thanks for letting me borrow your car.”

“Welcome!” She hollered before the door shut behind me.

The night air was stiff and hot. I took a deep breath in, but the humidity prevented me from inhaling all the way. I needed to get in the car and turn on the air conditioning before this stickiness killed my new curls. Thanks Louisiana for the heat. Once in the car, I pulled up Wrigley’s address and drove the whopping four minutes. It would have taken me fifteen if I’d chosen to walk. I would have, but, again, the curls.

I pulled up in front of Wrigley’s house and froze. This was it. I was stepping foot into his space. Space that wasn’t his parents, and I wasn’t invited because it was a mutual family gathering. I wasn’t asked over because friends were going to be there. I was simply asked because he seemed to want me there. That thought sent a flurry of butterflies through my stomach. It was scary, and that’s okay. My life had taken a crazy turn over the last few months. One I never saw coming, and it was exciting.

While I wanted answers about where this friendship was going, if it was going anywhere, I realized I was thrilled with the idea of the unknown. When I still lived at home, I’d settled with the routine and knowing exactly where my life was going to go. I had known what I’d wanted to be when I grew up, I had known I wanted to be at this school, and that I wanted to settle down a few towns over from Athens where I could live the rest of my life much like my parents had. I had no plans of meeting a special someone and shaking up my world. I had never thought I’d be in this position. Wrigley Brooks had always been a pipedream. A fantasy. In fact, he may still be one after tonight. But I was going take tonight and feel good about Hadley Marten.

Hadley who wasn’t a wallflower.

Hadley who felt beautiful.

Hadley who wanted to be happy.

I deserved a life I created and went after. Not one I hid behind because of my past. Maybe Aurora was right. College wasn’t for popular kids and clicks. It was time to be a grown up. It was time to be me.

It just might be time to tell Wrigley exactly how I felt.

Okay your confidence is getting ahead of yourself. Reel it in. I shook my head.

I steeled myself and looked in my rearview mirror to check that every hair and sheen of gloss was still in place. It was perfect. Time to go.

Stepping out of the car, I looked around at the house and the surrounding neighborhood. The houses weren’t huge, and they were slightly run down. Not something you’d find in the ghetto, but definitely something you’d see in the outskirts of downtown areas that were being rehabbed. Wrigley and his roommates kept the yard tidy. The grass was trimmed short, and the edges were clipped. There were two bushes on each side of the front porch that could use some work, but it wasn’t crazy overgrown. The house was brick with old school awnings hanging over the windows, and I could see that the backyard was fenced in. For three guys living here, the place wasn’t half bad. But who knew what would greet me inside.

I brushed my hair over my shoulder before raising my hand to knock on the door. I only knocked once before it swung open and that brilliant white smile greeted me in familiar fashion. He was like a breath of fresh, cool air.

“Hey, you should’ve text me when you go—” He stopped mid-sentence and really took me in. He scanned me from head to toe, his lips slightly parted. When he looked me dead in the eyes, I wasn’t prepared for his compliment. “You look incredible.”

I blushed and my cheeks felt warm. Looking down at the ground, I shuffled my feet. “Thank you. Oh, and sorry I didn’t text. I forgot.”

He stepped aside so I could come in. He’d given me just enough room to brush past him, and my arm grazed his stomach. I heard him inhale and it made me wonder if he’d just smelled me. There were those damn butterflies again.

He cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here and that’s all that matters.”

That’s all that mattered. I thought that phrase over as I walked through a small front entry and entered into what I assumed to be the living room. There was a massive sixty-inch television hanging on the wall that was currently playing ESPN News. One black leather sofa was against a long wall, which appeared to be connected to the kitchen, while a matching sofa was on the wall beside it. A small coffee table with muscle magazines scattered across it sat in front, and other than the TV, the room was rather empty with plain white walls. Not as bad as I’d expected it to be. It was, at least, clean from what I could tell. I had no idea if there were any funky smells because the scent of pizza permeated into my nostrils.

“God that smells good,” I nearly growled. I was starving and had forgotten to eat since breakfast. Nerves had gotten the best of me. With food wafting through the air, I couldn’t hold back the hunger.

He chuckled. “Kitchen is over there. Pizza guy dropped off two larges right before you got here.” I followed him as he led me through a small room with a four person dining table and chairs. The kitchen was how I envisioned—galley style with dark, dated cupboards. The counter was Formica, but not crazy awful. “I had no clue what you like on your pizza, so I just guessed.”

He grabbed two paper plates from a cupboard and handed me one.

“You could’ve text and asked.” I smiled at my words so he could tell I was needling him about all his texts.

He bumped me with his elbow and I looked up at him and grinned. “Aren’t you just the comedian.” Opening the two boxes, he said, “This one is a meat lovers, and the other is Hawaiian. Sorry, but I love pineapple on pizza.”

“I know you do.”

“Point for Hadley. Seems there’s another thing you know about me that I didn’t about you.”

I picked up a piece from both boxes and put it on my plate. “Wrigley, I’m not keeping score. Why does it matter that I knew something about you that you didn’t about me?”

“Because I’m figuring out just how much of a dick I was in high school when I completely ignored you.”

I didn’t feel like getting into this right now. I was here to enjoy myself, not dredge up the past. “Well, for the record, I love Hawaiian. Meat lovers is yummy too, but I usually pick off the sausage. Don’t know why but it doesn’t ever sit well with me.” I tried making light.

He followed suit. “Well, then, mystery solved. Do you want soda, water, beer, or I think there’s milk in the fridge?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Milk with pizza is disgusting. I’m not old enough to drink, so I’ll just take a soda.”

He set his plate down to dig around in the fridge. I took a moment to gaze at his back side without getting caught staring. It had a perfectly round shape that I knew filled his baseball pants well. “There’s Mountain Dew, or Pepsi.”

“Pepsi.”

“Pepsi it is.” He stood back up and handed me the ice cold can. Our fingers brushed and I felt a chill roll through me. I gripped the can so it didn’t slide out of my hand. “If you want a beer later, it’s fine. Nobody is carding you here.”

The sarcasm in his voice made me feel slightly embarrassed by my stickler attitude. I knew most kids my age had already been to a party or two and had been completely trashed at one time or another. But it was never my thing.

I didn’t want to come across as uncool, so I simply said, “Okay, thanks.” I wouldn’t be touching it.

We both took our food and drinks into the living room and I waited until he sat down to pick where I’d sit. He plopped down in the middle of the larger couch, directly in front of the television, which only left space on either side of him. I politely took the smaller couch and sat with my food resting on the arm. He watched me perplexed, and I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but I thought better of it. Maybe he didn’t want me putting my plate there. I picked it up and placed it on my lap. His frown stayed.

“You good over there?”

“Hmm?” I asked confused. “Oh, yeah I’m fine, thanks.”

Wrigley looked at me puzzled.

“So where are the guys at? I thought there’d be other people here.” I tried to keep the conversation rolling.

He took a mouthful of pizza and tore off an end. I watched his mouth as he chewed. His tongue snuck out and licked the corner of his lip before he answered me. “Bishop got a text from Aurora to come over, so he’s at your place.” Oh that sneaky little roommate. “Chris is at some frat party for the millionth time this semester. And Austin is out of town at his older sister’s wedding.”

I took a long hard sip of my soda. I hiccupped once before I spoke. I don’t know why fizzy drinks did that to me, but my first gulp always made me hiccup. Wrigley tried to hide his chuckle.

“So it’s just us?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was hopeful or that the possibility of alone time was a big deal, but I think it came out more of a desperate question than a casual careless statement.

“Yep, just us. You cool with that?”

“Mhmm.” I was chewing my food and didn’t care to say anything else that would make me sound stupid.

“Well, I can go ahead and pop in a movie if you want to eat and watch.”

“Okay.”

He pressed a few buttons and an action movie I hadn’t even realize had come out started playing. Before long, I was completely engrossed and watching with wide eyes. One scene in particular had me gripping the small pillows lying next to me and Wrigley gave me a sideways smirk when I peeked in his direction.

“Don’t laugh. This is seriously intense,” I scolded.

He held his hands up in the air. “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

I turned in his direction. “You’re laughing.”

He sucked in his lower lip and bit down. “Nobody is laughing.”

I glared, trying to fight my own desire to smile. “Rude.”

“Who’s rude? Not me.”

“You’re teasing.”

“Maybe a little. But teasing can be fun.”

I gulped. “I suppose.”

His eyes narrowed. He was watching my mouth as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “In the right situation.”

“And what situations are those?”

“Ones that require me to sit closer so you aren’t so jumpy,” he said slowly.

Jumpy? Only thing that is jumpy around here is my heart. Holy mess, was he serious? I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. Sitting closer to him would mean I’d be closer. Closer wasn’t good. I’d be able to smell him. I’d be able to hear his breathing. He’d be at arm’s length. I don’t think my heart could handle the rapid beats that was already assaulting my body.

“I’d be jumpy sitting over there, or here.”

One side of his mouth tipped up. “Maybe, but I’m over here, so there’s a slight difference. I could protect you.”

My brows came together but I couldn’t pry my eyes from his hazel ones. “You’d save me.”

“Mhmm.”

“From the TV,” I queried.

“That’s right.”

“Interesting.” What an odd conversation. I had no clue where this was even going.

He patted the couch next to him. Oh my god! He wants me to get up and go over there. This was one of those moments in life where you pick door number one and there could be a glorious new living room set on the other side, or you could open door number two and there would be a box full of TNT and killer alligators ready to kill you. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that serious, but this was definitely a situation where I didn’t know if I should pick door one or door two. Either led to something that could change the direction of Wrigley’s and my relationship.

Tentatively, and on shaky legs, I stood up and took a step toward him. He waited expectantly as I took another step, our knees nearly touching. I blew out a breath I was holding in.

“Funny, you almost seem more nervous coming over here then you did sitting by yourself.”

Did he always speak what was on his mind? Geez! Yes, I was nervous. He was making me that way and by the looks of it, he knew it to.

“Are you purposely trying to make me squirm?” I asked.

He cocked a brow. “Is it working?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t lie.”

“That’s another lie.” He reached forward and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the couch. I had no choice but to sit.

The movie was still playing, but I had no clue what was happening. I was lost at this point. The attention from Wrigley was all I could focus on. Plus, I didn’t want to shatter this moment, however big or small it was. His hand let go of mine, but my leg was pressed against his. The warmth of him was about all I could bear and I was certain he could hear my heart pounding in my chest.

When his fingertips brushed against my cheek, it took all I had not to jump. “Your cheeks are pink. Am I embarrassing you?”

I risked a glance at him. He was staring at me and grinning devilishly. “Do you always speak your mind?”

He chuckled. “When I can.”

“When don’t you?” I tried not to lean into his touch.

“When I know my mom would kick my ass for opening my mouth.”

“Your mom is good like that.”

A deep laugh came from his throat. I blinked and looked down at my hands that were clasped in my lap. I sat straight up, my spine stiff as a board. He was reading me. Gathering and processing information about me. Like a predator calculating his next move. I might as well have been swimming in that bayou again with him circling as he searched for a weak spot to attack. Lord, was all the air in the room being sucked out? I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“I think need to use the bathroom,” I blurted.

He closed his mouth for a moment, then said, “It’s down that way; first door on the left.”

I flew from the couch as fast as I could. So fast you would’ve thought an ax murderer was chasing me. I was floored by what was happening. Finding the bathroom as quickly as I could, I accidentally shut the door too hard. “Sorry.” I called out. There was silence and embarrassment flooded my face.

Flipping on the light, I leaned over the sink and starred at myself in the mirror. What in the ever-loving crap was going on? Wrigley was flirting with me. Flirting like he meant to. Flirting like he was attracted to me. And it was completely foreign. I had no clue what to do and any response from my mouth was like a five-year-old’s excitement that their parents just told them they were going to Disney World. The part that was confusing me was, why? Why tonight was he doing this when I’ve been around for the last fifteen years. I wasn’t new.

I decided this was something I’d been waiting for. I had no clue if it was the pizza, the movie, or the make-up that had him coming on to me, but I needed to act on it. Or let him show me how. I didn’t have to have experience with this sort of thing to understand that his flirting may lead to more. I wanted to let it happen. I wanted to relax and let go enough to be like my free-spirited roommate and just have fun with this...whatever tonight was...no matter where it went. I’d always had dreams of what this would be like with him, and here I was wasting it in the bathroom. For all I knew, the moment could’ve passed by the time I got back out there.

I dropped my head and sucked in a deep breath of air. Only my lip gloss was missing, but the rest of me still looked the same. Steeling myself, I raised my shoulders and opened the bathroom door. Just as I stepped out, I slammed right into a hard chest and nearly stumbled back into the wall except for the strong hands that caught me. His fingers gripped my upper arms and an intense stare met mine. I blinked.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were walking back here.”

He took a step forward. His body was nearly flush with mine. “Everything okay?”

Wrigley’s breath washed over me and it was intoxicating. “Yep.” I squeaked out.

I couldn’t take my eyes away from his. He was in my personal space, unapologetically. One of his hands came up and gently brushed my hair back from my face.

“Where did you come from?”

I swallowed hard. His touched seared my skin. “I came from the bathroom.”

He gave me the most sincere smile and tried not to chuckle at my nerves that were wreaking havoc on my senses. “No, I meant this. This girl who walked into my house with balls of steel and beauty to match.”

“I dunno.” I said, stupidly in a trance.

“I like it.”

Wrigley stepped into me, now every inch of his front was pressed against mine. All of these new feelings were a lot to process. The consciousness of a male body on mine. The very smell of him was acting like a drug, making me beg for more. Every breath he took in, I took two. My chest rising and falling as he took in my every move. I felt like he was studying me.

“What’s happening here?” I asked. My brain not connecting to the rest of my body.

He trailed his fingers down my arm and the little hairs raised on end. My back was against the wall and I knew this was sensory overload. This wasn’t like being out on the water and he was holding me. This was deliberate. This was attraction. This was, no questions asked, him becoming physical and making it known he was seeing me. But was it with clear eyes?

“Is it the make-up and hair?” I asked, curious and rambling.

“Nah.” His stare was intimidating. “It’s more than that. I’ve seen you every day without all this.” He picked up a lock of my hair and twisted it in his fingertips.

I licked my lips and his pupils dilated. “Then what? I’m not getting this.”

“There’s nothing to get. I’m attracted to you.”

My heart started galloping in my chest, and my stomach bottomed out. “You are?”

“Mhmm.” He dipped his head down closer to mine. His lips only inches away.

“Since when?” I asked breathily.

He kissed my forehead and a thrill shot through my body. I tried not to quiver.

“These past few months have been fun. You’re easy to talk to, we get along, we’ve known each other for a long time, and you’re beautiful.”

I’m beautiful? My inner self blinked. “But we have known each other for a long time. I’ve liked you for a long time. This may all seem good now, but what happens when we go back home?”

Why in the hell was I trying to be sensible when this was the one time in my life I should just let go and be senseless? Ugh, I was frustrating even to myself. I should just shut up and let him-

Wrigley’s lips gently pressed to mine and every thought went out the window. The soft tender touch was almost shocking to my system and I could do nothing but hold completely still. At first it was a light peck.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then it became more. Heavier and demanding. My mouth was shut but a tender lick from his tongue made me gasp and he took advantage. I parted my lips and he sealed his to mine. I’d never done this before. What I was doing was merely drawn from movies I’d seen and following his lead. I opened my mouth slightly and gave him entrance to advance. His tongue was soft and tasted sweet like candy.

I tried to mimic his movements but still felt awkward. I was slower to press forward with my own advances. I didn’t want him to push me away if I tried to explore more of his taste. He was patient as I learned what he was doing, and I tried to do it myself. I quickly learned that you definitely breathed through your nose while kissing. I wanted to laugh at myself for overthinking in the moment. Then something else grabbed my attention.

The entire line of him was against my body, but his hips ground into mine. I pushed back. Not to fight him, but because it felt good and I needed it. There was a hardness on one side of his shorts pressing into my pelvic bone. On its own accord, my hips shifted forward, trying to find relief. I knew my panties were wet and I was biting back a moan. Wrigley had an erection. One I had given him. I was turning him on and that knowledge alone was a heady feeling.

When my hips thrust forward again, knowing I was pushing against him and bringing him pleasure, a groan came from his throat. An exhale of breath into my mouth made me want to swallow the sensations down and drink from this cup forever. Then something else happened. A large hand cupped my breast. I leaned into it, not realizing I needed to be touched. It was shocking and welcoming. My nipples hardened and I tried to let this feeling soak into my pores so I could remember it for the rest of my life.

“Oh god,” I said against his mouth.

I felt his smile and he brushed his thumb over the pert bud. I felt his erection jump in his shorts and I knew he was enjoying what he was doing. This seemed too much. I was losing my body to a man that knew what he was doing, while I was a novice just learning the ropes.

I was battling with knowing what he was doing to me and how my body was being manipulated to respond to even the lightest of his touches, to knowing there’s no way this was even real. He said it wasn’t the little makeover. But before tonight Wrigley had shown little to no interest in doing anything like this. We were supposed to be friends. A friend who wanted advice. A friend who’d text or show up whenever he wanted to. And a friend who he’d clearly grown to rely on being there. Had I become his crutch? 

“Is this a good idea?” I whispered when his mouth traveled down my neck.

He laced his fingers from one hand with mine and I felt his teeth scrape my earlobe. That made my core clench and a small moan came from my throat. Never in my life had I felt like this. Not even when I was alone in my room learning my own body and trying to figure out what felt good and what sent me over the edge. He was working my body up more than I’d ever was able to.

“I think,” he started to say as the hand on my breast kneaded it a little firmer. “That when it comes to you, all thinking has been sent out the window. You’re doing something to my head, Hadley. You and that very smart mouth of yours has been driving me insane for the last few months. These lips,” he snaked his tongue out and swiped the tip of it across my lower lip tasting me. “I fucking dream about.” He pulled back and intently stared at me like a viper ready to attack. “And these beautiful, blue eyes of yours are pools that demand honesty and trust. Everything about you has been calling out to me. Your goddamn body and curves have done nothing but tempted me to explore them. Tonight has sent me over the edge. I want you.” 

I watched his mouth as the words were formed but I stopped listening after he’d said he wanted to explore me. My legs were Jell-O and the only thing holding me up was the weight of him against me. My brain was scrambled and swirling with turmoil. I wanted to be closer. I wanted to push him away. I wanted to ask a million questions. I wanted to melt into him and never come up for air. My insides were having a battle of wills. Brain versus heart. I truly couldn’t breathe.

I wanted him more than I’d wanted anything in my life. He was testing my boundaries and I quickly realized I had none. When I let him walk into my life, he crumpled up the walls I’d set up to protect me from people like him. He’d tossed those walls aside like I’d built them with feathers.

I tilted my head back, giving him better access to my throat. He nipped and kissed where he’d stung me with sharp teeth. “It’s just, is this too fast? Should we talk about this first?”

“No,” he stated simply.

“But what if I want to? I’ve never done this before.”

He ground his hips upward and brought slight relief to my core, which was pulsating; impatiently waiting to be touched. I moaned.

“I’m teaching you,” he growled. I could feel him trembling under my hands and I knew he was holding himself back from pushing for more.

My skin felt like it was on fire. My clothes were making me hot and I wanted nothing more than to have every inch of naked skin against his. It still wouldn’t be enough. I had to keep my senses here. I was losing myself to him. If I didn’t stop this, I would soon forget my own name. This was too risky. This was more than I’d anticipated. I was having a fantasy fulfilled, and I had to stop it.

I brought my hands up and placed them on his chest. My fingers dug into him, gripping his shirt in my fists. God, this was hard. I never wanted this to end, but I had to. I needed to. I released him and slid past him. He nearly fell forward but caught himself with his hand on the wall.

I was panting. “I need to go home.”

His eyes were dark. I could see very little of that beautiful hazel I loved so much. He reached for me and I stepped back. “Hadley, don’t.”

“Wrigley,” tears started to well up in my eyes. “I don’t know what’s happening. I’m disappearing with your touch and I am scared too much is going to happen.”

He shook his head. “Stay. Just stay the night with me. Nothing more has to happen. We can talk and we can figure this all out, but please don’t go.”

A single tear slid down my cheek. I wanted to oblige him. His voice was shaky and desperate. A sound I’d never heard from him before. “I’ll stay, but I need our distance. My head feels cloudy.” How was I going to text Aurora and tell her I wasn’t coming home without her freaking out thinking more was happening. Didn’t matter. I had bigger fish to fry.

I conceded, nodding my head. He reached out to wipe my tear away. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

“I’ll stay.” His shoulders raised and hope sparked in his eyes.

This was going to be an even longer night than I thought.