Page 74 of Scoring Lessons

Once the movie finished, he grabbed the remote and decided to look for another movie as we ate all the candy, even though we were stuffed.

“Why do you like rom-coms so much?” he asked once the credits from the second movie started to roll, his gaze burning the side of my face.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I chuckled. “It’s a girl thing.”

“You’ve never been the type, though.” He braced an elbow on the couch and rested his chin against his knuckles when he turned to face me.

I mirrored his pose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You used to be so against relationships.”

“I had a good reason,” I said defenselessly.

His eyes turned molten like jade glowing in the heart of a fire. Wesley was one of the few people who knew the real story behind my father.

“I know,” he murmured. “I’m not judging. I only want to know when everything changed.”

“As it turns out, I’m just a girl wishing for a happily ever after.” Admitting the truth out loud when I was actively trying to do the opposite was an odd juxtaposition.

He let out a low hum, his hand moving to push a rebellious strand of hair out of my face. “Why do you make it sound like it’s a bad thing?”

I leveled him with a dry look. “Because it’s not what I should want.”

“Why not?” His index finger found my chin to force me to lift my head and look at him. “It’s okay to want it.”

“Even though it may never happen?” I asked, fear coiling in my chest, making every heartbeat sharp.

“Why would you think that?” His tone was warm, like it was meant to melt away every bit of doubt in me.

We were walking a dangerous path, and I needed to shut it down before it was too late. We may have become more friendly than whatever battle we used to have, but that didn’t mean he needed to be privy to every part of me.

I waved my hand with a dismissive chuckle. “Because of life or whatever.”

The sharpness in his gaze made me flinch, as if he could see every hidden thought. “Could you be any more cryptic?”

“I’m sure I could if I tried.” I cleared my throat. I was officially done with this conversation. “You feeling better?”

He let his shoulders drop, his sigh turning resigned. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do all of this, you know,” he said quietly.

“It’s the least I can do after everything you’re doing for me.”

“It’s no problem, you know that.”

“I know.” I nodded. “But I’m still grateful.”

“Talking about that…” He thinned his lips in contemplation. “I have something for you.”

He went to his room before I could ask him any questions. A few minutes later, he came back with a small box. When he cleared his throat, a small chuckle slipped out of me. Wesley was the definition of confidence, so this was brand new territory. A whole other side of him I didn’t know he was capable of having.

“Why are you so nervous?” I asked, my voice filled with amusement.

“Because this feels so inappropriate, even though we literally agreed to do this.” His laugh was gravelly, but the way it glided over my skin was like liquid fire, tracing every nerve it touched.

The realization sank in slowly. My skin tingled, aware of every movement around me.