Page 48 of Needed You

I scoff. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Tell me everything anyway.”

I snicker. “He came to the shop with lunch. We ate it. I showed him around, and then he left.”

“Mm-hmm. There’s more,” she prods.

“No really,” I say. “That’s it. It was . . . nice. I don’t know why he did it, but it was really sweet.”

My sister looks at me, a smirk on her lips. “Heee liiiiikes youuuuu.”

I laugh out loud, leaning my head on the back of the sofa. My heart warms at the thought. But I shake my head. “It was just lunch, Linds.” I don’t tell her about the lake. The overnight. The fact that he was in my bed. The fact that I sucked his dick. I leave those details out.

“Just lunch,” she mocks. “People don’t just do that, Lev. He likes you.”

There’s a sudden churning in the pit of my stomach, and I swallow the lump in my throat. Lindsey must see the shift in me, because her teasing expression fades into concern.

“What is it?” She puts her hand on my arm, our joking now a distant memory.

“It’s just . . . I don’t know, Linds. I like him. I’m so fucking intrigued by him, and I don’t know why. He’s got this magnetism, and he’s sexy and smart, and he has no idea!”

“Woah, Lev. You’ve got it bad.” And there’s the teasing again. I just look at her, pulling a face but a smirk underneath. “And clearly with lunch and coming to the shop, he’s feeling something too.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes, and I’m sort of wishing I hadn’t said so much. But I actually don’t really have anyone else to talk to about this. The Pack is out of the question.

Lindsey breaks the quiet, giggling. “Are ya gonna kiss ’im?” She pulls her knees up and plops her chin on them, a goofy smile on her face.

I can’t help but laugh. “I may or may not have already crossed that line.”

She gasps. “LEV! You’ve kissed!? You haven’t . . . wait—don’t answer that. I don’t . . . no. Don’t answer.” I laugh at her as she holds her hands up in surrender. “Just remember that he just needs to be loved for who he is.”

I exhale. “I know. But love, Linds? Let’s go a little slower than that. In some ways, he makes it really fucking easy to be with him, and in other ways . . . he makes it really fucking hard.”

“Give it time,” she says, patting me on the arm. Then she jumps up and claps her hands together. “Ohhhh, I can’t wait to double date!”

I laugh and stand up, pulling her into a hug. “I should go. Good night, Lindsey. I’m going to say night to Mom and Dad and head out. When is the date with the hot server?”

“Sunday night, when we’re both off.”

I nod and then grab my keys, say goodbye to my parents, who are watching TV in another room, and head to the door. Lindsey walks with me.

“I want no details, Linds,” I tell her firmly, giving her a wink. She laughs, and I leave, hearing the door click behind me.

Once I’m home, I take a shower and settle in my bed to watch something.

Lying there, I close my eyes and let myself think about what Lindsey said earlier. She’s right, of course. There is something starting between Dare and me. And I want to see where it goes. I don’t know what it is about him that’s so magnetic, but it’s there. I want to pursue it. I want to go at it, all in.

There’s a line I’ll have to walk between going for something with him and keeping things at his pace so I don’t scare him away. It can’t be that hard, right?

I laugh out loud at myself. Then I grab my phone and send him a text.

Me: Hey.

It takes a few minutes before he writes me back, but he does.

Lycan: Hey yourself.

I love that this has become our thing.