Page 17 of Now You See Me
Tightly balled fists at my sides, I step aside so Leroy can leave. I’ve spent two decades growing into a calm, responsible man, but in this moment, my genetically ingrained Irish fight demands I punch Leroy’s fangs down his damn throat.
“Tell me what?” I ask as she closes the distance between us. “And how did you know I was here, or where I’m standing now?”
“I could feel your eyes on me. And I know you’re going to tell me it’s impossible, but I can see you.”
“You’re right, it’s impossible.” I can’t even see myself in the mirror. God knows I’ve tried.
“Only, it’s not,” she says, shaking her head. “I can’t see the surface of you. Not the color of your eyes or hair. But I can see the shape of you. You’re invisible, but you’re solid—very solid—and mass takes the place of air. I see you.”
“No one else ever has. It’s wishful thinking.”
“Maybe my eyesight is tuned differently. Or maybe I’m meant to be the only person who sees you, just like you’re the only one who sees me.”
“Leroy sure seems able to see you,” I say with a grunt.
Her delicate eyebrows knit together at the bridge of her nose. “Looking at someone and seeing them are different things.”
Telling her she’s right won’t change anything. I cross my arms over my chest. A defensive posture, though there’s no protecting my heart from what’s about to happen. “What do you want to tell me?”
“That you were wrong.”
“Yeah, I got that already.” I exhale as the lips I’d give anything to kiss curve downward. “Say what you need to say, and I’ll get out of your way.”
“Get out of my way? What does that mean?”
Fuck.“It means I saw you and Leroy having the kind of cozy, close-contact moment you and I can never have. I’m invisible, not blind. You want the things I can’t give you, and you should. You deserve to have everything, without limits and barriers, whether it’s with Leroy or someone else.”
“You’re… jealous? After everything we said and shared last night?”
“Just being realistic.” I curse under my breath when she mimics my posture while drilling me with an I-call-bullshit gaze. “Yes, I’m jealous. So fucking jealous, I’d be green if I wasn’t invisible.”
“I’d love you if you were green. I love you regardless of shape, size, color, or lack thereof. You saw friendship and gratitude. That’s all I’ll ever want to have with Leroy, or with anyone except you.”
“Elise—”
“Are we ready for Screaming Woods’ next science experiment?” Leroy robs me of the opportunity to grovel at Elise’s feet when he walks into the room carrying a cardboard box with tiny ventilation holes. His snake-eyed gaze shifts back and forth between us. “Should I come back?”
“No. Roan can finish what he was about to say afterward. It’ll be even better then.”
“All right, let’s get on with the big moment,” Leroy says, opening the box after setting it on the desk. “I haven’t had breakfast yet, and these little fellas are making me hungry.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, following Elise to the desk.
“When I woke up alone in your bed this morning, I thought you’d gone to the coffee shop already. I was on my way out when I heard you snort—that’s when I realized you were asleep on the couch.”
“I had to, Elise. I couldn’t risk touching you while I was sleeping.”
“I know why you slept there.” Her voice is like a soft touch. “I love how committed and protective you are. But after what I saw, I think you’re wrong about the risk.”
“What did you see?”
“You snorted because there was a spider on you. A pretty gross one, I’m sorry to tell you, making its way casually across your face.”
Instinctively, I swipe both palms over my nose and cheeks. “How do you know it was my face? Wait—do I even want to know?”
Her pretty features scrunch up as she cringes. “Probably not.”
Fuck, I have to know. “Did it crawl into my mouth? Did I eat a spider in my sleep?”
