Page 31
“So . . .” He releases a heavy breath. “I heard what happened with Caleb.”
I wince. “Word travels fast.”
“I guess what I’m wondering is . . .” Elijah stops walking.
Our gazes meet, and I’m momentarily stunned by how blue his eyes are.
“Do I still have a shot?”
“A shot?” My chest tightens, and once again, I swear everyone knows something I don’t.
He palms the back of his neck. “I should’ve asked you out last year—before Lucas. And now, between Tyler and Caleb . . .”
Guilt chases the relief flowing through my veins. “I guess I should apologize. I agreed to go out with Caleb before you asked me and—”
“No. Don’t apologize.” He links his pinkie with mine, clinging to it as we weave our way through the busy campus. “It’s just . . . I made reservations for tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page before confirming everything.”
“We are.” A flash of heat burns my cheeks. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me, too.” He slips the rest of his fingers between mine, oblivious to the crowd lining up in front of the math building—all eyes zooming in on our joined hands as if someone sold tickets to the spectacle.
We walk inside, and I smell the flowers before I see them—the sweet fragrance overpowering in the narrow hall.
“What the hell?” I mutter from the doorway to my calculus classroom.
Elijah nudges me inside, where dozens of long-stem roses in various shades of pink and red litter the floor around my usual seat, and a giant pink cardboard conversation heart—with Be Mine scrawled across the front—sits on the desk.
“Did . . .” I gape at Elijah. “Did you do this?”
“What? Me?” He blushes to his hairline. “No. But now I wish I’d thought of it first. This is genius. I think I hate your secret admirer.”
Another nameless, faceless admirer? “This is too weird.”
“Probably Caleb’s idea of an apology. Dude doesn’t know when to quit.” Elijah scoops up a bunch of roses, sticking himself with a thorn. “Ow, shit.” He sucks on the pad of his thumb, but his gaze locks on mine. “Beautiful but dangerous. Sort of like you.”
“Me? Dangerous?” I choke out a nervous laugh, but his serious expression sobers me.
“Everyone wants you, Kennedy. I’m in real danger of losing my heart if I’m not careful.”
His unexpected declaration makes my heart beat faster. My next thought comes out in a whisper. “I don’t think everyone wants me.”
“Trust me, they do.” He leans in, brushing his fingers along my cheekbone and tucking my hair behind my ear. His breath washes over me, and I can practically taste the watermelon Jolly Rancher dissolving in his mouth. “But if I have any say, they can’t have you.”
I struggle for a witty comeback, but once again, I’m at a loss for words.
He lifts the cardboard heart from my desk and holds it in front of him. “Pick me, Kennedy. Be mine,” he voices the written message, and my heart melts.
10
“Kennedy, wake up.” A familiar voice drifts into my consciousness, and someone sits on the edge of my bed. “You need to see this.”
I nudge her with my foot and snuggle deeper under the covers. “Go ’way, ’cole. Sleeping.”
“Come on, get up.” She yanks the blanket off me, and the cold air hits me like a bucket of ice. “You can sleep when you’re dead.”
“Hey!” I shriek, fumbling for the down comforter now just out of reach.
She tosses me the blanket, then goes to the window and throws the curtains wide open. “It’s snowing. You always loved watching the snow fall.”
