I wince. I never realized that Prue and I were so easy to read. Well, not true. I noticed thatshewas, but didn’t know it was the same for me. And yet, we manage to hide it from each other…
“You’ve been brave enough to ask me out, so I’ll be taking this one. I like you. Like—a lot. And I really enjoyed our date tonight. If you did too, I’d love to go on a lot more. Because I’ve been thinking about this since the day I met you,” he leans forward, pushing our glasses of wine on the side, stoppingright in front of my face. My eyes can’t help but glance at his lips, and the small smile stretching across them. “And how I want to kiss you.”
Should I kiss him on our first date? What if he—
No overthinking. I want to kiss him. So actions first, and mental freak out later.
I close the small distance between us in a second, our lips finally meeting, and I feel like I’m melting. He tastes like red wine and spices, his skin is soft and warm. His hand cradles the side of my face, as his lips move, deepening our kiss. And I’m flying. Because I almost forgot what it feels like to be kissed. A soft, curious kiss. Like we’re discovering each other, taking the time to explore and taste.
When he pulls away, we’re both grinning.
“We’ll definitely have to do more of that,” he whispers playfully, before standing up. “I’ll clean up the table, and we could have another drink on the couch?”
“Yes. Definitely,” I answer, but I don’t get up, too enraptured by his smile, and the shape of his lips.
“Do you need my help?”
I blink a few times and clear my throat. “No, I think I can manage.”
I stand up slowly, using the edge of the table as leverage and high-five myself in my head when I start to take the few steps to go sit on the couch. I don’t think I’ll ever thank Nate enough for this.
Not ten minutes later, Ikram sits next to me, handing me a new glass of wine.
“So, I’m guessing you have some kind of list?”
I arch a brow. “How do you know?”
“I don’t really,” he shrugs. “But I know that people with this kind of illness usually do.”
I exhale a long, deep breath. The list. I do have one. Prue knows about it, but not what’s on it except for a couple of things. Like, see and talk to our parents one last time, or go to one last book signing event.
“I have one, yes,” I admit, staring at my wine swirling in the glass. “But I don’t talk about what’s on it a lot.”
“Is making sure Prudence is taken care of, on it?” he asks.
“It is.”
I arch a brow in surprise. Am I that obvious?
“And… Have you thought about what you learned from Evie last Friday night?”
“Obviously. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped thinking about it all week,” I scoff. “I’m trying to push them together, but I’m not sure how. She’s getting her car back, so she won’t need him to give her rides, and cutting her brakes seems a little overkill… He doesn’t look like he’s ready to talk to me about it.”
He hums distractedly, eyes narrowed and lost in front of him. “Maybe he’ll make a move on his own? Even though I doubt it because of what happened back then. He probably still thinks you’ll kill him if he touches your sister. You should tell him you know. That you’re okay with it.”
“I dropped hints, it doesn’t look like he believes me.”
“Because you were toying with him.” He rolls his eyes.
He’s leaning on his side against the back of the couch to face me, one of his legs folded against his chest, holding his wine glass in front of him. I’m slightly turned too, but I try to keep my back against it to make sure I don’t hurt it more than it already is.
He looks so comfortable. Here. On my couch with me.
“They’re out tonight, right? With your friend, Nuri?”
“Yeah. Nuri knew, by the way.”
“She knew?”
