“Well, damn, that sucks,” he pouts. “Now I’m gonna be a fifth wheel.”
I try to tease, “Yep. They’ll make a kids’ table just for you.” He smiles while I play with his unruly curls. “Believe me, I’d rather be going home with you.” Nana and Pops are okay, but I don’t care for my aunt and her family.
“Is that what’s wrong?”
My heart flip flops. “What do you mean?”
“I dunno. You’ve been kinda quiet tonight, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Crap. “Sorry. Just tired, I guess.”
He drops onto his side facing me and pulls my body right up against his.
I add, “This semester’s getting a little long in the tooth.”
“Yeah, but you’ll still get straight A’s.”
Is that admiration in his eyes?
Encouraged, I hook a leg over his, pulling him even closer. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think… I mean, I had…” Why am I so nervous? He’s myboyfriend. “I mean, what would you say if…well…if I told you I thought I might be psychic?”
“Psychic? Why would you think you’re psychic? Wait—” His brows shoot up. “Do you know who’s gonna win Smash?”
I think he might be joking, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. “No, not that kind of psychic.”
“What other kind is there?” He has one hand on my rear end and the other up the back of my sweater.
“The kind that sees things or hears things or…feelsthings.”
His bright blue eyes go round. “Oh, likeI see dead people?”
Face suddenly on fire, I drop my gaze, focusing on my fingers as they trace his scratchy chin. “No, like, remember a couple of weeks ago, when that guy Jason OD’d? I felt it—like it was happening to me.”
Zander gently strokes the bare skin of my back, his body language shouting “let’s get naked,” even though his smile is patient. “That’s because you’re sensitive.”
“But it’s more than that.”
“More how?”
My chest is in knots and getting tighter by the second. “I felt Jason OD before I knew it was actually happening.”
“That’s impossible, babe.” He chuckles and hugs me tighter. “Look, there’s nothing wrong with being sensitive. The world would be a better place if there were more people like you.”
I swallow my reply. It’s nice to hear Zander express appreciation for my sensitivity, but let’s be honest, sensitivity is all he’ll ever think it is.
He sweeps my hair from my face. “You’re sweet and you care. It’s one of the reasons why I love you.”
My breath catches. “You love me?”
“Yeah,” he says, in the same tone he uses when he says “duh.”
“You’ve never told me that before.”
He blinks. “I haven’t?”
