Lucas swivels his head to glance at me, his brows furrowing. “What are you writing in there?”
“None of your business.” A shadow looms over me as I jot down the time, date, and a few extra details. I lift my head, seeing Lucas looking down at my planner, a playful grin on his lips. “Well,girlfriend,” he teases, making my eyes narrow. “Look like you’re excited for our first date.” He grinsmischievously, clearly finding the situation amusing, as opposed to me.
“Don’t call me that,” I tell him. “And I’m not excited. I just want to be prepared.”
He lets out a laugh, sitting back in his chair. “A little too prepared if you ask me. Remember to smile? Really?” he asks, arching a brow.
My eyes narrow at the fact that he managed to read my planner. “You’ve been doing this for a lot longer than I have.”
He laughs again, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll remind you to smile.” With that, he flashes me a grin, making my eyes drift down to his lips.
I rip my eyes away from his mouth, tucking my planner back into my bag. “If we’re going to do this, then we need to set some rules.”
He sighs, wiping a hand down his face. “Of course we do.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Do you have a problem with that?” I ask him. “I’m not sure what you were expecting to happen. I’m not going to sleep with you.”
His eyes widen. “What?” He questions, a laugh escaping his lips. “You don’t need to worry about that. That’s definitely not going to happen.”
“Good,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “And no kissing either.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “You said that already,” he says. “Even though I think it’s stupid,” he admits, with a shake of his head. “Who’s going to believe we’re dating if we don’t kiss?” His brow lifts, enquiring, but he continues before I can respond.
“You were in my arms, Madeline. I held you against my chest while your arms were wrapped around my neck. Youreyes were locked on mine, looking up at me like someone in love.” As he speaks, flashes of the pictures of us I’ve seen repeatedly come rushing back. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth at the memory. “How are we going to go from that to being five feet apart?” he asks, frowning. “You need to know how suspicious that will be.”
He’s right. I know he is. We need to do whatever is necessary to make this work. But the thought of someone’s lips on mine for the first time in years makes my heart beat so fast I swear I stop breathing. I can’t do it. I don’t want to do it. “No kissing,” I repeat firmly. “But you can do anything else.”
A smug grin dances on his lips. “Anything?” he asks with an arched brow. My mind spirals out of control, thinking of whatanythingcould entail.
“Within our boundaries,” I clarify.
His lips curve into a smile. “So I can hold your hand?” he questions teasingly.
“Sure,” I reply, attempting to keep my composure even though the thought of it makes my skin break out into a sweat.
“I can…” His eyes trail over my face. “Kiss your cheek?”
I feel my heartbeat in my throat, just from picturing it, but I nod against my better judgment.
His hand reaches out, running the back of his hand down my arm slowly. His eyes track his movements, and my skin breaks out into goosebumps from the featherlight touch of his skin on mine. It seems to go on forever until he reaches my wrists and glances up at me. “I can touch you?” he murmurs, his voice dipped in a deep, husky tone.
I swallow harshly and let out a breath. “Only if necessary.”
He pulls back, a smirk on his lips. “Interesting,” he muses to himself. “Any more rules?”
My mind goes blank for a second, but then I breathe out a laugh. “I’d say we can’t fall in love, but that won’t be a problem for us.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “It definitely won’t for me,” he says, squinting at me. “What about you? Are you sure you can handle that?”
I scoff. “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage it.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, teasingly. “I could swear I saw some love hearts in your eyes earlier.”
“You’re delusional,” I drawl, rolling my eyes. “Consider any hypothetical hearts crushed.”
He laughs a little, rubbing his chin. “Good.” His shoulders square, and he glances back at me. “I have one rule,” he says, making my eyes widen.
“What is it?” I ask.
