In My Skin

CH 28 || Hedgehogs and Pigeons

I watched him busy himself and wondered if I was overstepping when he abruptly faced me, picked me up, and placed me on the counter he had just finished cleaning.

He relaxed next to me and dropped his head against my shoulder. I hesitated but then I covered his forehead with my palm. His skin was warm but not unnaturally so.

"So," I said and lowered my hand. "What's your deal with Alicia?"

He grimaced and straightened again. "You noticed that, huh?"

I tried to keep my voice even, nonchalant. "Kinda hard not to."

He shrugged and raked a hand through his hair. The fatigue seemed to ease the hard lines on his face. "Lots of people don't."

I waited.

He gave me a side glance. "You're surprisingly curious today."

"Aren't you always the nosy one? I thought I could just"—I gestured at him—"take a page from your book."

"That reminds me. How's the diary about me coming along?"

"I see you're definitely all better now," I remarked dryly.

Killian crossed his arms and I couldn't help but notice how his biceps bulged. A few hours ago, I'd been using them as a pillow... I fought the heat crawling up my neck. Shit. I really had to get a grip.

Our eyes locked. The sunlight made his look brighter, more green than usual. They seemed to bore into my own, searching for...something. "We were sort of close," he finally said. "Before I left for Europe."

I expected something like it but still tensed at his words.

His voice was quiet. "Because of Cody mainly. She was friends with his ex—best friends I think—so, naturally, we hung out a lot. But it got weird after a while."

"Weird how?" I asked, bouncing my legs.

"Let's put it like this, I don't like being manipulated. We sort of had a falling out before I left... Cody's relationship didn't last much longer."

When he didn't say anything else, I spoke up. "I didn't know you went to Europe."

"I studied in Spain, and then visited just about everything. France, Britain, Germany, Norway..."

I perked up and leaned forward. "What was your favorite country?"

He considered it. "Norway, I think. The landscape alone is definitely worth a visit."

"But it's cold there, right?"

"Well, it's probably not the best place for you. I guess you can always go in spring or summer, but the northern lights are definitely worth seeing."

"Kinda rich coming from the guy who got sick after staying in the cold for too long," I retorted.

"You were cute being all worried though," he replied with a small smile.

"I wasn't that worried," I grumbled, looking anywhere but at him.

"That's why you stayed all night?" His low baritone did weird things to my stomach. Why did he have to sound good as well?

My eyes settled on the big kitchen plant sitting on the windowsill. The deep green leaves shimmered under the sun's rays, amplified by the piles of snow. Plants never survived my care for too long. "That's common courtesy," I remarked.

"Sure," he drawled, watching me. "Sometimes I think your spirit animal must be a hedgehog."

"What?"

"Cute, small, and curls up into spikes whenever you get too close."