Metamorphosis

Chapter 2

I was addicted without knowing how. I only knew that I had to see him again after tonight.

With my heart pounding hard in my chest, I watched Eren lift his hand to crook his finger at me. I couldn't move. My legs were immobile stones beneath me, but that didn't seem to matter, because several men came up behind me and pushed me forward until I was standing next to him. Once I was close enough, he leaned in, warm breath tickling my ear as he said, "I forgot to mention that if a fighter gets knocked out, the fight is over. Go ahead and announce the winner." He took my hand and my knees buckled. His midriff was inches away from me, sun-kissed skin edible under the dim lighting. I tried to regain a sliver of composure, but I couldn't even manage that.

Everyone was looking at me. I squirmed under their expectant gazes, but I had to at least get this one thing right. "The winner of tonight's fight is Eren Jaeger," I said timidly, but no one cared how I said it, because when Eren brought our hands up, forcing me to stand on my tippy toes, everyone shouted in unison. I was so overwhelmed that I almost missed when Reiner was carried off. I felt bad for him. Sure he was being a douche earlier, but he just got knocked out.

"Ready to get paid?" Eren asked after several minutes passed. He hadn't released my hand, his fingers encased mine, keeping me rooted to the spot.

The contact between us made me feel like an open wound, vulnerable and susceptible.

I drew my eyes away from our hands just to see that he was already looking at me, exotic eyes boring into mine. "Are you sure? I didn't really do much."

"You did what you came here to do," he said. "You earned it."

I wanted to laugh, because I'd literally been gawking at him instead of keeping track of what was happening in the fight. I could remember (with precise detail) how his torso tightened and twisted when he threw a punch, but I couldn't recall any of Reiner's moves, or how he'd managed to snag Eren above the eyebrow. I was pretty sure that the referee was supposed to know that stuff. The fact that I was still going to get paid was nothing short of a miracle. Or was Eren taking pity on me? I was his little sister's best friend, after all.

"Connie!" Eren yelled out, dropping my hand so he could wave someone over. Feeling nervous, I put some distance between us, which caught his attention right away. Holding my gaze, he stepped toward me, erasing the distance I'd created. I couldn't breathe or think or do anything, for that matter. He was too close—too close!

"U-um, well I, um..." I fumbled with the words, unable to form them into a sentence, because his eyes were roaming up my body. No. No, this was not okay. I was not okay. How could he make me feel so undone just by looking at me? This wasn't the least bit fair. I was a grown man, here in this warehouse on a job, so why couldn't I speak to the person that was basically my boss?

I was seconds away from combusting from the sheer intensity of his gaze when a man with a buzz cut came running up to us. He offered me a lopsided smile as he handed Eren a wad of cash that screamed at me. There was my rent money for this month. I never thought I would earn it in one night.

"Thanks, Connie," Eren said while his eyes wandered down to my lips. I wish he wouldn't do that. I was having a hard time breathing, as it is. "Tell Jean that I want everyone out of here in two hours. I'm not kidding. Last time you guys decided to dick around, I was the one that had to deal with the police."

Connie grinned in a mischievous way as he asked, "You're taking off already? I thought you were going to stick around for Jean and Thomas' fight? It's going to be good."