Bad Boy, Good Boy (boyxboy)

8 - AFTER the major cliffhanger

A/N: I couldn't just let them kiss, right? I had to toy with your feelings a little.

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Hope you're having a wonderful day (and maybe it'll be even better once you've finished this chapter).

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Chapter 8 - AFTER a major cliffhanger which was meant both as a blessing and a curse (love y'all)

Seconds of silence pass by. But maybe it's only been one second which feels like a lifetime.

"What?" he asks, doe-eyed.

He looks just like me when I'm in denial. It's like saying to a kid that you got them the present they wanted and they don't believe you.

So I guess I just have to say it again. "Make me."

Nolan takes a shaky breath and swallows. I watch his Adam's apple move. I watch the hesitation in his eyes. He never expected things to escalate that quickly, that seriously, when he playfully ordered the others to leave. For him it was just a joke. A joke layered with different coatings of teasing and flirting. A joke like a fine cake that a little sour, but then the sweetness spreads; a kind of sweetness you didn't expect.

I force my chest to rise and fall evenly, even though my heart is a hammer beneath the ribcage. A steady thump like the bass in a song. When is that drop going to hit? (When is he going to make a move?)

Nolan huffs through his nose in disbelief.

I take a step forward, he takes a step back, almost stumbles over his feet. This makes me lift my eyebrow, half-lazily but the laziness is so fake. He's definitely caught my interest. But then again, that step backwards makes me doubt myself.

Have I been reading him wrong? Did I see sign that weren't there?

No, that can't be it.

I know I tried to convince myself that he still liked Eileen. I also tried to convince myself that the love of my life was Devon. And I think Devon was trying to do the same. We miscalculated. The damage is done, we move on.

But now, with Nolan so hesitant...I don't want to hurt him.

"Sometimes I miss that humans don't have Fae hearing," I mumble more to myself. It sort of snaps him out of it, but he's still in flight mode. At least I think he is. Louder, I say, "Did you hear me when I said that I remember what happened that night?"

Nolan looks to his right. "Um...yes," he finally answers. He continues, "Kind of. Yes– I mean I tried not to..." he trails off. "Fuck, that's not–" he shakes his head and as I take a step forward, he takes another step back. Good, because I'm going to aim for the wall. That way he can't run away. Not when he's basically pushed into a corner.

I press my lips together.

His eyes switch to mine for a moment and then he looks away again. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember," he whispers, glances at his hands. Watches as he clenches and unclenches his fingers, which makes me want to grab his hand.

Not yet, I say to myself.

He then smooths out his hair. Scratches his neck. His hand lingers there, and we both move. So far my plan is working.

"But I do remember," I say. "I texted you and you came for me." My eyes soften, and so does my heart. My soul is liquid honey. "And for some reason I took my shirt off, and–"