Chapter 7

Luke

I could have kissed Suzie for hours. For an eternity. I could have happily sat in that incapacitated vehicle and just kissed her.

I’d done my fair share of kissing before, but nothing compared to this. There was a connection there that I’d never felt before, something that made the act of kissing so much more than lips on lips. It was a silent communication, a level of bonding that went beyond words. With that kiss I tried to tell her everything I’d been feeling ever since I’d discovered that she was Prince Z. I tried to show her what she’d come to mean to me and how I saw her.

Clearly I’d been failing these past six weeks—I’d gotten her attention but hadn’t been able to get her to see that I liked what I saw. That I wanted to know more.

I tried to say all that with the kiss, but in the end I just kissed her with everything I was feeling and hoped she felt it too.

When I finally pulled back she had her eyes closed and her lips were pink and swollen. Her cheeks were flushed and her long pale lashes fell against her freckled cheeks.

She was stunning.

I reached a hand up to cup her jaw and stroke her cheek because I needed to feel her skin. When her eyes flickered open her gaze was glassy and dazed. I grinned at the sight of it.

“Why did you do that?” she asked, her voice breathy and sweet.

I bit back a groan. Did she seriously not get it yet? I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to hers, willing her to see what I was feeling. “Because I wanted to.”

There. That was the simple truth. Any more and I’d have to explain to her just how I fell for her in the first place. Now just didn’t seem like the time to admit that I knew she was Prince Z, or to let her in on the fact that I was DataG.

I had to tell her eventually, of course. I knew that. But I was sort of hoping that maybe I could get her to like me first, or at the very least not distrust me so much.

And yes, I did see the irony in the fact that I was keeping a secret until I earned her trust. But if I told her too soon, I could lose her in real life and as my online friend. I wasn’t sure I could risk that.

See? I hadn’t lied about being selfish.

“I thought you said this wasn't a date.” Her expression was still adorably confused.

“I said this outing would be whatever you wanted it to be,” I clarified. “You never asked me what I wanted it to be.”

She blinked. "And what exactly do you want this ‘outing’ to be?"

I laughed softly at her use of air quotes when she said outing, amused beyond belief by her skeptical tone. Was it possible that this girl still didn't get it? I sobered up quickly when I studied her, realizing that it wasn't that she didn't understand, it was that she couldn't seem to believe it.

It made me angry on her behalf. Who had made her feel this way? What had she been through that she so lacked in confidence?

“What do I want this to be?" I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “I want this to be a date." I didn't give her a chance to protest or even to question what I'd said. I slipped my arms down around her waist and pulled her tight against me. "Even better, I'd like to take you out on a real date. A proper date."

Her expression said that I was speaking Swahili. “A proper date," she said repeated slowly. "What does that even mean?”

I met her gaze and held it, I needed her to be able to see just how serious I was. “It means I want to take you out, I want to spend an evening with you in which there is absolutely zero doubt about what we are doing.”

Her brows drew together in confusion. Honestly for a girl so smart she seemed to be having quite a difficult time grasping the obvious. “And what exactly is it that we would be doing?”

I tilted my head back with a laugh before meeting her gaze again. “Dating, Susie Q. We'd be dating.”

“Oh.” Her expression was difficult to read. She didn’t exactly look happy about the proposition. But then again, she’d returned my kiss with more passion than I’d ever experienced. That couldn’t mean nothing, right?

“What do you think?” I decided to take advantage of this uncharacteristic stunned reaction. “Next Saturday?”

“Next Saturday is Halloween.”

I smothered a grin. That wasn’t a no. “It is. Will that be a problem for you?”

She shifted, her eyes darting down and then up again. I could practically see her mind clicking back into gear. “No, I guess not.” Her gaze clashed with mine. “But I don’t do parties.”

I smiled. “Okay.” This was a glimpse of the feisty Suzie I knew and loved. “No parties.”

“I mean, I just wanted to clarify because after the whole Labor Day thing some people seem to think—”

“I don’t.”

She swallowed the rest of her explanation. “Okay.”

My smile was in danger of growing dopey. I felt like a dope, like an utterly moronic idiot because I was so freakin’ happy that this girl had agreed to go out with me.

Sort of.

“So, no parties,” I said. “But how about dinner? I could take you out to this place that just opened—”

“Alone?”

Oh crap, that was definitely fear in her eyes, not excitement. I backpedaled quickly. “Not necessarily. We could do a group hang sort of thing if that makes you more comfortable.”

Her expression grew wary as she studied me and I just knew she was doubting my sincerity. She had that look she got when she couldn’t tell if I was being serious or not. I dropped my hands to reach for hers. “Look,” I said. “I like you. I want to go out with you. But I don’t want you to be scared stiff like you seem to be right now.”

“I’m not—” she started to weakly protest.

“You are, and I get it,” I said. “You don’t trust me yet. But you will.”

She clamped her lips shut, no longer trying to deny that she didn’t trust me. That hurt a little more than I cared to admit, but I did get it. This girl had spent a lifetime either not being seen by me and the crowd I hung out with or being bullied by them. She had no way of knowing that I was her friend, the guy she’d been talking to so openly for months now. The guy who knew her inside-out.

“Until I earn your trust, I’m more than happy to do this on your terms.”

“By ‘do this’ you mean date,” she clarified.

I smothered a laugh at the way she said it, like it was a foreign concept or something.

“Yes, date,” I said. “So, what were you and your friends planning to do for Halloween?”

Her cheeks flushed pink. “You’re going to think it sounds childish.”

“Try me.”

“We go to the carnival every year,” she said. “You know, the one behind the middle school?”

I knew the one. I remembered it well from when I was…well, in middle school. I hadn’t been back since.

“Great,” I said. “Then we’ll go to the carnival.”

“With my friends?”

I shrugged. “If you want.”

“Okay,” she said. As she leaned back against the seat I noticed that she was a little more relaxed than she was just a second ago. A smile even hovered over her lips.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m just trying to picture you at the carnival.”

“That’s so hard to imagine?”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, but she was clearly smothering a laugh. “I think your Fonzie status might be revoked if you go.”

I slapped a hand over my heart. “Are you saying I can’t still be cool and go to a children’s carnival? I’ll take that as a challenge.”

“It’s not meant to be,” she said.

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Game on, Suzie Q.”

She was still laughing as I reached for my phone. “Who are you calling?”

I nodded toward the ski lodge. “One of my buddies up there to see if they have jumper cables.”

“Oh, right.” Her face fell just a little bit and I hoped beyond hope her disappointment had to do with the fact that this day had to come to an end.

We got out of there quickly and she drove us back to her house so I could pick up the car. With her brother hovering nearby once again, I didn’t try to kiss her.

Plus there was the fact that she started inching away from me the moment we both got out of the car.

She needed space. I could respect that.

“I’ll see you Monday,” I said.

She nodded. “We have a lot of work to do to get you up to speed on coding.”

“I can’t think of a better teacher,” I said with a grin.

Her smile still held an exasperating hint of wariness. “Are you going to be this nice to me all week?”

“Probably,” I said. “Is that going to freak you out?”

She tilted her head from side to side. “It’s better than you mocking me all the time, I guess.”

I walked toward her, loving the way her cheeks tinged pink as I drew closer. “Never mocked,” I said. “Only teased. And only because I had this sneaking suspicion that you can give as good as you get.” I arched a brow. “Was I wrong?”

She pressed her lips together in a non-answer but her eyes were flickering over my face, studying me. I let her—I had nothing to hide.

Well, I had a lot to hide. But I was done keeping secrets from this girl. I would tell her. I had to tell her.

Just…not today.

After studying me for what felt like ages, her lips curved up into a sweet smile that made my heart melt. “I’ll see you Monday.”