Chapter 66: Sadie: Kisses And Bets

SADIE

I press my lips together and sit up, brushing at my jeans before tugging Trey’s jacket straight. It was already straight, but my hands need something to do while he watches me recover from whatever I just did on that sofa. I have a whole statistics degree in progress, and the best lie I could come up with was drunk.

One look at his face tells me he isn’t going to let me have that one.

"I was actually—"

He crosses the space between us before I can finish.

Ilean back as he bends over me, my shoulders pressing into the sofa. Everything I meant to say gets tangled up with the sight of his face this close to mine, and my heart starts beating like we’re back in the elevator. I blink at him. This is exactly why I needed him to stay over there while I figured out how to speak.

"You’re like a cat," he says. "Fierce one minute, hiding in a corner the next."

I’d argue with him if his hand weren’t coming up to my cheek. His palm settles there, and I go still as he leans in. I want to kiss him, which is why I press my hand to his chest before I can change my mind.

"Why are you doing this?" I whisper.

He stops and raises a brow. "Why am I trying to kiss you?"

"Yes." The question sounds ridiculous after what happened in the elevator, but I need an answer before it happens again. "I know I kissed you first in the elevator, but I need to be honest about why. I saw Dixie outside and did it before you could turn around. You didn’t know that when I pulled you in, and I’m sorry." I can still picture her standing on the glass. "I regret how it all turned out. But you said you’d wanted to kiss me before Maxwell showed up, so I need to know what that means to you. What do you want from me?"

"Isn’t it obvious?"

I search his face for a clue. He looks certain I should know, which only makes me more nervous about saying it aloud. "Tell me."

"I’m into you, Sadie."

For a second, everything in me goes still. Everything except my pulse, which starts beating so hard I can feel it in my throat. What?

The words are simple enough, but surely there’s more to them. I wait for him to explain what into means, and a small hiccup escapes me in the silence.

Trey doesn’t take it back or laugh. Warmth begins to spread through my chest, though I’m afraid to enjoy it when I still don’t know what he’s offering.

"You..." I swallow. "You’re into me?"

He nods, his green eyes brightening. There’s a small, proud smile on his face, like he’s waiting for me to be happy now that he’s finally said it. I might be, if I knew exactly what I was being happy about.

"What does that mean? In literal English terms?"

Trey tilts his head, studying me for a second. "It means I like you, Sadie."

I put both hands against his chest and push until there’s room to stand. He lets me past, and I get to my feet, running a hand through my hair as I take a few steps away from the sofa. When I turn back, he’s still looking confused.

To be fair, I’m struggling with it too. This should be an ego boost. Instead, those alarms from the elevator are starting up again, and I can’t stop thinking about how we’ve only known each other for two weeks. I can’t make those words fit into two weeks.

"No offense, Trey, but we’ve known each other for two weeks. So when you say you like me, I don’t know if you mean you want to, um..." I push my hair back and look anywhere but at him. "Hook up." My face warms. "I don’t do casual sex, and I’m not saying you have to be in love with me. That would be ridiculous after two weeks. I’m just trying to understand this."

His confusion deepens. I should stop talking long enough to let him answer, but now that I’ve started, every thought I kept quiet in the elevator is coming out with the next one.

"Unless this is some kind of game. Are you trying to—" I stop, hearing myself. "I don’t know. Are you messing with me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because right now it makes more sense to me than anything else." I throw up my hands, then bite my lip. "I’m not stupid, Trey. I might stay out of the crooked stuff you guys do, but I hear about the bets. Is this one? You tell me you’re into me, and then what happens when you get what you want? I’m the one left dealing with it?"

My breathing has gone fast, and I try to slow it before I say the one thing I’m most afraid of.

"If this is a bet, when you know what I went through with Ezra only two weeks ago, then you’re really, really heartless."

My chest is still rising too quickly when I fall silent. I wait for him to tell me I’ve got it wrong, but he takes a moment before he nods.

"So kissing me is fine," he says, "but hearing that I like you makes you think I’m playing you?"

"No. We kissed because it was convenient, and you know it."

"You said you felt something for me in the elevator."

"I did. A spark." There’s no point denying it when I can still remember exactly how it felt to kiss him. "I wouldn’t have done all that if I wasn’t attracted to you. And, come on, you’re you. But feeling something when we kiss doesn’t tell me what you mean when you say you like me. Not after only two weeks, especially when Ezra is—"

"Sadie, can we talk about us without Ezra getting a vote?" He cuts in. "Look at me. Whatever you think of him, judge me for what I do."

The fierceness in his voice tells me he thinks I’m making this about Ezra. Fair, maybe I am. But forgive me for being careful when I got ditched after three years and now his brother is standing in front of me, asking me to see him differently.

"Okay." I bite my lip before meeting his eyes. "What do you like about me?"

He pauses, clearly not expecting the question.

"You’ve known me two weeks, and you say you’re into me. You can’t seem to keep your hands off me either." My voice comes out quieter on that part. "So tell me what it is you like."