Page 88 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

“I apologized. And I am sorry I did that. I was out of line.”

She made a happy noise and patted my forearm. “I know. I think we were both blindsided. But you could definitely put us in enemy territory after that, right?”

“Uh. Maybe.”

“Then you just kept showing up. And I kept tripping into you, or you’d save me from a falling block of wood, or we’d lock ourselves in a closet.”

I was starting to understand what she was trying to say. “And after it was clear I was attracted to you, we decided to stay away from each other.”

“But we couldn’t,” she finished, thrilled that I was finally on the same page. “We kept getting thrown together, and it felt like a joke. Like something was fucking with me.”

She threw her hands up. “And now look at us. In my kitchen together after a round of dicking down. I mean, if that doesn’t sound like some cosmic power intervening, I don’t know what does.”

I had to laugh because she sounded so serious. She huffed and crossed her arms, and it only made me laugh harder. I dropped the knife and gripped my stomach as she stomped her foot and said my name, and it was uncontrollable now. Laughter spilled from me until eventually, she started to giggle, and I reached out to take her waist, bringing her to me, nestling my face in the soft, tangled silk of her hair.

“You don’t really believe my ‘dicking you down’ has anything to do with the universe, do you?”

“Weeeelll–”

“Mia, I’m here because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

“Okay, but–”

“Because I couldn’t stay away from you.”

She went still against me, lifting her brows expectantly.

“And, universe or not, no one will find out about this. You can’t hurt Lilly, and I can’t hurt Kira. This is just between us.”

She sobered then, speaking more to herself than me as she said, “They won’t find out, and everyone will be okay.”

“Including us.” I kissed the top of her head. “We’ll be okay too.”

“Will we?”

“Well, after what you let me do to you in that bed, I’m pretty sure we’re not enemies anymore.”

She laughed. “I don’t know, Hudson. I’m hangry, and you’re awful at chopping onions. I might end up yelling at you if I don’t eat soon.”

I cupped the back of her neck and breathed in the smell of her hair. My stomach growled. “How’s this? Pizza tonight, and I’ll make you breakfast tomorrow. Deal?”

She smiled. “Deal.”

Mia sat next to me on the sofa with her legs wrapped underneath her, blowing on a hot piece of pepperoni pizza.

“And the big dragon on your back is…?”

“Bahamut, the god-king of the metallic dragons.”

She laughed, delighted. “You’re such a nerd.”

“You have no idea.”

She bit into her slice, letting strings of cheese snap midair. “So you were the quiet, nerdy kid in school, and you did really well in math. Were you into chess?”

I nodded. “Chess, music, math, games. Anything strategic, I was into.”

“And your parents sent you and your sister to every after-school activity available.”