Page 50 of Catching Feelings

“Fine! Mercy, have mercy!” I relent, fingers hovering above her waist in a threat, and she buries her face in her hands. So quietly I can barely hear her, she whispers, “It’s not so bad when the rest of the day I have you.”

My heart does a somersault, and I immediately wrap an arm around her shoulders instead. “And that you do,” I murmur into her hair. “You know, if you get too lonely, you can come hang out at the Thompsons’… There are always plenty of people around there.”

She grimaces. “Not sure I could keep my hands off you long enough to keep my cover. But I really do appreciate the offer.” She nestles closer into my side. “I take it things are going okay there?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “It hasn’t gotten any easier being away from my parents—and Savannah, God, you’d love her, she’s a force of nature—but Uncle Mike and Aunt June are great. They actually special-ordered my favorite ice cream from this local creamery back in Brownsville just to make me feel more at home. Not gonna lie, I teared up a little.”

Sabrina turns her head to press a silent kiss to my neck. “That’s so nice. Maybe your parents can visit soon, yeah? I bet they miss you, too.”

I stroke one hand up her arm, warming the bare skin there. “I hope so. And maybe… you could meet them?”

Sabrina only freezes for a moment. And then she just nods. “I’d like that.”

It emboldens me to ask the questions that have been piling up inside me with every conversation, every kiss, every moment that reminds me Sabrina is so much more than I expected. “Are you… still worrying about what might happen if Ryan finds out about us?”

She bites her lip. “A little,” she admits. “What if it makes things weird at school?”

“I doubt it. Everyone loves you.”

“Exactly.” Something dark flickers across her expression, but it’s gone just as quickly, and she’s making a comedically horrified face. “It’s kind of important for the president of the Spirit Committee to not get on the bad side of, oh, the entire hockey team!”

I tuck her more firmly under my arm and gentle my voice. “You gotta admit, that’s highly unlikely. It’s not like Ryan’s…” I grin as I find the right metaphor. “It’s not like he’s a Jess.”

She snorts, then heaves a defeated sigh. “Ugh, I know. Not really the broody, vindictive type. And he did ask Haley to homecoming with a whole David Bowie–themed flash mob… so maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward anymore. He seems pretty properly moved on.”

She frowns like she’s considering it, and my chest inflates with hope. “And… is your to-do list still so overwhelming you’re not even thinking about dating this year?”

Her focus momentarily shifts. “Shit. You just reminded me, I have to run off some posters in the front office to advertise homecoming—”

“You mean these?” I reach into my backpack for the posters I’d carefully rolled up with a rubber band. Her mouth falls open. “Yeah. You think I’m not listening when you rattle off your to-do list?”

She shakes her head.

I lean in for the kill, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’m always listening,” I whisper. When I pull back, her eyes are still closed. It makes me imagine all the quiet, blissful moments we could have together if we get this out in the open—forehead-to-forehead, fingers intertwined, the only eyes we care about each other’s.

“So…” I clear my throat. “What you said about no boyfriends senior year? Does that still hold?”

She cracks one eye open, and it’s sparkling with mischief. “Lesson number one of having a girlfriend: Never use her own words against her.”

Girlfriend. That sounds pretty good when it’s about me and Sabrina. “Does that mean…?”

Sabrina hums thoughtfully. “Maybe one date won’t hurt.”

And then she grabs the collar of my hoodie and pulls me toward her, a smile spreading across her face.

The sky has deepened through a bruised purple all the way to deep navy by the last hour of my shift at the Lakeside. I’m busing tables and taking orders in a daze, all the while watching the door of the diner, waiting for one particular customer to walk through.

When she does, my heart stops and my breath catches.

Oh. So, this is Sabrina dressed up.

She’s wearing a short black skirt, tall boots, and a truly incredible red top. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and it makes her neck look even longer and more elegant than usual.

Wow, I mouth across the diner.

She steers toward the hostess stand, but I hold up a finger to the booth I’m serving. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back. VIP customer.”

“What’re you doing?” She tilts her head quizzically to the side. “You’re working.”