Page 18 of Spiral Lies

"Yeah, angel?"

"Can we…" I bite my lip, fidgeting. "Can we not repeat yesterday? I mean…um, I just think…"

"Hey." He strides back toward me, tipping my head back. "You don't owe me an explanation, Seraphina. If you want me to keep my goddamn hands to myself at work, that's all you have to say. I'll respect that."

"Thank you," I breathe, melting into him. "I just don't want either of us to get in trouble. I don't want us to be the distraction that costs the team the title when you guys have worked so hard, either."

"I understand." He kisses me hard on the mouth. "During work hours, we'll focus on work."

"And after?"

His cerulean eyes glitter with intent. "We'll be living out as many of your fantasies as humanly possible," he growls, nipping my bottom lip. "And replaying the highlights."

I whimper in response, my body igniting.

"See you in an hour, angel."

"Bye, Stone."

I don't see him in an hour. As soon as I get to the office, I have to fix the printer for Miss Wanda in reception, then run to the transportation office to figure out what's going on with the bus because it's parked out front of the building when it shouldn't be. And then I have to run back to reception to pick up the mail.

By the time I make it to Stone's office, it's after ten, and I feel like I've already run a whole damn marathon.

My heart flutters when I step inside and see a cup of coffee on the corner of my desk. His door is closed, but I hear his voice on the other side. He doesn't sound very happy.

I laugh to myself at the thought because it's a new one. Before this week, Stone never sounded happy. He had one mode—disgruntled. Wild how fast that can change.

I sink into my seat, my mind whirling with memories of the last two days. It already feels like it's been so much longer. Maybe that's because, in a way, it has. Maybe we didn't address the elephant in the room until two days ago, but it's always been there. We've always been circling one another.

Maybe it took a game of MASH and an accidental reveal to get us to admit it, but for the last six months, we've been creeping a little closer to the tipping point every day.

I pull my phone out to text Emelia, Nova, and Ava.

Me: How do you know if you're falling in love?

Me: I think I might be.

Me: Help!

I don't get time to check for a response before Axel Stevens pokes his head into the office.

"Hey, Axel." I smile at him.

"Is Coach here?"

"Yeah. He's in his office."

He glances toward the closed door. "Is he busy?"

"I think he's on a call. What's up?"

Axel hesitates at the door, fidgeting. "I…Well, I guess I just wanted to apologize for pissing him off yesterday. I didn't mean to make him mad."

"Axel," I say softly, feeling a little guilty. I do not want to be the reason for any awkwardness or stress between him and the team. "He isn't mad at you."

"He thought I was flirting with you. Trust me, Seraphina. He was mad."

I blink at Axel, caught off guard. "W-what makes you think that?"