Chapter 3

Elowen's POV

Daniel's ears are bright red as he stares at me on his bed wearing nothing but his shirt. He clears his throat and looks away.

"You need to get up," he says. His voice sounds weird. "I have to change the sheets."

I tilt my head. "Why?"

"Because you said you got them wet." He still won't look at me. "Just... stand over there."

I slide off the bed and watch him strip the damp sheets. His hands are shaking a little bit. When he pulls fresh sheets from his closet, I can see how tense his shoulders are.

"Okay," he says when he's done. "Put your own clothes on now."

I cross my arms. "No."

He looks at me again and I watch his throat move when he swallows. "Elowen..."

"I like your shirt better. It's comfy." I smooth it down, watching his eyes follow my hands. "And it smells like you."

Daniel sits on the edge of the bed. "What are you trying to do?"

The way he asks makes my stomach drop. He sounds tired. Almost hurt.

"I don't know what you mean," I lie.

He looks up at me and his face is serious. "I'm not part of whatever game you and Jake have going on, Elowen. I don't want to be used to make him jealous."

Oh fuck. He thinks I'm using him.

My eyes start burning. Why does everyone think I'm some manipulative bitch? Even Daniel thinks I'm just playing games.

"I'm sorry," I say, backing toward the door. "I know you hate me. I won't bother you anymore."

But his hand grabs my wrist before I can leave.

"I don't hate you," he says quietly. "That's not what I meant."

I try to pull away but he won't let go. "Then what?"

He sighs and pulls me back until I'm standing between his knees. His hands rest on my hips over the shirt.

"I don't want to be your rebound," he says, looking up at me. "If you're here, I want it to be because you actually want to be here. With me."

My heart starts pounding. There's something in his eyes that makes me think maybe the dream was right.

"I do want to be here," I whisper. "I want to be with you."

He's about to say something when his phone rings.

We both freeze. It's Jake.

"Shit," Daniel says, but he doesn't let go of me.

The phone keeps ringing. Daniel looks torn, like he doesn't want to answer but knows Jake won't stop.

I don't think. I just climb onto his lap, my legs on either side of his thighs. Daniel's breath catches and his hands grip my hips tighter.

"What are you—"

I wrap my arms around his neck and lean close, my lips almost touching his ear. "Answer it," I whisper. "Tell him you haven't seen me."

Daniel goes completely still under me. I can feel his heart beating really fast.

The phone stops, then starts ringing again.

"Daniel," I breathe against his ear. "Please."

His skin is burning hot. I can see the veins in his neck standing out, and he's breathing faster. When I pull back to look at him, his eyes are so dark.

He picks up the phone.

"Yeah?" His voice sounds rough.

"Dude, are you in your room?" Jake's voice is loud enough for me to hear. "Have you seen Elowen?"

Daniel stares at me. I can see him fighting with himself, but then his jaw gets hard.

"No," he says. "I've been here all night. Haven't seen her."

"Fuck. She's not picking up her phone and she's not in her room. I need to find her."

"Ask someone else," Daniel says. "I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah, whatever. If you see her, tell her to call me."

Daniel hangs up and throws his phone aside. We just stare at each other. I'm still on his lap with my arms around his neck. He's looking at me like he can't believe I'm real.

Then his hands slide from my hips to my waist. His fingers spread wide over his shirt on me. He pulls me closer until there's no space left between us.

"Elowen," he says my name.

I can feel everything. How hot his skin is, how his muscles are all tight under my hands, how his breathing changed. There's something hard pressing against me and I know what it is. My face gets hot.

"I should move," I whisper, but I don't want to.

Instead of letting me go, Daniel's hands tighten on my waist. His voice comes out all rough.

"Don't," he says against my ear. "Don't move."

His lips brush my neck and I shiver. Everything feels like it's on fire.

"Daniel," I breathe.

He pulls back to look at me and what I see in his eyes makes me dizzy. It's want and need.

"Don't mess with me," he says, barely whispering. "I can't... I don't want you to regret this."

But I'm done thinking about that stuff. I lean forward and kiss him.

The kiss starts soft, but then Daniel makes this sound and everything changes. His mouth moves against mine like he's starving. His hands tangle in my hair, holding me like he's scared I'll disappear.

Jake kissed me before, but this is different.

When we break apart, we're both breathing hard. Daniel's lips are swollen and his hair is messed up from my fingers.

"Fuck," he whispers, pressing his forehead to mine, both of us trying to catch our breath. His ears are bright red, like he's embarrassed but also can't stop looking at me.

"I need to..." He clears his throat, his voice all rough. "I should take a shower."

I can see how hard this is for him to pull away. His hands are still on me like he doesn't want to let go.

"Cold shower?" I tease, and his face gets even redder.

"Yeah," he says, laughing a little. "Definitely cold."

He kisses me one more time, quick and soft, then practically runs to the bathroom. I hear the water turn on and flop back on his bed with a huge grin.

Holy shit. That actually happened.

I roll over and grab my phone. I block Jake's number, delete all his contacts, unfriend him on everything. It feels amazing.

I'm scrolling through Instagram, deleting old photos of me and Jake, when I hear the bathroom door open. Steam comes out and then Daniel appears in just a towel around his waist. His hair is wet and messy and there are water drops on his chest.

"Hey," I say, sitting up. "Feel better?"

He smiles at me, this shy smile that makes my heart flip. "Yeah. Much better."

I'm about to make some joke about how he looks when we both hear it.

Heavy footsteps in the hallway. Getting closer.

Then Jake's voice, loud and annoyed: "Daniel! You awake, man?"

My blood turns to ice. I look at Daniel and his eyes go wide.

Without thinking, I scrambled under the blanket on his bed, and Daniel quickly got in and covered himself up too, right when Jake started pounding on the door.