He was smiling, but she could tell he wasn’t exactly happy. He definitely wasn’t relaxed, either. She could see it in the set of his shoulders, the stiff way he held himself. Even though he appeared confident, Casey saw how his eyes flicked nervously away before coming back to settle on hers.
The gap between them closed. Casey stood still, trapped by the impression of slow motion. When he stood inches in front of her, she realized she was so excited she was shivering.
“Casey,” he murmured, the sound rising from his lips like a prayer. He reached out with his hands.
“Jake,” she whispered, taking his hands. They stepped toward each other, and their bodies touched just briefly. He put one hand on her hip, and she put hers on his shoulder. They swept onto the floor as if they were both caught in a trance.
The music was far away in Casey’s perception, but she could still hear it and feel it throbbing through her body. She was moving in tune with it, even as her focus narrowed to the places where Jake was touching her.
Even though his grip on her hand and her hip were light, it burned her with something more than heat. Thrills ran right through to her blood, sending chills into her bones. She tried to watch his face and come back to the present moment, but then she just ended up getting lost in his eyes.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered.
Casey felt the words as if they were a lance through the ribs. Her heart ached. There was pain in his tone, but far worse was the relief, the obvious joy he took in holding her again.
“I missed you too,” she said, feeling her eyes beginning to sting. She blinked furiously, trying desperately not to cry.
Jake’s hand slid across her hip, gently and respectfully, as he pulled her just a little closer. She stepped closer, bringing their faces so close that they almost touched.
“Sounds like we’re both a little silly, then,” Jake said, grinning. She smiled back. The energy between them was undeniable. She could feel his body calling for hers, and something deep inside her was crying out for him too.
“Why did you ghost me?” she asked, hurt ringing through her voice. She couldn’t help but feel betrayed. Her hands tightened around his in response to her emotion, but she didn’t know if she wanted to hold him closer or slap him.
Jake’s eyes had widened, and his fingertips tightened on hers as if he were having the exact same dilemma. “Ghost you?”
“Yes, dammit! You ghosted me all week, and now you’re here, at the same event? I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
Jake shook his head and laughed softly. “Nothing’s a coincidence when Gerri’s around.”
Casey nodded. “I agree.”
She was tense now, like a wild bird pausing on the sidewalk, ready to fly the instant it felt a threat. He’d hurt her, and she had to know why.
“Casey,” he said, sighing. “I heard you. With your friends.”
“What?” She felt so cold that it was as if buckets of ice water had suddenly been thrown at her from every direction. Shame and fear strangled her, and for a moment, she couldn’t even breathe.
“The night we were supposed to meet at the restaurant. I heard you laughing about me with your friends.”
Casey’s hands were frozen, her fingers curled tightly on Jake’s hand and shoulder. She had never felt so terrible about anything, ever.
“I didn’t really want to bring it up,” he said. “Because it doesn’t matter now. I can see how upset you are. You don’t have to say anything. I need to say…”
“No,” Casey cut him off, shaking her head almost violently. The sense of unreality, of being in a strange, slow-motion bubble, all of it ripped away under a burning wave of Casey’s fury.
She had never been so angry before, and all of it was directed at herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said, looking up into his eyes as she begged him to understand. “I should never have said those things about you. It was weak and stupid. I really am sorry. I wasn’t just doing it to be cool in front of my friends. I was covering my own insecurity.”
Jake reached up and gently stroked a curl of hair back behind her ear. He was looking at her so compassionately that Casey felt like dirt.
“I have trouble believing that good things will happen for me,” she said. “And being with you…well. I want it so much. If I thought about it being permanent, it just seemed impossible, so I talked myself out of it. My friends saying things about your class just added to my insecurity.”
Casey couldn’t believe how good it felt to let these words flood out of her. It was like lancing a deep wound. Even though she knew she was talking so fast she was probably overwhelming Jake, she couldn’t stop now.
“There is no excuse,” she said, shaking her head. “I should have trusted in good things, just like Gerri told me to. I should have fought for you and told my friends how awesome you are. I wish I had.”
She looked down, trying to avoid Jake’s gaze. He took his hand from her hip to touch her chin, turning her face back up to his.