“He’s strong,” Cillian answers. “He’s tough. He’s steadfast in his beliefs and opinions. And so am I.”
“Oh, I know that much,” I reply. “You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. And I’ve come across a few.”
He laughs. “Yeah, well, it takes one to know one.”
I shoot him a glare, but he just chuckles.
Silence envelopes us slowly. I rack my brain for ways to break it.
Silence is dangerous when it comes to Cillian and me. We’re got too much history, too much chemistry between us. All that energy starts spinning around in the silence and I can feel it build and build.
It’ll keep building until it breaks…
Or until we do.
“Saoirse…”
I try not to look him in the eye. But that gaze is fucking hypnotic.
It’s a beacon, pulling me forward, entrapping me and heating me through to the core in a way I know is dangerous.
But it just feels too damn good to resist.
“Yeah?”
“I miss this,” he says simply.
“Which part exactly do you miss?” I ask, trying to keep things light. “Fighting with me tooth and nail?”
“Talking to you,” he clarifies, not letting me off the hook that easily. “You were the first person I opened up to right away. I’ve never felt so free with anyone else so fast.”
I let that sink in for a moment.
I’m not sure if he expects me to respond. But if he does, he’s going to be disappointed.
Being vulnerable in front of him is the last thing I want to do.
And admitting how I felt about him back then… Well, it’s a stone’s throw away from admitting how I feel about him now.
I can’t do that.
“I know we didn’t know each other long,” Cillian continues. “But that doesn’t mean we didn’t get to know each other well.”
“You really think so?” I ask, unable to help myself.
He reaches out through the warm night. I freeze as his fingers graze my cheek.
He looks down at me as though he’s studying my face, searching for the secrets I refuse to give up.
“Do you?” he counters.
I hesitate. I open my mouth to say something. To say anything. Maybe it’ll be the truth; maybe I’ll just keep running from an honest confession.
But I don’t get the chance.
Because just then, Cillian leans in a little.
And any words I might’ve been about to say die on my lips.