You were at Tannyhill again—basically your second home by now. Sarah had gone upstairs, leaving you alone with Rafe and his friend, both locked into some intense video game.

Your heart did that dumb flutter every time he looked your way. And when he actually talked to you? Total meltdown. He was the guy every girl wanted—dangerous, stupidly attractive, and somehow always… nice to you. Like, really nice.

You didn’t get it. At school, he was a complete menace. Hot, sure, but terrifying. Yet here he was—chill, backwards cap, grey joggers—smiling at you like he didn’t know the effect he had.

Rafe lost a round, then looked over his shoulder at you, giving a small nod—wordless, but clear.

You hesitated, raising an eyebrow like…really? But your body ignored your brain, and you crossed the room, heart racing. You sat next to him, legs crossed, trying to act unfazed…

Not even close to ready for what he’d do next.

His hands—big, warm, completely unexpected—wrapped around your hips and pulled you right into his lap, right in the center of his crossed legs.

You froze.

His chest was pressed against your back, and you could feel every damn breath he took. You were painfully aware of how small you felt in his hold, how close his mouth was to your ear. If he could see your face, he’d definitely be laughing.

But he didn’t say anything. He just handed you the controller, completely casual. “Play this round,” he said. “I gotta check messages from my girl.”

His girl. Right.

You took the controller with shaky hands, pretending to focus on the screen, pretending not to care that he was still sitting behind you like it was the most normal thing in the world.

You could barely concentrate. The buttons, the game, the other guy shouting at you to go left—none of it registered.

All you could think about was how close he was. How his touch had felt. How he definitely didn’t know what an effect he had on you.

…Or did he?