Page 46 of Even Werewolves Learn

“You know, it could be different,” he says, and his devastating smile is back on his lips. “You only have to ask.”

If only …

No. no. no.

“What are you doing here?” I ask again.

“I told you I came to deliver the flowers,” he says as his eyes trail my silhouette with hungry eyes. “And now that I see that your safety isn’t your priority, I plan on walking you to school.”

I have a feeling it was his plan all along, but now I can’t really counter him.

Louis removes his hand from the doorframe and walks up to me.

“Here, for you,” he says, his eyes never leaving me as he holds the flowers for me to take. Today, they’re a mix of roses ranging from red to pink.

For a second, I think he’s going to cup my cheek or to invade my personal space, but as soon as I grab the bouquet, he takes a step back.

“Do you have any plans after detention?” he asks nonchalantly.

“I don’t,” I say, knowing where this question is going. “I’m still not going out with you, though.”

Louis chuckles.

“Glad to know that’s where your mind went,” he says before pausing and looking me up and down. “But also glad to know that you dressed up solely for me. I see that you’ve decided to torture me from now on.”

Wait. What?

He takes a step in my direction, and the heat of him engulfs me.

His hand comes to rest on the dip of my waist, and I attribute my lack of answer or reaction to the fact I’m still holding the roses—and maybe the fact that my mind refuses to comprehend what he just said.

“I didn’t dress up for you,” I say, and even to my ear, I don’t sound convincing.

Fuck.

What is going on with me?

His thumb moves slowly against my ribcage, and all I want is to lean into his touch.

Would it be so bad if I did?

He brings his face closer to me and bends so his mouth is a breath away from my ear. For a second, I think he’s going to bend a bit more and kiss the side of my throat, but nothing comes.

“It’s okay if you did,” Louis says in a whisper. “I just wish you’d let me peel it off of your body.”

He takes a step back again as if he hadn’t just turned me into a hot mess.

“Let’s go. We’re going to be late for detention,” he adds as he holds out his hand for me to take.

I think he just short-circuited my brain, because I put my hand in his without complaining.

24

Constance

It feels like a date, and yet, I can’t let myself think that it is a date.

I can’t.