Trust in Me

“Nope.”


“Weren’t you paying attention in class when Drage went over this and the imaging cameras?”

She popped a hip out as she folded her arms. “You were drawing the cast of Duck Dynasty when he was going over that.”

I laughed, pleased because that was exactly what I had been doing when Drage went over how to operate the telescope. Which meant Shortcake was paying a hell of a lot of attention to me. I adjusted the controls. “I was listening.”

“Uh-huh.” She shifted closer as the wind picked up, whirling across the roof, picking up strands of her hair and whipping it back from her face. Christ, she looked beautiful standing there. I shook my head, focusing on the telescope again, but it was hard—I was hard.

“You’re actually a pretty good artist,” she said.

“I know.”

She made a sound that wasn’t exactly friendly.

I shifted the lever. “I’ve used a telescope a time or two in my life.”

“That’s random.”

“Okay. I used it when I had the class previously.” I flashed her a quick grin, then checked the positioning of the scope. “Man, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to get anything before those clouds roll in.”

“Well, you better hurry then.”

“Bossy.”

Shortcake grinned.

“Come over here and I’ll show you how to use this.” Giving her just enough space to get in, I bit the inside of my cheek as her hip brushed mine, coming fucking close to where I literally ached. “Are you going to pay attention?”

“Not really.” She was still smiling.

“At least you’re honest.” I was into self-torture. That was the only excuse to why I leaned in, caging her with my arms. Her scent, that heavenly mixture of berries and musk, caused a lot of my body parts to twitch. I vaguely realized that she hadn’t stiffened. That was good.

“This is a Philips ToUcam Pro II.” I cleared my throat. “It hooks to the telescope. At these settings, you should be able to get a clear image of Saturn. Press this and it will capture an image.”

“Okay.” She tucked the sides of her hair back behind her ears. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be getting an image of Saturn.”

“Huh.” What the fuck was Saturn? All I could think about was how close we were, how I could feel the warmth rolling off her body. I didn’t even know why were on the roof. “Hey.”

She tipped her head back, causing the edges of her hair to glide over my cheek. My pulse pounded as I imagined that hair sliding over other parts of my body. “Hey what?”

“Go out with me.”

“Shut up.” A grin appeared as she leaned forward, peering into the telescope. Her body brushed mine again, and I bit back a groan. “I don’t see anything.”

My laugh sounded strangled. “That’s because I haven’t taken the lens cap off.”

She elbowed me in the stomach, which made me laugh again. “Asshole.”

I was pushing the boundaries tonight. Didn’t even know why, but I couldn’t stop myself as I reached for the lens, pressing against her back. She stilled then, and her soft inhale rattled through me. I waited for her to move away, because she could if she wanted to, but she didn’t.

I glanced down at her and saw that her thick lashes fanned her cheeks. “What?”

“It would’ve been easier for you to just go to the side and do that,” she said, her voice different, heavier.

“True.” I bent so that my mouth was beside her ear. “But what fun would that be?”

Avery shivered, and my entire body tensed. “Go have fun by yourself.”

She had no idea how often that was the case. “Well, that’s really no fun.” I paused, not moving. “Try it again.”

Hesitating for a moment, she then leaned forward, pressing her eye to the telescope. A couple of seconds passed. “Wow.”

“You see it?”

She straightened. “Yeah, that’s pretty cool. I’ve never really seen a planet in real life. I mean, like taken the time to do so. It’s pretty cool.”

“I think so, too.” I snatched a few strands of her hair, stopping them from hitting me in the eye. “What are we supposed to be looking at?”

“Sagittarius and then the Teapot asterism and its steam, whatever—”A nasty, cold raindrop splattered off her forehead and she jerked back against my chest. “Oh crap.”

Shortcake squeaked as another drop came down and she whirled, her eyes meeting mine. We were about to get soaked to the bone. Swearing under my breath, I grabbed her hand, pulling her across the roof. We were almost to dry land when the sky ripped open and freezing rain drenched us.

“Oh my God,” she shrieked. “It’s so freaking cold!”