Dating the Dead • lrh

25. creep

My eyes were closed and I could feel hers blink. Our lips remained attached, not moving or parting. It felt like the world has stopped and all I could feel was my heart pounding against my chest.

A second later, she broke our kiss, however, the tips of our noses remained touching. Under the street lights, I could see her flushed face. "Luke," she whispered.

I was about to kiss her again when someone shouted, "hey!" It was Harper, trudging on the sand. "Beatrice, is this boy bothering you?" He said once in front of us.

Beatrice?

"No, Happy, he's not." Shelby stood up and pulled Harper aside. They stopped next to the nearest car in the vicinity which was already far from the bench. I didn't hear their exchange but I saw her open the backseat.

I stood up, thinking she's going to ditch me with her camera. But then she walked back to me, putting on a rather loose white shirt. "What happened?" I asked as she slung the camera around her neck.

"Come on, let's take a walk. Happy will follow us in the car."

We were silent for a few minutes. She occasionally took photos while I pushed my bike. I kept on glancing at her, trying to read her expression but it was the first time that I couldn't.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Sorry."

It took her a minute to respond but when she did, we stopped walking. "It's okay. People usually say that when they don't mean the things that they did." She offered me a smile that was almost deadpan.

To be honest, I was quite taken aback by what she said. Then it finally kicked in. I had to jog with my bike to catch up with her.

"No, no, no, no. That is not what I meant. I apologize because I should not have kissed you like that. No wonder Harper rushed in because he thought I was assaulting you." I ran a hand through my quiff, stopping in my tracks. She stopped walking as well, staring at me. "I'm sorry if I forced you into it but, god, if I could kiss you again without looking like a total creep, I would."

I studied her face set in a frown, eyebrows slightly furrowed and lips in a tight line. Her eyes looking sharply at me as if she couldn't make sense of what I just told her. And then her features softened, a small smile making its way through her lips.

With my attention to Shelby, I did not notice my heart feeling like it could drop to my ass the way it was beating. My body shook as if there was an earthquake but it was just me and my nerves that couldn't calm the fuck down.

"That game you're playing, it's dangerous. But sure, I'll play."

I'm sorry, what?

I stared at her disbelievingly. I pretty much confessed that I fancy her and saying I was taken aback by her response would be an understatement.

"I guess having a Luke Hemmings as a date wouldn't be bad."

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