The Dark Side of the Moon

T W E L V E

I stand leaning against the door, frozen in place. I have no idea what to do or what to say. I've never had a guy in my room before. Fighting my fears, I decide to speak up before Grayson wants to leave.

"I'm really sorry about Evie. And my mom. And really this whole situation, in general," I apologize. "I didn't expect you to come here and see that. I mean, it's a lot of..." My words trail off into nothing when Grayson rises from my bed and walk over to me. All I can do is stare at him as he stalks over to my position by the door. He doesn't stop until he is inches, and I mean inches, from my body. He barely leaves enough room between us, yet he still gives the illusion of space because we aren't touching. I think I forget how to breathe because as soon as he got close to me I sucked in a breath and haven't released it yet.

He stares at me with those beautiful gray eyes that are the only thing that can clue me into what he's thinking.

"Stop apologizing." He takes my hand in his and walks me over to my bed. It's almost comical how he's in my house, my room, and he's the one leading me and making me more comfortable. But I guess that's just Grayson.

He sits down on the edge of my bed once again and gently tugs on my hand to urge me to sit next to him. He doesn't let go of my hand, though. He holds it in his and strokes it lightly back and forth with his thumb in a soothing manner. It feels really nice and it calms me down more.

"Breathe, Thea," Grayson whispers, to which I let out the breath I've been holding. How have I not realized that I'm not breathing? It's a basic human necessity, yet when I'm around him, everything else seems so unimportant.

I don't realize that I'm staring at our joined hands until his other hand lifts my chin so that I'm looking at his face. Just like before, his hand doesn't leave my skin. His palm rests against my cheek, and I don't make a move to remove it.

He continues to stare at me for a few moments before he speaks. "I'm guessing that you're nervous with me in here."

Crap! How does he know? It's probably by the look on my face, but I don't know what face I'm making and therefore wouldn't know how to change it. If he only knew how fast my heart is beating right now...

Afraid to say something embarrassing, I nod my head.

"I figured. Listen, I don't want you to be nervous around me." Pfft, like I could stay calm around him!

"Just so you know, I'm nervous too," he says. "Feel my heart."

He takes our joined hands and places it against his chest, right above his heart. My hand is trapped between the warmth of his chest and palm, and for a moment it's hard not to concentrate on the muscles underneath his shirt. I don't even want to think about what he looks like without a shirt.

Once I calm down enough to pay attention to his heart, I instantly realize that he's right. His heart seems to be beating just as fast as mine.

"How... Why..." I shake my head.

"You, Thea. Being around you makes me nervous. And I don't get nervous." He begins to ever so slowly lean his head forward. I sit still, letting him lead. It seems the closer he gets, the faster my heart beats and the more my head spins. When his nose touches mine, I abruptly stand up, my hand leaving the protection of his. With space, I am able to think more clearly.

"No," I say, more to myself than to him. I begin pacing the floor of my bedroom, trying to find a reason why he's acting like this towards me. He's being a perfect gentleman. He's polite and kind, funny and flirty. Why me? It just seems so out of the blue. We just met, and I feel all kinds of things for him that I shouldn't be feeling this soon. We're not dating, he's not my boyfriend. And on top of all of those things, he's the most attractive guy I've ever seen, including in magazines and on TV. So why, out of everyone on Earth who would kill to be with him, would he pick me? The shy, average looking girl who is still figuring out who she is?