𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄

[𝟐𝟒] 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫

"Sam," I say, looking behind me at my friends to see if they see him too. And by the way Annie's just gaping at Sam, I know I'm not thinking this up. "W-what are you... What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here." He informs me, squatting down to pick up my fallen clothes. I scramble down to the floor, having forgotten that I just dropped my clean clothes onto the dirty floor.

He brings the basket to stand before me, grinning when he looks back down at me. Is it just me or did this guy get freaking taller?

"Oh. That's cool, I do too." I clear my throat, nodding my head towards the door as a way of telling Easton and Annie to go now. "Go, I'll be right there."

And they do. They go, their basket of clothes in the hands of that boyfriend of Annie's that needs a damn haircut.

"So..." Sam trails off, running a hand through his dark hair. "This is... this is awkward isn't it?"

I nod, a smile breaking out across my face. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. It's kinda weird if you think of it, though, huh? We talk pretty much every day but can't really talk too well to each other now."

"I think you're talking just fine." He puts his hands in his front pockets, inching towards me. When he's just a few inches away from me, I feel this flipping in my stomach as his gaze flickers to my lips more than once in the span of just five seconds. His voice is low and husky when he says, "What do you think?"

I grin when his hands find their way to my hips. "I think it's been a while and we need to catch up, not swap saliva."

He pouts, crossing his arms and stomping his foot like a child. "C' mon, just one?" He puts up one slim, long finger, leaning in. "Just one... small peck on those pretty lips."

I push him away by his head, smacking his neck. I'm not sure why I ended up hitting his neck when I meant to smack his face but I guess he's that tall at this point.

"I'm not kissing you." I cross my arms under my breasts. His bottom lip juts out again and he mirrors my stance. "Not unless I feel like it."

"How do I make you feel like it, then?" He asks me, grinning.

"By leaving me alone." I grab my basket, kissing Sam's cheek. "You can have that. But nothing else, I'm swamped today, and I can't have you slowing me down."

"How would I be slowing you down?" His eyebrows furrow.

"You think kissing you won't end up being the only thing on my mind all day? Samuel Winters, you have the greatest lips known to mankind, put them anywhere near me and I might just have to slap the shit out of you."

"Okay, okay, I won't kiss you." He sighs, scratching his brow. I flash him a smile, turning for the door.

"Oh, yeah," he starts like he's just remembered something, "Grace?"