Pastries, Tats, and Memories

Four

A/N: Hi there! If you are planning on reading The Edge Of Never and don't want any SPOILERS, you might want to beware of this next chapter! :)

(Dalton's POV):

        You know I've got to admit... That was a good one Dakota just pulled on me. When her attention switches back to her book, officially ignoring me, I freeze for a second or two before cautiously sitting back down. I let out a soft breath, pick up the book and try to get a grip on myself. I lightly shake my head a little and blink to help myself think straight. Hiccups are gone. I smirk at that.

        When she said my name just now something in me flinched and snapped into place. The same thing happened when she told me she'd let me buy her the sequel to The Edge Of Never. She said something like 'I'll show you that I do have a heart.' It occurred again when I first heard "Dakota" roll off her lips.

When I heard her name, I sort of felt like I'd known her from a long time before. Kind of like I had feelings for her. I mentally shake my head at my thoughts. That's crazy. You can't have feelings for someone you don't know. Can you? Nah. I try to talk myself out of it yet, I catch myself still feeling what I'm trying not to believe.

Dakota breathes out a sweet content sound from her nose. I lean back a little so I can casually catch a glimpse of where she is in the story. Oh. My. God.

She literally just turned the page onto chapter twenty-nine. I avert my eyes away from her because I don't want to embarrass either of us with eye contact when she flips another page or two. That would be a pretty awkward passing glance once she starts reading the very first sex scene in the entire novel. She flips the page. Just one more page flip and she'll be there.

        "What?" Her voice suddenly beckons to me. Oh crap. This just got awkward and she doesn't even know it.

        "Oh, nothing. I was just looking to see where you were in the book." My head is down, pointed toward my own book, but I'm still making eye contact with her.

        She scoffs at me. "Don't make faces while I read! Now I know somethings about to happen! What is it?" The one single question I didn't want her to ask, and she just asked it.

        "No trust me, I'm not giving anything away, just keep reading. I don't want to ruin it for you, or anything like that," I stutter out to her in a jumbled manner. Dakota narrows her eyes at me but gives up on her investigation. I still want to see her reaction once she does see it. I watch her out of the corner of my eye and wait for her to read those six words that will make it very clear what is about to go down in The Edge Of Never.

        She turns her page and I'm still nervously watching her eyes. Waiting until they're near to the bottom of the page. Suddenly her eyebrows jerk a little. She saw it.

~"I want you to own me!"~

        Dakota's face turns beat red. A laugh is fighting to jump out of my mouth because her reaction was priceless. My neck heaves forward and I turn away so she won't see my snickering. When I look back over after a minute or so, her hand is shaking as she turns the next page and her face is still redder than red. My body heaves again to laugh but I won't let it. My hand flops up to my mouth to try and muffle my snickering.

        "Oh my god! You jerk!" She whales at me. Suddenly she slaps me hard on my right shoulder. Finally, I let my laughing get the better of me and I completely loose it. "You said that you didn't give anything away!"

        I look at her confused. "I didn't! I didn't even tell you what was going to happen!" I argue.

        "Still, you made a face and made me expect something to happen. You ruined the whole tempo of the book, Dalton!" There it is again. That feeling when she verbalizes my name. Both of us falter at whatever were doing for a second and instead watch each other.

        I regain my composure and counter, "I did not, I doubt you ever could have predicted what just happened!" She goes to say something but closes her mouth.

        She slumps back into her chair and crosses her arms. Dakota scrunches up her nose in an attempt to lift her glasses higher up on her bridge. God, that's so freaking cute. "I guess you're right," she mopes.

        I just smile and look away from her. Just when I flip another page, Dakota shifts uncomfortably to my right. My eyes spring up to see her but she's already looking at me dead on.

        "You feel it too, don't you?"

(Dakota's POV):

I don't know what possessed me to ask such a thing so randomly, but I felt like I had no choice. Like something was compelling me to. As if it wasn't my decision to make; or maybe I'd already made it a long time ago.

        Dalton just sits there frozen for a moment too long and it makes me second guess myself. "Never mind, that was really dumb to ask," I start nervously laughing at myself as I sit up stiffly. I fumble my way out of my chair and grab my stuff. His eyes are still on me when I shuffle away from him. Out of the corner of my eye I see him sit up a little. Trying to exit the area quickly I have my purse, trash, and books in my arms.

        Well, at least until my foot catches on a snag in the carpet. For the second time today I have been floored. Only this time it's by my own self. As soon as I hit the ground my stuff goes everywhere. Again.

        "Dakota!" Dalton yelps from behind me. He's at my side before I can even blink. I jump up because I don't want him to help me.

        "I'm fine!" I say in an overly enthusiastic tone. I snatch my things up again and when I spring back up, Dalton's face is only inches from my face. My arms are gripping my belongings sloppily and desperately between us. I'm giving him an artificial, closed-mouth smile.

        He starts to say something by whispering, "Dakota..."

        But I cut him off by blabbing, "I'm fine, honestly! Aha, it was nice to meet you, Da-alton," I stutter out his name. I stupidly jut my hand out and interlock with his for a hand shake, except it's not so much a hand shake as it is just me vigorously wiggling his arm. I go to pull my hand away and flick my eyes elsewhere, but his grip tightens around my hand.

        My irises bounce back onto his and my body is suddenly calmed by the sight of his eyes. "I feel it too."

A/N
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