She let out a small surprised laugh. “It’s funny—I haven’t talked like this with someone in forever. And today, I actually drew some pictures—that’s a freaking miracle because I’ve been stuck in some kind of artist limbo. I know I’m not making any sense, and I’m rambling, but it’s just—just there’s something about you like you get me, and I—can’t put my finger on it, but I like it.” She bit her lip.

I took her hand. I didn’t ask questions. She didn’t need them right now. “Come on then.” I tugged her through the flat.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

She followed along behind me as I led her into her bedroom and stopped at the balcony door. Rain pelted down the glass door, the drops splashing on the concrete outside.

“Let’s get soaked then. No rain boots, no umbrellas, just skin and rain.”

“Naked?”

I grinned. I couldn’t help it. She was so damn cute. I kissed her nose. “No, silly, we’ll keep our clothes on this time. If I was naked with you, we’d be fucking, not doing this.” I slid open the door and pulled her outside.

She followed me and stood on the balcony as the rain came down.

I got lost a little. Watching her . Taking in her face as she tipped it up to feel the wetness.

She glanced over at me. “You’re staring.”

I grinned. “Because you look like a drowned rat.” Because she looked beautiful.

She laughed. “Come on, don’t make me feel like the idiot out here. This was your idea. Dance with me.”

“Why are you always trying to get me to dance? What if I don’t have any rhythm? I am a big bloke, you know.”

But she ignored me and tugged me around the balcony in some awkward square dancing moves she insisted on.

I laughed. She laughed.

I showed her how to box waltz just like my mum had shown me.

After that, she did some baton routine she’d done at prep school.

And we just got sillier and sillier, our laughter filling up the night. We did some moves from Grease and Dirty Dancing . I looked bloody ridiculous, but I didn’t care.

In that moment, life— we —were perfect.

I’d never been like that with a girl before. Spontaneous and fun. Real.

Later, we ran inside to get dry. She grabbed a towel for herself from the bathroom and then handed me another. I stepped inside, shut the bathroom door, and dried off the best I could while I heard her tearing apart her bedroom, slamming drawers.

I came out rubbing my hair and watched her scurry around the bedroom.

My eyes darted to her bed, my thoughts dirty. Picturing us there. Fucking. Her mattress wasn’t nearly big enough for the ways I wanted to take her.

She looked jittery as she took in my still damp gym shorts, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. She was wondering the same thing I was … where did we go from here?

She’d changed into a nightie with a large white unicorn head on the front.

“Nice,” I said. “You’ve always been a unicorn girl in my head, and now this proves it.”

She grinned. “Oh? How’s that?”

“You know, because you’re a rare sight on campus?” I grinned.

She smirked. “Thanks. Now if I could only grow a real horn, I could stab people. Like you!” She turned and grabbed a pillow off the bed and tossed it at me. I ducked just as it sailed over my head and crashed into one of her photo frames.

She giggled.

“Oh no, you didn’t.” I rushed her, swooped her up and twirled her around while she screamed.

“I’m going to barf on you!”

“Liar.”

She giggled and I set her down on her feet where she swayed and then grabbed my arm, her eyes laughing up at me.

Something changed in the air, that tug between us sharpening.

She caressed my arm, an unsure yet needy look on her face. “Stay with me tonight.”

Somehow I sensed she didn’t mean sex. Not after the guy at her door.

“Like a sleepover?”

She nodded, a tentative smile on her face. “We can watch a movie if you want. I’ll even let you pick.”

I didn’t want a movie. I wanted her under me.

I scrubbed my face, thinking this was insane and a horrible idea, but she pulled back the quilt on her bed and crawled inside, her body sliding against the sheets. She was so bloody beautiful.

I rationalized. This was purely platonic. No strings. Just me and a girl in the same bed. Sleeping.

But…