Lea

“I tugged at the collar of my shirt. It was a dark gray color, rolled up at the sleeves; worlds away from my usual football jersey or polo shirt. But I wanted tonight to be perfect which is why I’d called Flick asking her for some advice.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on Hailee’s door, praying to God she opened it and not her mom, or even worse Mr. Ford. It swung open and my heart skipped a beat. Hailee stood there in a denim skirt, a white t-shirt that scooped low on her chest, and wedged sneakers. Her dirty blonde hair was piled high on her head, her glasses keeping the loose strands off her face. It was simple, understated, but I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“Hey,” I finally said, finding my voice. “I got you these.” Thrusting the box of brownies at her, I rubbed the back of my neck.
“Have you been speaking to Flick again?” Her brow quirked up.
“Maybe.” I smiled. “She mentioned you liked them when I came by... but we didn’t get around to eating them.”
Hailee’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, her eyes darkening. I leaned in, unable to resist the pull, and kissed her cheek. “I missed you.”
― L.A. Cotton, The Trouble with You

“Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” Hailee whispered. And even though it was dark, and I could barely see her, I was aware of everything. The soft sound of every breath she took, the warm current flowing between us. The way my skin tingled, and my pulse raced at her close proximity, despite the fact I hadn’t even touched her.
Turning onto my side, I traced the profile of her face. “Get some sleep.” I choked out the words to stop myself from doing something stupid. Like telling her it didn’t feel awkward to me at all.
That it felt pretty damn near perfect.
“Night, Cameron.”
“Night, Sunshine.”
A beat of silence passed and then her sleepy voice cut through the quiet. “Cameron?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
As I felt the pull of sleep, my mind was a jumble of thoughts. Of me and Hailee. Of all the reasons why this was a really bad fucking idea. But one thought stood out above all the others. It was the first time I’d ever fallen to sleep with a girl in my bed.
And I liked it.
I liked it a whole lot.”
― L.A. Cotton, The Trouble with You

“Do you . . .”

“Do I steal, cheat, and smuggle now?” He turned and touched a hand to her face. “Oh, you’d hate that, wouldn’t you? I almost wish I could say yes, then give it all up for you. I learned a long time ago that there are gambles more exciting for their legitimacy. And winning is so much more satisfying when you’ve dealt from the top of the deck.”
― J.D. Robb, Naked in Death

“Save it, Jason. I knew what this was. I knew and I came anyway. But it’s done now, right?” She didn’t sound sad or pissed, just resigned. “You’ve fucked me out of your head so I guess we can just both move on.”
“I...” Say something. Say anything. But nothing came out, my thoughts too incoherent to form words.
“Okay then…” Felicity grabbed the door handle and pushed. But not before turning back to me. “I guess it’s true what all the girls say about you,” she said, holding my conflicted gaze.
"“Yeah, and what’s that?” I managed to choke out.
“You’re worth the ride.” Her eyes didn’t sparkle and her voice was devoid of any emotion. “See you around, Jason.”
― L.A. Cotton, The Trouble with You