Chasing Ivy (Oak Hill 1)

It freaked me out.

I had felt this exact way earlier in his car, when I’d inched my face closer.

He cleared his throat and I hurriedly grabbed the remote and shot my body back, crawling up to rest against the headboard, just like he was. Except I made sure that our bodies weren’t touching, not even our legs.

My eyes stayed glued on the TV placed on the dresser in front of us as I tried to clear the tense air surrounding us.

What in the actual hell is happening? It’s like a switch had been flipped earlier in the day. My heart was acting in a way that I’d never felt before and I kept getting hot flashes.

Maybe I was having a stroke.

Dawson mumbled from beside me, “Don’t even think about it, Ivy.”

I let out a giggle and pressed my finger down on the small, rubber button.

He groaned and threw his head back against the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

“What’s wrong with this?” I prodded, my voice full of mirth.

He turned to look at me. He was trying to act annoyed but he was failing miserably. His grin was slowly stretching across his face, which caused me to smile.

Then he laughed and shook his head. “We’ve watched this, like, 500 times. Pick something else.”

I gasped. “But it’s my favorite!”

“Last time we watched this, you tried to act like you were an actual Charlie’s Angel and you literally almost broke your parents’ coffee table.”

I jumped up to my knees, throwing the remote over to him. He grunted but caught it at the last second. His eyes were wide and his mouth was opened halfway.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, acting mildly frustrated.

I smiled wickedly at him. “I’ve been practicing.” Then I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

He barked out a laugh and I swear, I felt it all the way to my soul. I loved making him laugh.

“Come ‘ere,” I whined. “I need a dummy.”

His expression was wary. “No. I’ll let you watch this movie, only because the chicks are seriously hot in that get-up,” he swirled his finger toward the screen, “but, I am not letting you perform some half-ass karate kick on me.”

I stuck out my bottom lip. “Pleeeeeease. Let me show you my self-defense moves.”

He lifted an eyebrow and then jolted his eyes down to my bottom lip. Several seconds passed as he stared at my mouth and once again, my body started to feel hot. Like I needed to fan myself.

Is this PMS? Why am I so hot all of a sudden? I felt out of breath.

“Fine,” he huffed, swinging his long, jean-clad legs over the bed. His red t-shirt clung to his upper body, even after he shook his arms out like he was getting ready for a brawl.

I giggled again and he came and stood out in front of me. He laughed, his shoulders shaking a bit.

“I have so much fun with you,” I said.

Dawson’s laughter faded. His chest heaved up and down heavily and I watched as he swallowed harshly, the muscles in his neck straining.

Then he popped his neck, his caramel-colored, shaggy hair falling over his forehead. “Alright, come on. Show me whatcha got.”

Instantly, I felt giddy. I took a few steps back from him, angling my body towards his. His eyes were dancing with excitement and anticipation, and then I spun around, whipping my back leg up and towards his torso.

His hand caught it at the last second as he let out a grunt and then we both tumbled to the floor.