The Bookworm's Guide to Flirting (The Bookworm's Guide 3)

I nodded and opened my mouth to confirm I had when I was nudged in the back. Staggering, I fell against Dylan’s body. He caught me, wrapping one arm around my body.

“You all right?” he asked, shouting to be heard over the music even though his mouth was close to my ear.

No.

I was not all right.

I tilted my head up. There were only a few inches of space between our lips, and it would be so easy to cross the line. Just a little lean up, a bounce onto the balls of my feet…

“Saylor?”

I shook those thoughts away and pulled back. “Yeah, I’m fine.” My drink was brought over at that moment, and I handed her money in exchange, then used my drink as an excuse to turn away from Dylan.

My heart was pounding, and I didn’t want to look at him.

After my conversation with Seb, I was honestly afraid I might kiss him.

“How did you like the song?”

“The what?” I jerked around. “Oh. You really complete them.”

“Is that a compliment?” Dylan grinned and sidled up right against me. Like I was a moment ago, he was nudged, pushing him closer into my side.

I was getting hot.

And not a good hot.

“The farthest thing from it.” I shuffled to the side to put some distance between us, but it was so packed in here that we were just jostling around and ultimately bumping into each other.

I couldn’t breathe.

I needed air.

“Can you—” I shoved my glass at Dylan.

“Saylor? What’s wrong?”

“Need some air.” I pushed away from him and through all the people. My mind was whirring, and his closeness to me was making me feel overwhelmed.

I needed to breathe.

I managed to push through the crowds and burst outside the bar. It was absolutely fucking freezing, but that could have been just because I was so damn hot.

Still, the chill was a relief.

I breathed in the cool air and leaned against the wall. Rubbing my hands on my arms warmed them slightly, and I hunched myself up to preserve a little warmth, just until I’d settled enough to go back inside.

The door opened, and I turned to see Dylan.

“Here.” He held out my coat. “You’re going to freeze otherwise.”

“Thanks.” I took it from him and shrugged it over my shoulders. “You don’t have to stay with me. I just need a minute.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s crazy in there. Plus I don’t feel comfortable leaving you out here alone right now.” He leaned against the wall next to me. “You’ve been drinking and it’s dark.”

“We have basically no crime in White Peak. It’s boring.”

“Doesn’t matter. Still not leaving you. We don’t have to talk, though.”

I nodded slowly and looked out across the parking lot. There were tiny piles of snow from earlier in the week, and ice coated a few of the windshields on the cars where they’d been parked for a while. The streetlights were hazy, and it looked as though fog was rolling in overnight.

Great.

Everyone was going to drive at five miles an hour tomorrow.

“Feel better?” Dylan asked quietly, peering over at me.

“I think so. We can go back in.”

“Don’t have to,” he replied, turning to me. “If you want to go home, we can go home.”

I hesitated. “You don’t have to come with me. I can get a cab.”

He shook his head. “I’m not sending you home alone. Something is clearly on your mind. Let’s go home, I’ll make hot chocolate, and you can put your pajamas on and read a book.”

“You make me sound like I’m eighty.”

“Your soul is.” He winked. “Come on. You can text one of the girls and tell them we’re done.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me quickly. “Let’s go.”

God, this was annoying.

Why was he so nice? Why did he have to be like a hero right out of a romance novel?

Why did he have to be damn near perfect?

Ugh. It was killing me.

We walked together, mostly in silence, until we reached the apartment. I was so glad to get home because my feet were absolutely killing me. The more steps I took, the more my pajamas and a hot chocolate called to me.

Hm. Maybe Dylan was right. Maybe my soul was a senior citizen.

I followed him into the apartment and stopped at the door to rip off my stupid heels. I was better suited to fluffy socks and Ugg boots, thank you very much. Leaving Dylan in the kitchen, I headed into my room to change into something more comfortable than this stupid dress and take off my makeup.

Mission complete, I went back to the kitchen, tying my hair up in a loose knot on top of my head. The scent of hot chocolate and melted marshmallows made my nose twitch, and I almost gasped when Dylan presented me with a large mug that was topped with whipped cream, cocoa powder, and marshmallows.