Crave (Harlequin Teen)
holding her in case she felt as light-headed and weak as I did.
“I… We…” she gasped.
“Yeah,” I agreed, still breathless. “Wow.”
The dazed look left her face, replaced by horror. She pushed away from me and stepped down from the stool as all the color drained from her cheeks. “You kissed me!”
“You kissed me back.” How had she recovered so fast? She had to have felt the world slam to a halt during that kiss, too.
“I did not. I got a little…light-headed. And you took advantage of my confusion.”
“I can tell when a girl is kissing me back.”
She pressed a hand to her stomach and another to her chest like before.
“Why do you keep doing that? And why are you feeling light-headed? Are you sick? Tell me the truth.”
“No, I’m not sick. I just…” Frowning, she pressed a hand to her forehead. “I didn’t eat much at lunch. And don’t change the subject. This is not okay. You and I can’t—”
“Have dinner with me.” I cringed at my total, sudden lack of self-control. Good job, Tristan. So much for being her friend first.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” My pulse shot up through my skull. Yes!
“No! Wait. No. I can’t. We can’t.”
“Is that your final answer?” I joked even as my heart dropped down somewhere near my gut. I should have known getting her to date me wouldn’t be so easy.
“I—I’m the head manager. You’re one of my managers. I can’t date you.”
It sounded like she was reaching for excuses on the fly. “Did Mrs. Daniels say that?”
“No. But—”
“Then I’m allowed to date anyone I want to on the team?”
She frowned. “Yes. But it’s—”
“Okay, then. I want to date you, Savannah.” I crossed my arms over my chest, bracing myself for the argument I knew she’d need to convince her. “Obviously you feel something between us, too. Why not have dinner together?”
“Because I can’t.” She ducked out of the closet faster than I could move to block her.
I followed her to the hallway, hoping the shakiness in my knees didn’t show. “Can’t? Or don’t want to?”
She froze just inside the dance room, her back to me as she gripped the doorjamb hard enough to make her knuckles turn white. I thought she wouldn’t answer, or maybe she’d lie. “I wish I could. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Can you at least tell me why?”
“You know why. Clann rules.” Moving to the back of the room, she grabbed a box from inside the cabinet and started filling it up with gifts from the countertop, her movements jerky with not a single hint of that ghostlike grace she’d shown while dancing just a few minutes ago. “Will you grab two hatboxes, please? That is, if you’re still insisting on helping.”
Frustrated, I stayed where I was for the moment. “So you won’t date me because the Clann forbids it.”
She sighed loudly. “That’s right. We’re not even supposed to be friends, much less date. You know that.”
“But their rules don’t make any sense. They’re stupid. Just because you’re not in the Clann anymore shouldn’t stop us from dating. Descendants can date regular humans. What’s the difference?”
Her frown deepened. “They have their reasons. Hats?”
I stood there, rubbing the stubble starting to form on my chin. I’d need to shave again before the game tonight. “What reasons? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes sense to them, and that’s all that matters. A promise is a promise.”
“You promised not to be friends with me, or not to date me?”
“Uh, both. It was sort of an all-inclusive kind of promise.”
“You actually said the words ‘I promise’?” When we were kids, she used to get so hung up on making me say those words and pinky swearing when I promised her something. Otherwise, she seemed to think I might wriggle out of the deal, whatever it was at the time.
And she remembered that, judging by how she had to duck her head to hide a grin now. “Well, not in so many words. It was more like an understood thing. They said to stay away from you.”
“Ah, but you never actually promised, did you?” I said, stepping closer to her.
She quickly grabbed the now-full box of gifts. “They made sure I understood the rules, and that’s all it should take.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Look, maybe you don’t care about following the rules. But I do. I made a promise to my family, and they trust me to keep it. So that’s what I’m
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