“Sure you were.” He’s full-on laughing at me now. “Let me guess: and I just happened to be here?”

“Maybe I like hanging out with you,” I mumble to the floor.

He slides a finger under my chin and gently tilts up my face. Our eyes meet—and hold. “Maybe I like hanging out with you, too. Did you ever think of that?”

My mouth parts, as though I have an answer. But I don’t. My brain cells are too busy firing signals to my nerves, my heart, my stomach. Sending everything dancing and flying and flipping.

“I’m actually supposed to go to Charlie’s cabin today,” he continues. “He’s got an errand for me to run. Do you want to come with me?”

The sparks fade, and I sit up, instantly wary. I was picturing seeing Charlie in a common area, like last night. A coffee shop, maybe, or the park? Sure, the public aspect will make Charlie harder to kill…but it also gives me a measure of protection. “You want me to go into a remote forest with you?” I repeat numbly.

“I’m not luring you into the woods to get revenge, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He nudges me, the dimple winking in his cheek. “You can trust me.”

“Do you trust me?” I counter. It’s a legitimate question. I mean, I don’t even know if I can trust me, since all I’ve done is poison the guy and lie to him.

He looks at me for so long that I want to scrape the question out of the air. “Yes,” he finally says.

“Why?” I whisper.

He crawls to where I’m sitting and leans back against the wall. Our shoulders touch. My skin sizzles like water dropped in a hot pan, but I don’t move away and neither does he.

“I trust you because I noticed you long before you ever approached me on that basketball court,” he says quietly. “Because you bring two lunches to school every day, one for you and one for your brother. Because when I talk to you, sometimes you forget to blink. And so help me, that makes me feel like the most important person on the planet.”

He turns his head so that he’s looking right into my eyes. “But even if none of that was true, I would still trust you. Do you want to know why?”

“Yes.” The word is a puff of air that barely leaves my mouth.