Ignite by Lily Paradis

than I ever had.
    “So,” I asked tentatively, swirling the rest of my pasta around in my bowl. I wasn’t really that hungry even though I felt like I should eat something. “What happened?”
    He sighed.
    “Long story short, you passed out. Eventually, Jed figured out where we were and had this huge team dig us out. You weren’t doing well, and they thought you had bleeding in your brain when they took us in. Luckily, you were fine, but they still wanted to keep you for observation since we were trapped for three days.”
    “Three days?” I gasped. “We were down there for three days?”
    He nodded and took a bite of pasta.
    I put my head in my hands.
    “I am so, so sorry,” I said, feeling guilty that I put him through all of that just because I freaked out when I saw him with Stacia. “I had no right to react like that.”
    He smiled weakly. “Hey, we made it. No harm done.”
    How was he being so calm about it?
    “I just feel awful,” I said, groaning. “I owe you. Big time.”
    His smile got bigger, as did my guilt complex.
    “No you don’t. But if you really feel compelled to make good on that debt, I’m sure I can come up with something. ”
    I gave him a look and he laughed. “Not like that. Keep your mind out of the gutter, there are children here.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew he went to the gutter before I did.
    Kenzie walked back in the room, holding two phones. She placed one on the counter by me, and held up the other one.
    “Luke’s here to pick me up, do you think You’ll be okay tonight?” She looked concerned.
    I swallowed my bite and got up to hug her.
    “Of course,” I told her. “Thank you so much for staying as long as you did. I doubt Emma will listen once you leave, though.”
    She bit her lip and looked at Dean.
    “I’m pretty sure all you have to do is mention him and she’ll do whatever you tell her.”
    We all laughed. It was true. Emma was Dean’s number one fan, and she had a lot of older competitors.
    “Bye Dean,” Kenzie said, giving him a light hug. He thanked her for staying with me, and I walked her to the door.
    “Please promise me You’ll stop overthinking everything,” she whispered.
    I sighed. She was right. But I wasn’t staying permanently, so it wouldn’t be an issue. He had just saved my life, even though I was sure it was out of necessity.
    “Love you. Thanks again,” I said, hugging her tightly.
    “Love you too. You know my number if you need anything.”
    She grabbed her coat and bounced out the door into the cold, and then waved as she got into Luke’s car. I watched them drive away, then shut the door and stood there for a minute before I went back into the kitchen. I didn’t know how to deal with Dean alone.
    He stood casually as he washed the dishes, as if he belonged there. He smiled at me when I walked in, and I swore he was a different person when he was with me than he was anywhere else. The guy from the ski trip wasn’t the same one who didn’t talk to me during said trip. I didn’t know if it was because of what happened in the staff maintenance lodge to change that, or if it was something else.
    He dried his hands on the dish towel and came to stand in front of me.
    “Are you still tired?”
    I shrugged. “Not really. I feel like I’ve slept enough for this week.”
    He smiled.
    “Wanna watch a movie?”
    “Umm…” I thought about the potential awkwardness, but curiosity got the best of me. Plus, I was going to be pretty bored alone if the kids were already asleep. “Only if I get to pick.”
    He nodded. “Anything you want, as long as its not anything with aliens.”
    I smiled back.
    “Aren’t guys supposed to love alien movies?”
    “Not this guy. It’s the stuff of nightmares.”
    I walked over to the TV and knelt beside of the pile of movies that Emma had left out. There wasn’t a single choice that held a rating over PG, which was kind of perfect.
    I held up one and put it in the machine as he