Ignite by Lily Paradis Page A

plopped down on the couch.
    “What, you’re not going to tell me what it is?”
    “Oh, don’t worry. I think it’s extra appropriate right now.”
    He raised an eyebrow.
    I walked around the room, searching for the light switch, but ended up turning on the ceiling fan instead.
    “It’s that one,” he pointed to a different set of switches around the corner. It was still weird that he knew this house so well.
    I turned off the lights and sat down on the couch, leaving an entire cushion between us.
    The music began and he stared at the screen, as if he was trying to decide what it was.
    He laughed when he figured it out, and I couldn’t help but smile at his reaction.
    “ Sleeping Beauty ? Seriously?”
    I threw a pillow at him.
    “Yes, it happens to be my favorite movie of all time, actually.”
    “No, I just mean it’s ironically fitting.”
    “I thought so too,” I said, snuggling into the cushions. I wish I had brought a blanket and I shivered. I didn’t want to get up and go find one though.
    As if on cue, Dean flipped a blanket I hadn’t noticed before down off the top of the couch. He spread it out and handed it to me.
    “What about you?” I asked, feeling bad that he was always taking care of me.
    He shook his head.
    “I’m good.”
    I pulled the throw to my side, but I couldn’t concentrate on the movie any longer because I realized how stupid I felt. Here I was, with the guy who had just saved my life, watching Sleeping Beauty . This wasn’t real life. Dean Powell would not be sitting here watching a movie with me when he could be out doing whatever Dean Powell likes to do.
    I’m not sure whether the medicine kicked back in, or if my brain just decided it needed more time out. Halfway through the movie, I found myself fidgeting around with the blanket. I knew he was watching me, but I stretched out so I could lie down.
    “Come here,” he said softly, holding out his arm.
    “What?” I whispered, knowing there was no way I’d heard that right.
    He grabbed my hand and gave it a light tug.
    Whatever possessed me to do it, I don’t know. I felt like I was still under the anesthesia. Somehow I ended up lying across the couch with my head leaning against him, and his arm was around me. I felt so much warmer.
    I was going to soak up every second of it, because there was no way this was real life.
     

     
    I woke up to a loud crash.
    Dean was on his feet in an instant, and I was left tangled in the blanket.
    “Sorry guys, I dropped a glass.”
    “No worries, Callie,” Dean said, rubbing his face sleepily.
    Coming from her, she probably did it on purpose.
    Dean glanced at his watch.
    “I should probably get going.”
    I nodded and shucked the blanket.
    “I’ll lock the door,” he said softly. The shadows playing across his face and those blue eyes in the dark exacerbated my speechlessness. I wasn’t used to boys leaving my house in the middle of the night, or being there at all.
    “Okay,” was all I could manage as we walked down the hallway. I stopped at the guest room door and turned on the light. It was if he wasn’t sure what to do either, but it was clear we should do something.
    After a moment of consideration, he finally pulled me in for a short hug.
    Friends hug, right?
    “Night Lauren,” he whispered into my hair.
    “Night Dean,” I replied, not wanting him to leave.
    But he did. He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me, and then left without another word. It was my phone. I heard the lock turn, and then the door shut.
    I was about to shut my own door when Callie walked by and glared at me.
    Yep, she had definitely done it on purpose.
    I put my phone on the dresser and got in bed.
    Just as I was falling asleep, it buzzed and teetered on the edge of falling off. I grabbed it and looked at the screen, squinting in the dark. There was a text from Dean. When had we even exchanged phone numbers? There wasn’t a last name, but I didn’t know anyone else named