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“What’s wrong?” I approached her slowly, my feet silent over the carpet

“Nothing I wanted to continue our talk” She flicked her gaze at my bare torso, then down to the towel at ry”

A different sort of hunger was building inside ht between us yet

The bags she’d returned hoe of the bed “Will you shohat you bought?”

She cocked her head “What do you want me to do? Put on a fashion show for you?”

Laughter rumbled in my chest “No”

She stood and I took her place on the bench, whipping the towel aroundit overin front of ainst her chest with one hand and a pair of dark purple shoes in the other

“Wow, that’s eye-catching”

The corners of her mouth turned down and she lowered the dress “You don’t like it?”

“No, I like it a lot It’s pretty Just different fro stupid It’s not like I knew a da about women’s fashion

“Well, duh I don’t graduate every day” She flashed a quick s the door open and hanging the dress inside

I peered past her Like she promised, my clothes here I’d left them I stood and walked over to the dresser I’d taken over when I moved in and slid the top drawer open All my clothes were still neatly folded inside I sed hard over the lump in my throat She hadn’t tossed my stuff in a bonfire in the backyard She had faith I’d return to her More faith than I’d had in myself

“Did you think I was lying about your stuff not being here?” she asked

I wrapped ers around a pair of black sweatpants I couldn’t turn to face her yet “No, although I wouldn’t have blamed you if you threw it all in the trash”

“Don’t be ridiculous”

I finally turned but she was scooping upup your cut” She shook my leather vest The box with her butterfly necklace tu on the carpet with a quiet thump

Her wide eyes blinked and stared up at me “What’s that?”

I hurried over and scooped it off the floor “The reason I went to the ed her toward the bench This wasn’t quite how I envisioned doing this, but it’s not like I’d come up with a better plan