Always (Indigo Falls #1)

by Loren Leigh

Simkung. It’s Korean for that throb you get in your chest with some people.

“Jin?” The way he says my name jerks me back to the present. “Yeah.” I swallow and point toward the stairs. “I should, uh . . .” “And there it is.” His voice hardens a touch. I frown. “There what is?” “You avoiding me.” I stiffen. “I don’t.” “You do.” His eyes narrow. “Every time I enter a room, you’re out of it in less than five minutes. You’re ready to bolt right now.” Self-preservation.

It’s breath-catchingly gorgeous. And infinite. Some people say it makes them feel small, but looking up at a star-stacked sky like this, I’ve always felt part of something. Maybe that’s why I’ve inked it all over my body. Or maybe it’s simpler than that: I just like this shit. The possibilities of the night sky.

I can’t think when he’s near. I’m like this spastic, brain-riddled kid with a . . . crush. A sudden coldness hits me at the core. That’s what this is. I have a fucking crush on my brother’s best friend.

Kepler’s just different. He always has been. In a sky stacked with stars, he’s the brightest one. The one I’m drawn to, again and again.

“I don’t know,” he says quietly. “Maybe because truly caring about someone is never uncomplicated.”

“To me,” he says quietly, “it feels like I’m the most obvious person in the world. I leave you Post-its because I selfishly want you to think about me.”

“I followed you back here because I wanted to see how you are since I know you had a difficult night. And also, selfishly again, because I imagined shoving you up against the bookshelf and kissing the fuck out of you, even if I’m pretty sure that won’t ever happen. Even if I’ve imagined doing just that ever since that first time I saw you on the Quad.”

Kepler Quinn is smiling at me with a kind of delight I haven’t seen on him in years. My damn heart grows in my chest, filling it up, closing my throat. There’s nothing that prepares me for what he looks like when he smiles. It’s so genuine.

I can’t stop this. Don’t want to stop this. This is more than a crush. More than me exploring this sexual awakening situation. More than friendship. What if I could fall in love with Kepler Quinn? What if I’m a bit in love with him already? What if I have been for years?

“You’re making a lot of promises.” “I intend to fulfill any that you want.”

“Because you once told me what the hangul meant.” I pause, trying to read everything I can on his face. “Treasure,” I say. “It means something like treasure.” He squeezes me tighter. “Exactly.”

So, ‘how long has it been going on?’ I’ll just distill it down to one word.” His eyes warm to a light gray. “Always.”

“Jin.” A half-smile tugs at his lips as his eyes soften. “You’re my universal constant. Something that will never change.” That genuine smile expands over his face, the one I’ll never get tired of. “I love you to the depth of my ability to love.”