Read Did I Mention I Need You? (The DIMILY Trilogy Book 2) for Free Online Page B

my hand. It’s so out of nowhere that I think my body stops functioning, even when Tyler starts yanking me down the stairs. “Little kids go on the subway, Eden, so I’m taking you on it. End of discussion,” he calls over his shoulder.
    I don’t even reply. I can’t reply. It feels like I’m in middle school all over again and my eighth-grade crush has just held my hand for the first time. It’s such a simple gesture, but it feels so significant. His skin is warm and our fingers interlock and fit each other almost perfectly. It feels exactly like the way I remember it, and it also feels like I can’t breathe, and I can’t tell if it’s because he’s touching me or if it’s because I’m underground. I try to convince myself that it’s the latter.
    “See, it’s not that bad, right?” Tyler’s voice echoes in my ear, and his hand quickly disappears from mine. My senses come rushing back and I glance around, wondering how many flights of stairs he’s pulled me down and also wondering why there’s lighting down here, until my eyes finally settle back on his.
    “Right,” I say, but my voice is almost a whisper. I’m such a kid. All he did was guide me down to a subway station. I glance down at his hands, which are now stuffed inside the front pockets of his pants, and he’s looking at me with a curious glint in his eyes. “So what’s a MetroCard?”
    “The thing that’s gonna let you get through those.” He nods behind me to a row of turnstiles and it only occurs to me right then how loud everything is. I can hear a train arriving in the distance and it almost feels as though the ground is shaking, but it’s not. I think I can also hear a busker out on the platforms somewhere. “Over here.”
    There are some machines lining a wall and I follow Tyler over to them, close behind, partly because I don’t feel safe and partly because I’m hoping he’ll grab my hand again. He doesn’t.
    “Are you still freaking out?” he asks. He steals a glance at me from the corner of his eye as he taps at the screen, selecting options so fast that I struggle to keep up with what he’s doing.
    “It’s making me feel a little claustrophobic,” I admit. My eyes drift around the station. I’m not sure how far down we are, but it feels like we’re trapped in the middle of nowhere, yet nobody else seems to have a care in the world. They’re definitely not tourists.
    “You’ll get used to it in a few days. You’ll get used to New York as a whole by the end of the week.” Taking out his wallet, he pulls out his credit card and slides it into the bottom of the machine, typing in his PIN and removing the card again. A yellow and black card shoots out from a slot higher up. “Unlimited for a month,” he says, handing the card to me. “You’re good to go.”
    I squint at it for a moment as he slides his credit card back into his wallet and takes out his own MetroCard. “How much did you pay for this?”
    “Why does it matter?” He looks at me hard. Almost like he’s offended that I’m asking.
    “Because now I owe you.”
    He lets out a laugh in the middle of the station and rolls his eyes at me, twice. “Get outta here. You don’t owe me anything. I’m under strict orders to look after you.” Throwing his arm over my shoulder, he pulls me against him and squeezes my body before pushing me away. It’s only playful, but his touch still exhilarates me for a few seconds.
    And once the sensation fades away, I can focus on his words. “Under strict orders from who?”
    “C’mon, there’s a train about to come in.” Completely ignoring my question, he places his hand on my shoulder blade and directs me over to the turnstiles, and I have to slide my MetroCard through the slot before forcing my body through the bars.
    Tyler follows right behind me. The subway station, on a whole, isn’t as busy as I expected it to be. We’re two of around fifteen people standing on the platform, but it’s most likely