Page 39 of Rivals

She pulls away, and my lips follow hers for just a moment. I look at her, expecting regret, but she bites her puffy lower lip with a satisfied look on her face. My hand is still on her butt, and she doesn’t seem interested in moving away from me.

So I take my chance and kiss her again. Light and bright, soft kisses. They feel like they are giving me life, burning away all the darkness that sits and festers within me. I love kissing her.

I know it’s crazy, but I want her to stay with me. Not just until this round is over but until it’s done. It’s as good of a time as any to ask her the question. Although, if last night is an example of what could happen, I think she may say yes. Is it a little manipulative? Maybe. But I think it will give both of us what we need, and if that kiss is a glimpse into what Revna wants, I hope she will say yes.

“I want you to stay here until the competition is over.” Revna tenses in my arms, and I expect a full yelling match, maybe even a slap in the face. Her eyebrows furrow, and her eyes squint in thought.

“You are very confusing,” she says quietly.

I chuckle a little. “Why is that?”

“You’re so …mean to me, and then you’re…like this.” My stomach sinks. I have been awful to her. It’s that part of me that I don’t like. But I want her here because she helps me see the good despite my bad. We are chaotic together, but we are also something I don’t have a name for. Rather, it is something I don’t want to give a name because it would make this much more real. We are drawn to each other like the earth and the moon. We have been in each other’s orbits for years, but she came a little closer, and now I don’t want to let her go.

Another connection is forged. I feel inspired when she is near. “I think we are able to bring the absolute worst out in each other, but…I think we can bring the best out, too.”

Her eyes widen, and her lips purse. I want to kiss them, but I hold back. I have a feeling I’ll be doing that a lot with her. “So, you feel that pull, too,” she says like it’s a statement of fact.

“Yes,” I breathe out.

“What are we supposed to do with that, then? This?” She gestures between our chests.

“I mean… I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” I say carefully.

She pulls back and pushes herself to sit against the headboard, putting space between us. Her knees come up to her chest, and that hoodie swallows her whole like I want to. “I don’t do stuff like this… the—“

“Attachment?” The corner of my mouth tips up and she growls at me.

“I guess you could say it like that. I don’t have friends, Lachlan.”

“Then what was that with Ryan?” I ask, trying to quell my anger. Is it me, or is it because of something that I don’t see?

“That was me getting back at you and using Ryan to do it.” I grin at her, and she quickly looks away.

“That wasn’t very nice, little bird,” I say, lifting to my elbow. Her eyes trail down the length of my body, lighting fires in her wake. It feels like those sparklers that fizz around until they go out.She wants me.

“We still have a painting to do, and we’re running out of time,” she says, looking at the wall with our practice pieces taped all over it.

“Why do you always change the subject? It was just starting to get good, and I wanted an answer to my question,” I command. She fidgets in place, and I expect her to get off the bed, ignore me, and return to our painting.

“You’re such an ass.”

“Am I? I’m just asking for answers that have to do with me.”

“Because I felt the annoying pull before this whole thing started,” she grumbles under her breath and lays her head on her knees, careful of her cheek.

If a reluctant surprise with a side of preening is possible, that is exactly how I feel. I can’t lie and say it doesn’t feel good to know that what I’ve felt isn’t one-sided. I feel validated for once in my life, and I want to soak in it for just a minute longer.

Revna looks up and meets my eyes. My eyebrow lifts in question as her cheeks turn pink before she looks away again. I sit up and scoot closer to her so we sit side by side. I tip my head against the headboard and decide to be honest with her. For once in her life, she’s doing it with me, and I feel like I need to reciprocate. “I did, too.”

Her head flies up, and I can feel her eyes burning into my skin, but I don’t want to look because we won’t be doing any more talking. “I don’t know what to do with that,” she says. I breathe out a sigh and think about it because I don’t know what to do with it, either. We are undeniably very volatile people. We’ve been through things we don’t want to talk about, and I only know that because I don’t want to talk about it myself.

“Why don’t we just work on our project and go from there.”

“Now, who’s changing the subject?” she says, bumping my shoulder.

I groan and lift my head. “I don’t have an answer for you, little bird. All I know is that I feel something, and for once, it’s not anger. You’re the only person that …” I stop myself because that is a lot, and I don’t even understand it myself.

“I’m the only person that…” Revna says, waiting for me to finish my sentence, but I can’t. I won’t. “I don’t trust people, Lachlan. It has thoroughly been ripped from me. The capacity to trust does not live within me. I’m not going to say I trust you, but…after last night, you’re probably the only person I trust at least forty percent.”