Page 34 of The Love Interest

“It is. But I don’t want to win this by hurting you. I just don’t.”

“You say that now, but when it comes down to it we’ll be scratching each other’s eyes out. It’s human nature.”

“Human nature sucks sometimes.”

He didn’t disagree.

He lies down. His black shirt pulls up a little, showing a sliver of his stomach. He has abs. I shouldn’t be surprised—all Love Interests have them—yet I find I’m kind of shocked by his body. What would Juliet think if she saw us side by side with our shirts off? Whose body would she prefer? I have a feeling it’d be his.Iprefer his.

He clears his throat. “Man, you need to lie down and see the sky from this angle. It’s so cool.”

I lie down beside him. Our faces are separated by only three tiles, but we aren’t looking at each other. We’re looking up at the sky. It’s navy, pinpricked by tiny dots of silver light.

“It’s beautiful,” he says. “Did you ever dream of doing just this while you were at the LIC?” I shake my head, and he continues. “I did. All I wanted was to spend hours looking up at the stars. I seriously thought about it almost every night.

“We could do that now—if you want to, obviously, it’s not a big thing. But we literally could look at it for hours. We don’t have to, though, if you have other things to do or something.”

He tilts his head slightly and looks at me. His stare is a little too intense, so I look down and focus on his neck and his perfect stubble. After the bristle of his chin, there’s a long stretch of smooth skin that arcs down until it reaches the collar of his shirt.

I steel myself, then look up and meet his stare. “I’m in if you are.”

Because it’s the truth.

I’ve never been moreinin my life.

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

“Here’s our hero!”

Natalie grins as I approach the table. She’s sitting alone, but she’s holding her head high and her posture is perfect, so she looks perfectly comfortable in her solitude. I don’t have this ability. Whenever I sat alone at the LIC, I was sure that everyone was judging me. The fact that she can sit by herself and not give a crap what anyone thinks makes me respect the living daylights out of her.

I sit down beside her. On the table, a ham sandwich rests on a sheet of plastic wrap beside a metallic pink water bottle. Natalie is Juliet’s best friend, and as Kaylee has repeatedly told me, it’s vitally important that she give me the seal of approval. Luckily, Juliet chose well, as Natalie is kind and good-natured. Spending time with her is fun, so I’d do it even if my life didn’t depend on it.

“Getting beaten up is heroic now?” I say. “Wait, I’ll get Spider-Man on the phone; he probably needs to know this.”

She chuckles. The more I see of Natalie, the more I notice how beautiful she is. Her face is—I can’t believe I’m saying this—heart-shaped, and her skin is flawless. What’s most attractive about her, though, is her constant smile, and her funny/kind/warm personality, which is seriously top tier.

“So where’s Juliet?” asks Natalie. “This is the first time I’ve seen you apart in, like, forever.”

“Bathroom.”

She smiles knowingly, and scoops a piece of sliced carrot into a low-calorie avocado dip. “Seriously, funny guy, what’s the deal with you and her?” She bites down, and the carrot crunches loudly.

“What do you mean? We’re friends.”

She rolls her eyes. “Please, you can tell me the truth. You two aresoobvious. I mean, you guys got mugged yesterday, and yet today both of you are all smiles. It’s weird.”

“Did she say anything about me?”

“Nope. But Juliet isn’t the type to talk about what she feels. Here she comes now.”

I turn my head and see Juliet walking across the courtyard. She raises one hand and waves, then points to the water fountain. She walks to it and joins the small line that’s formed in front of it.

Natalie gives me her best death stare. “I don’t need to tell you that if you hurt her I’ll end you, do I? I’m a black belt, just so you know. I could crush your neck with one punch if I wanted to.”

“That’s oddly specific.”