Page 54 of Darkest Deception

“Ambrose, I—”

“Let’s admit that it was a mistake. It’s best for both of us. I freaked out, and you just did what you thought was best to distract me.” Her words are exactly what I was going to say, but hearing her call it a mistake when the kiss felt so much deeper throws me off.

The want is still there.

To kiss her again.

But I nod and let it go.

Ambrose doesn’t look at me when the elevator shakes.

The light comes back on, and the doors slide open.

And Ambrose still acts like nothing happened as we go into our meeting.

18

“She’s lying.”

Blaze caws, tilting his head on my shoulder. I’m walking through the forest right beside my house, the orange light seeping through the leaves lighting the way. The day is coming to an end soon.

“Why did she say that? She said it so fast, as if to keep me from saying anything else. She wanted to keep me away.”

Blaze caws twice, as if to agree with me. Or to say you are being stupid.

“She could have been puzzled by me kissing her like that, but… how do I tell her that it was the first thought when she started freaking out because I can’t stop thinking about kissing her? Constantly?”

Blaze takes flight, flying away as if he’s had enough of me talking about her for the past twenty minutes.

I sigh, kicking a twig out of my way as I emerge from the forest into a clearing.

I stand there, watching the sun fall from the sky, making the heavens bleed red. The mass of trees in front of me is silent, no sounds of cars or horns or people or anything.

Just Blaze’s caws, birds chirping, and the faint sound of the ripples of water that flows just under the dip beneath my feet. A small waterfall.

And me.

Alone with my thoughts as I try to make sense of Ambrose’s words.

“Blaze! Come back. I still need to—”

My phone rings.

As soon as I pick it up, I ask, “What does it mean when you kiss someone, and they immediately say it was a mistake?”

“Who even kissed you, Helia?” Aurora sounds baffled.

“That’s not the point,”

Aurora hums. “It probably means they want you to ignore it. Maybe they don’t want you to talk to them about it as they may feel guilty that they wanted it to turn into more. Or maybe they think it was done under wrong circumstances and—”

“Simple English, please,” I mutter.

Aurora laughs. “Okay, I’m no expert, but I think it means they were flustered and didn’t think their answer through, especially if they said it quickly after the kiss.”

I hum in reply.

So, Ambrose said that because she wasn’t thinking properly?

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