Page 13 of Endgame

“Fine, thanks. You?”

“Fine.” He let the silence stand, waiting to see what she’d say next. Whether or not she wanted to continue the conversation.

“Well, now that we’ve established that we’re both fine, I should probably… Ow! Dammit, Wren!” she hissed. “You have bony elbows.”

King stifled a laugh as he pictured the tall redhead coming for her girl. “Come on a drive with me?” he blurted out, somewhat surprised at himself.

“What, like, now?”

“If you’re free, yeah.”

“I really don’t…” There was a loud crashing noise followed by a few scuffling sounds.

“She’ll be ready in fifteen,” Wren breathed into the phone before hanging up.

Okay, then.

* * *

King drove them to his favorite spot overlooking the whole valley and the lake just beyond it. He liked to come up here when shit with his family got to be too much or when he just wanted a minute to breathe. It was unintentional, him bringing her here, but when he pulled out of her apartment complex, he’d driven to this spot as if on autopilot.

He stretched in his seat, taking in the fact that Lila’s body language was completely closed off. They hadn’t said anything beyond “hi,” and he wasn’t certain how to fill in the empty space. She was hunched forward, elbows resting on her knees, intently gazing out the windshield. King made it a point to be measured with his words, but there was something about Lila that had dropped his guard. But all of the progress had been undone since they last saw each other.

“So you’re probably wondering why I haven’t called you until now,” King abruptly murmured.

“Nope,” Lila lied. At least, he hoped she was lying. She glared out the window. “I’m mostly just embarrassed that I allowed myself to be honest and vulnerable with you. I thought…” She shook her head, a tiny sound of frustration escaping her lips. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters,” King replied.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow, which King noticed she did a lot. It kind of drove him crazy, in the best and worst of ways. He waited, hoping she’d continue to talk to him.

Finally, she spoke, her full attention directed at him. “I just thought you might be different from all of the other guys around here. Obviously I was mistaken.” She repeated the brow raising and returned her focus to the view.

King drew in a breath. “Well, you definitely know how to put a guy in his place.” He leaned into her space, just slightly, so she’d turn back to face him. “Did you think that it might be possible that I was trying to figure all of this out and I needed a little time is all?”

“A little time for what exactly?”

“Just thinking about stuff.”

“Glad you’re not being super vague or anything.”

King tried to suppress a frustrated groan. In the moment, he couldn’t decide if he was stupid or smart for trying with this girl. “Look, I’m trying to be honest here.”

“Okay, so be honest, then.” She crossed her arms over her chest and scanned him expectantly.

“I’m sorry for the radio silence. I just don’t really do this whole ‘dating’ thing. Ever. So this is new territory for me. I just… I didn’t expect you.”

Her face was adorably confused. “What does that even mean?”

“That I didn’t expect to like you like this. To want to talk to you every night. To find you on campus and chill between classes.” He frowned. “That’s not typically been my experience with members of the opposite sex around here.”

“If you feel that way, why ghost me? I thought we were, at the very least, friends. I liked you.” She studied his face for a minute. “I still like you, in spite of myself.”

King’s stomach tightened, and he couldn’t tell if it was in dread or relief. All he knew was he was treading on the thinnest of ice and he didn’t want her to disappear from his life. So he decided to go for what he wanted, consequences be damned.

“Look, La, I like you too, but I don’t want the labels. You know, boyfriend/girlfriend. Can we just be what we are and have fun and not stress?” King looked into Lila’s eyes. “I mean, we have fun together right?”

“We do,” she conceded. “I don’t need a label, but I do need you to be straight with me. I don’t want you to make a fool out of me. Honesty no matter what. As long as you can do that, we’re good.”

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