Page 9 of Endgame

The drive to her place passed quickly, and as soon as King put his car in park, Lila gathered up the courage to say what she felt she needed to say.

“So, um, tonight was fun, but I want you to know that that’s the farthest I’ve ever gone physically with anyone before.”

King’s expression stayed neutral, but he studied her intently, and Lila desperately wished she could crawl inside his brain so she could see what he was thinking about.

“I’m telling you because I just might need to take things slowly. Assuming that’s something you’re interested in. Because I’m not in the habit of making out with guys that I’m not interested in. I’m not really wired for the whole ‘one and done’ kind of thing.”

“I’d never pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to do.”

“I appreciate that.” She did, but she also focused on what he didn’t say. He didn’t say anything specific about continuing whatever they’d started. Or that this was more than a one-time, PG-13ish hookup. Lila had the feeling that King rarely said anything he didn’t mean and was thus very particular with the words he chose to say. Though she didn’t regret her honesty the moment before, she also felt like her lack of sexual experience was probably a deterrent to someone as self-possessed as King.

Her inner monologue was cut off when he leaned in to tuck a loose hair behind her ear and then grazed her lips with his. “C’mon. I’ll walk you to your door.”

Her apartment complex consisted of four identical 3-story buildings arranged in a square, with exterior staircases leading to the various apartment doors. Lila’s was on the second floor, so they scaled the stairs that led to her place.

“This is me.” Lila motioned to the door. Then King was in her space, his large hand circling the back of her head as he leaned down to kiss her deeply. Too soon, he withdrew, tracing Lila’s bottom lip with his thumb.

“Later, La.”

“Later, King.”

As soon as she was inside her apartment, she texted Wren, who was waiting on a full report, regardless of how late the hour. Wren was convinced that King was interested in more than just a fling, but Lila wasn’t so sure. Though what had happened had felt important somehow, Lila couldn’t shake the feeling that their last kiss was more of a goodbye than a hello.

And as the subsequent days began to stretch into weeks with no word from King, Lila realized that she was right.

Chapter 6

Lila left class and headed over to the west side of campus, to the building that housed the Bradley U business school. It was kind of an open secret that the small cafe on the ground floor served the best paninis, and it was definitely a panini kind of day. It had been two weeks since the makeout that had kind of rocked her world, and Lila still hadn’t heard a peep from King Spencer.

She was not going to make the first move, nor was she going to bring it up to Jason, who had been badgering her about it at work. No, she was not going to send a text or a DM or anything of the sort, not when her already fragile ego was hanging on by a thread.

In her mind, she chalked his silence up to the fact that she’d probably been a little too open about her lack of experience and was overly assumptive that King would want to continue to hang out after that night. Or maybe she was just a terrible kisser. With embarrassingly small boobs. Her already keen propensity to overanalyze had escalated to a fever pitch, and old insecurities were brought to the fore with a force that was hard to combat.

As always, Wren brought her back down to reality. Wren had reminded her that two weeks in guy time wasn’t really that long and that King was the one missing out if he chose to ghost.

While Lila appreciated the sentiment, she knew that her friend was more than a little biased. She was trying to be chill about the whole thing–more adult and realistic. But the truth of the matter was that she’d put herself out there and been open with King, and it seemed like it was coming back to bite her in the ass.

Adopting her “I don’t want to chat with anybody” position, she put her headphones in and scrolled through her phone while she was waiting in line. A faint tap on her shoulder caused her to turn around, with an irritated look firmly in place, until she noticed that said shoulder tapper was Knight Patrick. Her annoyed frown turned into a grin that mirrored his as she took out her AirPods.

“Oh, Knight! Hey. Fancy meeting you here.”

Knight laughed lightly. “It’s nice to see that smile, Li. For a second, I thought you were going to rip my head off.”

Lila winced playfully. “Sorry about that. Wasn’t really in the mood to chat with randoms today. Or get hit on by someone who asks if I can spare some Chapstick.”

Knight wrinkled his nose. “That’s happened before?”

Lila nodded.

“Some dudes need lessons in the fine art of talking to someone without being completely creepy.”

“Agreed. Thus the AirPods.”

“Understandable. I guess it’s a good thing we’re like best buds now that we’ve bonded over our superior dance moves and overall awesomeness. I would also like to note that you are an excellent texter. It’s becoming a lost art, really, and your wittiness-to-emoji ratio is second-to-none.”

“Agreed about the best buds thing. And thank you,” Lila replied with a smile as they moved up the line. Knight Patrick was rapidly becoming one of her favorite people. It was a shame that Wren wasn’t typically into athletes, because Lila had a feeling that underneath the muscular exterior, Knight was just Wren’s type. They made small talk as they waited in line, Knight filling her in on the business classes he was taking, how the football team was faring, and then Lila shared something funny that had happened in her last class, until it was time to order. Knight insisted on paying for her lunch.

“Seriously, Li, put your money away,” Knight said, cutting off her protestations and giving the cashier his card.

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