Page 41 of Reckless Dare

She was sure they both had felt a mutual attraction. Then why did that suddenly change?

She had spent too many hours and days going over every moment of their interaction. She couldn’t think of anything. Once again, she realized there was no other option but to avoid him if she wanted to stay at Simha, even if it meant hiding from him.

Slowly, she stepped away from the lockers and stepped out of the room. She was hurrying out on her shaky legs when she heard someone calling out her name and froze.

It could not be him.

Her tormentor was yet to address her by her name.

She stopped and turned to look in the direction of the voice. A familiar looking guy was walking toward her. He was wearing an Eagles jersey. It took her a moment to recognize her home team leader, Neeraj Batra.

“Hi… hello Neeraj,” she managed to say, hoping he didn't pick up on the tremble in her voice.

“Ava, how are you?” There was a charming, friendly smile on his face as he approached her and stopped a foot away from her.

“I… I’m doing good.”

“I hope you are enjoying your time at Simha.”

Why did he say that? Did he know what was happening? Was this guy friends with Abhi too?

“Ye…yes, I am.” She was still skeptical about everyone, thanks to her tormentor. The guy’s smile was genuine and she relaxed a bit.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you settle in. The Simha ways can be a bit intimidating at first.” Neeraj let out a chuckle.

“Sure.” A wave of relief swept over her. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Anytime.” Neeraj said with another charming smile. “I’m glad you came to cheer for the team even if it’s just a practice match.”

She nodded, not wanting to tell him that she was there to confront her tormentor, but instead got even more terrified.

“The game is about to start. Come, I’ll drop you at the stands.”

Not wanting to be rude and having no other choice, Ava walked with the guy to the stands where there were many other students who had come to watch the practice match.

Just as they reached the stands, Neeraj gave her a cheerful wave before joining his rugby team.

Ava decided to wait until the game started before leaving the place. But even as she stood there uncertainly, she suddenly sensed something dark and menacing.

She looked around until her eyes met those of her tormentor. He was standing on the other side of the stand with his team, but his eyes were trained on her.

He must have seen her with Neeraj Batra, the captain of his rival team

Maybe it was the distance between them, since he was almost a hundred feet away. Or maybe it was the false sense of courage she got from Neeraj’s friendly words.

She kept her eyes on him and raised her chin.

But barely a moment later, all of her bravado disappeared when her tormentor’s dark eyes flashed, promising mayhem.

Oh God. I shouldn’t have poked the devil.

CHAPTER 11

“Congratulations, Miss Patel.”

The hospital admin smiled and handed Ava’s ID back after providing access to the campus hospital building.

Ava returned the smile with excitement. She got the job that she had applied for as an intern in the nursing facility.

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