Page 59 of Reckless Dare

She shook her head as confusion, anger and attraction warred in a cocktail of emotions. She gritted her teeth while drawing in a deep breath.

“Yes, I was drawn to you from the moment I saw you too,” she said glaring at him. “But it was only until you made my life hell. You are an entitled asshole who thinks playing sick mind games is some kind of sport. I’m not the same girl who ran away and hid from you all these weeks. I will fight you back. And I hate you.”

He was quiet. Then suddenly, he caught her wrist stopping her from what she was doing. She let out a gasp when he pulled her closer until barely an inch was between their faces. It was as though it didn’t matter to him that they were surrounded by people.

Her heart nearly beat out of her chest seeing his dark, intense eyes from up close.

“I’m not joking,” he said in a deep tone that fluttered her stomach hard. “I’m drawn to you whether or not you believe me. And just because you hate me doesn’t mean you don’t feel the same way.”

She wrenched her wrist away from his grip. “I-I’m not drawn to you,” she said. “I-I’m with Neeraj. W-we are together.” She didn’t know why she lied. But it was the only way to stop the strange spell her tormentor was casting on her. She felt overwhelmed by him and strangely dizzy at the thought that his lips had been so close to hers.

“You are lying,” he said. His eyes flashed darkly and his jaw was clenched. “You and Batra are not together.”

Even though she thought her lie would blow up in her face pretty soon, she stuck to it.

“No. We are seeing each other,” she insisted.

He scanned her face closely and it took every ounce of her acting skills to not show anything on her face. Suddenly, anger left his face and once again there was a small smile on his face.

“Fine. If that’s how you want to play it. Let the best guy win, just like tonight.”

She was shocked and angry by his words. “What! That’s not what I meant. This is not a game!”

It was too late. Her tormentor already had a determined look on his face. He looked like a victor who couldn’t wait for the fight to claim his prize.

And she was the prize in his twisted game!

CHAPTER 18

Ava felt hunted. Two weeks had passed by since she had been once again trying to avoid her tormentor. But he was everywhere.

In the classroom, sitting right across from her. In the drama class, mouthing out shockingly intense romantic lines. In the cafeteria, sitting right across her table facing her. Or anywhere on the campus. Wherever she went, he was around.

She was no longer terrified of him and neither did he try to intimidate her. But she was terrified of how his presence impacted her. Even when he wasn’t around, thoughts of him haunted her during nights.

Stop tormenting me!

She was angry with herself for letting him impact her that way.

Everyone noticed that he was aggressively pursuing her. Even though she refused to talk to him, it was hard to miss the intense stares he directed towards her.

“What’s up with Abhi and you?” Nitya asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

It was a weeknight and Ava had ordered dinner to her room instead of joining Neeraj and gang for dinner outside. Nitya had an important assignment to finish, so she chose to order in as well.

And while they dug into their noodles and dumplings with their chopsticks, her roommate began to interrogate her.

“Nothing,” Ava replied, trying not to show anything on her face.

Nitya laughed. “Oh, come on! Everyone knows of the incident last month when you yelled at Abhi and called him an arrogant, entitled ass. I was shocked too but didn’t ask you about it. Later, I did because I expected his superfan girls to boycott you, which they did. But it’s very interesting that Abhi didn’t freeze you out and instead gave you the winning ball. Everyone, including me, wants to know why the hottest and most popular guy in the college is following you everywhere.”

Ava felt heat creep up on her face. “There’s nothing between us.”

Nitya grinned. “Nothing yet, maybe. But Abhi seems determined to woo you. In the last three years, no one has seen him pursuing a girl so openly. He’s usually the reserved kind when it comes to dating. We saw him occasionally going on dates, but he never openly displays such blatant interest in any of those girls. Girls pursue him, not the other way around.”

A spark of curiosity hit Ava. She wondered who her tormentor had dated.

Ugh! I shouldn’t care!

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