Page 38 of Rinkmates

I try to keep my cool, but it’s hard when she’s so close. “Like I said. You can have anything. Just not my fucking cereal. It’s not that complicated!”

“You’re such an ass, you know that? It was the only thing we had left,” she says, her voice sharp, but it’s the way her eyes lock onto mine that makes my breath catch.

“All right, but if you use something up, make sure to replace it, okay?” I say, but all I can focus on is that anger in her gaze—it’s fiery, almost magnetic. Fuck, it’s so hot. A heated pull that makes my pulse race.

We’re standing so close now that her warmth radiates back from her.

“Fine. You’re— It’s just—” she stammers, her gaze darting to my lips.

Something in the moment makes her trail off, and I find myself at a loss for words as well. I look at her chest rising and falling with each breath, hoping it’s a subtle sign of her own racing heart. The space between us feels so fucking charged and I catch myself leaning in slightly. In just a moment, she flipped me from boiling mad to feeling genuinely sorry. What the actual hell is going on?

Liora tilts her head up, her plump lips parting just enough to make me wonder how it would feel to kiss them. There’s a visible struggle on her face, her breath catching as if she’s fighting the urge to move closer too. I can’t do this. I can’t kiss her now. We need to live together for six more months. I can’t mess it up now.

Just as I’m about to bridge that damn gap between us, she turns away abruptly, her face flushing. That’s when I notice what she’s wearing—a white silky top and shorts, no fucking bra underneath. My heart skips a beat, and I quickly turn around, trying to focus on anything other than how soft her skin looks, how close she is, how close we were to fucking kissing. Shit. This is ridiculous. I planned on hating her, not kissing her.

The second I turn she says, “Fine. I won’t touch a thing in your apartment anymore, okay?”

She still glares at me, but there’s a flicker of something softer in her eyes now, something I’m not sure I can handle.

“Well, that’s gonna be tricky considering we’re stuck here for the next six months.”

For a second, we’re just standing there, probably realizing at the same time that we’re indeed going to live in this limbo formonths.

She breaks the tension by flipping her hair and huffing, trying to act like she’s not affected. “It’ll be fine. Just do me a favor and get over yourself.”

“Get over myself?”

“You’re throwing a fit over Fruit Loops like it’s the end of the world, Riley. Living with you would be a lot easier if you’d stop being such a hothead. I’ll replace it and never touch it again, okay?”

I cross my arms, a smile playing at the corners of my lips. “How about you just say sorry? Or is that too much for you?”

“I’ve already apologized! How many times do you need me to say it?”

“It was sarcastic as hell.”

“Fine. Sorry I ate your cereal. Why would you even yell at me like this over fucking cereal?”

“It’s not just cereal.” This. Woman.

She rolls her eyes. “Then what is it? Tell me. Please.”

“Maybe it’s because it’s the only thing in this apartment that’s not driving me up the wall!” I shoot back. “And the way you’re always right there, just—” I pause, pointing at her, at the way her boobs are just so fucking perfect “—just making everything so much harder.”

“Well, why don’t you just kick me out then, huh?” she snaps.

“Maybe I will!” I yell back, but my voice lacks the conviction. The truth is, I couldn’t kick her out even if I wanted to. The idea of her leaving makes my chest tighten.

For a moment, we’re both silent, breathing hard.

With a defiant glint in her eye, Liora sighs deeply and says, “I’ll get you another box. Just…just leave me alone now.”

That’s the problem—I can’t. I open my mouth to apologize once more because yes, I acted like an idiot again, but before I can say anything, she marches over to her speaker and cranks up a Hungarian pop song at full volume.

“Oh, real mature!” I shout over the music.

“Since you’re so bad at reading the room, I figured this would make it clear that I’m done talking to you,” she yells back.

Unbelievable.

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