Page 42 of Take My Crown

Archer goes behind a screen which hides the projector while I grab a large bag of peanut M&Ms. A moment later the lights dim and the screen counts down from three to one.

I perch on the end of the bed as Archer comes out and casually jumps on it, legs outstretched. He pats the bed next to him with a grin that could melt hearts.

“Come join me, Ivy. I don’t bite.”

I lay back next to him, fluffing up the pillows before settling in. Ripping open the M&Ms, I place the bag between us.

We sit in silence as the trailers start up. There is a new Marvel movie coming out which looks good, and a thriller about a girl who is kidnapped and kept in luxury by a mysterious stranger with a hidden agenda.

As I watch the trailer, I shake, the plotline a little too close to the bone.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Archer puts his arm around me, pulling me towards him to comfort me.

“F-fine,” I sniff, trying to hold back the tears. The last thing I want to do is to cry in front of Archer. Damn, I’m a really terrible date.

“It’s okay to not be perfect and in control all of the time. We live in a fucked up world and we have to find peace where we can. You may be locked in that house and feel trapped…but so do I. So do all the kings of the academy. We are all as trapped as you. I’ve got you, Ivy.”

Archer gently runs the back of his hand down my cheek, placing it under my chin to lift my head up to face him. He kisses me lightly on the lips, then moves up to kiss away the single tear trickling down my cheek.

“You’re safe with me,” he whispers.

He may be telling the truth, but the last thing I want from Archer is safety. I want to be dangerous, push the boundaries, do what feels right, regardless of whether it is the right thing to do. When someone is trapped…pushing the barriers is the only way to escape.

Impulsively, I reach up to pull him towards me, kissing him hungrily. For a moment, he holds back, then he returns my kiss, holding me tightly.

But then he pushes me away.

“Ivy… We shouldn’t do this.”

“Why? Because you’re scared of my father?”

“No.” Archer grins sheepishly. “Well, a little. But no, it’s more that I really like you, Ivy. I mean,reallylike you. You have no idea how much I regret the way we met. Sometimes I think about how things would have been if you’d just been a new girl at school. Everyone would want you. Romy would turn on the charm as usual, wanting to be the first notch on your bedpost. But I want to be the one to catch your eye and sweep you off your feet.”

“Wow,” I say. “Milly is right. You really are a romantic at heart.”

“You got me.” Archer shrugs. “I just don’t want to do anything unless the timing’s right. I think we can have something special together. I don’t want to rush you. I’m no Romeo.”

“No. You’re really not.” As he speaks, I see him in a new light. Gone is the tough guy image. This is the real Archer.

And I want him.

“Let me get you another beer and I’ll restart the movie. I think we’ll skip the trailers this time though, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Archer \ puts the movie on again, coming back to the bed with a couple of beers. He holds his bottle up against mine.

“To us!”

“To us,” I echo, taking a sip before snuggling down, resting my head against his chest to watch the film. The pair of us share the M&Ms, our hands sometimes touching when we reach for the bag. It’s sweet–and the last thing I expected from someone like Archer.

The film is typical Ryan Reynolds, a comedy where he regularly breaks the fourth wall to talk to the audience about how dumb it is for him to be playing a dead guy trapped in the body of a hamster. It is popcorn for the brain, but it lets me escape the mess that is my life for a couple hours.

As the credits roll, Archer moves to go and switch the lights back on, but I reach out to him.

“No. Leave it like that.”

Archer shrugs and comes back to where he has been lying a moment before. I rest my chin on his chest, looking up at him.

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