Page 52 of Resist Me

He mocked me like a teenager and I couldn’t help but smile.

“So, you gonna come to the party tomorrow?”

“Nope.”

“Well, that’s boring. Jessi will probably be there,” I teased.

He scowled. “Another reason not to go.”

“I hella respect what you did that night.”

His arm paused as he pulled it back to throw. A few different expressions passed over his face. For a second, I thought he’d become agreeable, but he settled back into something sour. He threw the ball extra hard and I had to shake out my hand.

“Prickly much? What’s eating at you?”

“Nothing and if there was, I wouldn’t tell you about it.”

“We could have that duel if you want,” I suggested.

“We need swords or something.”

“Get creative.”

“Can I punch you in the face?” he asked.

“If you can manage it.”

Suddenly, he grinned. He approached me casually. There was no way I’d fall for that, so I planted my feet firmly, which was difficult in the wet grass. When he was a few yards away, I threw the ball at him. He caught it instinctively, giving me the chance to charge him and get my hands around his middle. I knocked him onto his back and he swore.

The crazy bastard tried to headbutt me and I narrowly avoided it. His knee connected with my stomach, then he got me onto my back, but he slipped in the mud. When he landed on my chest, I started laughing. I was shocked when he did the same.

It took me a moment to realize that my fingers were pressed against his side. I dropped my arm and lowered my head to the grass. He rolled onto his back beside me and covered his forehead with the back of his hand. It was raining heavily, but neither of us moved.

“That was anticlimactic,” he noted.

“Maybe I’ll let you try again when the weather is better.”

He grabbed the ball from the ground and started throwing it in the air. “Why aren’t you acting like a dick?”

I rolled my head to the side so that I could look at him. From this angle, his high cheekbones were extremely noticeable. When you were facing him directly, it was impossible not to be drawn in by his eyes, but now I found myself studying his other features individually. Water dripped down his temple and made a path to his jaw.

After blowing out a long raspberry, I looked at the sky again. “I act like a dick when you act like a dick.”

“You hated me the moment you saw me.”

My brow furrowed. “No.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn onto his side, so I did the same. We were a foot from each other, but it might as well have only been inches. Did he feel this tension too or was I just weak and lost in him? It was the eyes; it had to be. The fact that he didn’t seem to mind my nearness, though, reignited my earlier thoughts. If I was to shoot my shot, what would happen? I wasn’t keen on gettingrejected by the likes of him, so I refrained from doing or saying anything stupid.

“My dad,” he said suddenly. “That’s why I’m in a mood.”

“Mm. I should’ve guessed it was daddy issues.”

He snorted a laugh. “What’s your deal, then? Mommy issues?”

“No issues for me.”

“Maybe you’d be more interesting otherwise.”

---