Page 14 of The Ruse

“I know!” Nash said, glancing toward me in the dark car with a smile on his face. “He did great. That’s the kind of career I want to have. One where I can play all sorts of roles and never be typecast.”

“Are you hoping to do movies someday?” I asked.

We’d talked a lot about our mutual love of the theater and how we hoped to make acting into a career after graduating. But I’d always imagined Nash on a Broadway stage more than the big screen.

Though, I supposed that with his talent and dedication, along with the connections and resources that his family had, Nash could do anything.

“I think it would be cool to have a career like Hugh Jackman.” He turned on the windshield wipers as a few snowflakes hit the windshield of his BMW. “Start on Broadway, and then hope it propels me on to Hollywood. What about you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, watching the wipers swish back and forth. “I think I like the idea of doing movies or television and getting to film in cool places, but I’m also such a homebody that I’d probably prefer staying on the east coast and Broadway could do that.” I glanced at him. “But really, just getting a part is the first goal.”

“You’ll get a part,” Nash said. “There’s no way you won’t be a star with your talent.”

“I hope so.” My cheeks warmed at his compliment. I’d read a book over the summer about the different love languages we had as humans: physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, and quality time. And while I saw value in all five, I’d scored highest in the “words of affirmation” and “quality time” love languages.

I was pretty sure that one of the things that had drawn me to Nash was how well he filled my need for real and meaningful compliments when we were together.

I always felt better about myself after spending time with him.

A minute later, we made it to the wrought-iron gates with the wordsEden Falls Academyarching over the top. Nash pressed the intercom button.

The gates swung wide. As we drove down the road and onto the cobblestone drive at the front of the school that looked like a medieval castle in the moonlight, I tried to mentally prepare myself for the doorstep scene we were about to have.

One part of the reason why Nash and I hadn’t kissed yet was probably due to the fact that I could be super awkward around guys. If being smooth around guys was a talent someone could be born with, I was pretty sure Ava had received all of that ability when our egg had split. She was a natural and could basically turn any guy she wanted into her boyfriend—hence the reason why she was currently dating one of the most wanted guys at Eden Falls Academy.

But as for me, I just wasn’t as good at dating because I took it too seriously. Dating was what you did to find your person—your soulmate—and so I overthought everything, which sometimes would paralyze me.

Ava and I always joked that I needed a guy who would just take charge and make things happen, which was probably why I’d always had a thing for bad boys.

Bad boys took what they wanted without asking.

Okay, so that sounded bad. I didn’t want a guy who was forceful or disrespectful or anything like that.

But one of the things that I really liked about my Nash daydreams was how he always took charge in them. “Fantasy Nash” always sensed when I wanted him to kiss me without having to ask or step too lightly to figure it out. “Fantasy Nash” was the ultimate Casanova who oozed confidence and expertise when it came to that kind of thing.

I did know that fantasies weren’t real and I'd be setting myself up for failure if I believed a guy would just magically be able to read my mind and know what I wanted when I wanted it. So far, the only thing Nash lacked from the list of qualities my dream guy would have was impulsiveness. Real-life Nash was also cautious like me.

But I was determined to make that change tonight.

“Do you think Carter and Ava are right behind us?” I asked Nash, realizing that we might have company on the school’s front steps.

“I think Carter said he and Ava were going to make another stop before he brought her here.”

Which meant they were probably parked on the side of the road right now making out in his truck.

But that was good. I didn’t need an audience for what I hoped would be our first kiss.

Nash pulled his car to a stop in front of the school, put it in park, and then pushed the button to turn it off. As he walked to my side of the car, I couldn’t help but smile a little. Turning off his car instead of leaving it running while he walked me to the door could mean that he might be hoping for a prolonged goodbye.

Nash opened my door like the gentleman he was, and with a flourish of his arm, he gestured for me to step out. We walked side by side up the school steps, our hands swinging close by and brushing once.

We stopped under the light at the top of the stairs, and when I turned to look up at Nash, my heart hammered harder because he really was so handsome. He had these amazing, brilliant blue eyes that somehow caught me off guard every time I looked at him.

“I had a really great time tonight.” Nash rubbed the back of his neck. He was just over six feet tall, so our faces were only inches apart. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Thanks for asking me out,” I said, snowflakes falling onto my cheeks as I gazed up at him. “I had a good time, too.”

“You did?” he asked, like he wasn’t completely sure I had enjoyed myself.

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