Page 39 of The Ruse

“Apparently, Nash wanted another excuse to spend more time with you.” Ava waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “He’s so smitten.”

I felt the skin on my face tighten with a blush. “You think that’s why he came?”

“Why else would he come?” She wiped off her eyeshadow. “If it was just to get his assignment done, he could have just done his homework with Carter since they have most of the same classes.”

“I guess that’s true.” And studying with Carter would have probably been the smarter option—Carter was an actual tutor and really good at explaining complicated subjects in simpler terms.

Or so Ava told me, since Carter had been her math tutor when they first met.

“Nash just can’t get enough of you.” Ava giggled. “He’s addicted.”

I shook my head and laughed at how over the top those words were. “I’ll be fine just thinking that he wanted to spend time with me.”

“And how did things go after I left?” Ava tossed her makeup wipe in the nearby trashcan and squeezed a dollop of moisturizer on her finger. “Did Nash finally make a move? Did he pull you into one of the colonnades on the way here and kiss you until you couldn’t breathe?”

“No.” I sighed as I pulled a makeup wipe out of the package. “He just walked me to the common room doors and waved goodbye.” I stared down at the moist wipe in my hands. “Do you think there’s something about me that’s making him move so slowly?” I looked at Ava. “I mean, back when we first moved here, Cambrielle made fun of him for going in for the kiss on his first date with Bree Peterson and getting her cheek. So it doesn’t seem like he’s always moved so slowly.”

Had I just been interpreting all the signs wrong because I wanted him to want me like that?

“I don’t know.” Ava shrugged and looked at my reflection in the mirror on the wall above her desk. “But I’m pretty sure he likes you. I saw the way he looked at Asher when you walked in, and it was not the look of someone who had neutral feelings.”

My chest warmed at the thought. “He did seem worried for a second before you swooped in.”

Was it bad that I was comforted by his jealousy?

“See, he likes you.” Ava patted my arm. “He’s just prolonging the big moment until the anticipation of it makes for an even more explosive experience.”

“Well, if that’s his game, then I think I’m there.” I wiped the mascara from my lashes. “I literally just watched his lips the whole time we were singing a duet at rehearsal today.”

Seriously, I’d been watching them like I’d hoped that if I watched his lips for long enough, they’d find their way to mine.

I shook away the memory. Hopefully, not too many people had noticed that.

“If something doesn’t happen soon, I’m probably going to push him into a corner myself and attack him,” I said before I could stop myself.

Ava cracked up. Like the image of me being that aggressive was hilarious.

“I would pay to see you do that with a guy,” she said between laughs. “It would totally shock him, but I bet he would loooooove that.”

“You think he would?”

She nodded. “What guy doesn’t want to be pushed up against a wall and kissed by the girl he likes?”

“I don’t know. With my luck, Nash would probably run for the hills.”

“Yeah right.” Ava waved the thought away. “In fact, if something doesn’t happen before your retreat this weekend, you should make a move.”

“I should?” I asked, feeling my throat tighten with nerves.

“Yes.”

“But what if it goes bad?” I asked, imagining him running down a snowy hill as fast as he could to get away from me. “I’ll be stuck in a cabin with him, feeling like a loser.”

“But if it works, you could be staying at a cabin in the woods with yourboyfriend,” Ava said. “Sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, and cuddling under a cozy blanket. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

I imagined the scenario she was painting, and it did sound perfect. Like a scene from a book or a movie.

“Just keep that idea in your back pocket.” Ava stood and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste like she was ready to head to the girls’ bathroom to finish her bedtime routine. “You still have four days. Who knows, maybe he’ll ask to practice that kiss between The Phantom and Christine before then.”

---