Page 61 of Soulless Rivalry

A few months after we arrived in New York, my grandfather decided I would have to take swimming lessons alongside my cousins. According to him, it was shameful that I hadn’t mastered something as simple as swimming. I tried objecting,explaining to him that I was scared, that the mere idea of being submerged in water made me anxious as hell, but nothing worked.

On the day of my first lesson, I started crying when the instructor asked me to go in and categorically refused. My uncle Ignacio, Viola’s father and Mamma’s brother, saw me from his office and came down.

He slapped me so hard across the face that even my instructor was shocked. Then he picked me up and threw me unceremoniously into the water.

Its coldness against my skin had made me screech in fright.

And it was exactly this memory that flashed before my eyes the moment Konstantin pushed me inside the pool.

I gasped and water immediately burned its way inside my lungs. I tried spitting it out but, being submerged, it was no use. Throwing my head back to get as much air as possible every time I managed to break the surface was hard, especially with panic settling deep in my stomach.

I heard something else splash into the water from the distance but my mind was racing with ways to save myself and so I didn’t dwell on that. Not until a set of hands grabbed my waist, pulling me to a strong chest, my head finally fully out of water.

My arms wrapped themselves around Konstantin’s neck, my legs around his waist as I breathed heavily, still a little dazed from what just happened.

“I’m here. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

My whole body trembling, I grabbed onto his shoulders like my life depended on it—and in a way, it did.

I was shaking both from fear and because it was freezing out there after hours. They kept the pool area warmed up during the day when practice occurred, but we were well after ten at night and nobody had access to it this late.

Konstantin swam to the edge and held me as he climbed his way out. I finally let go of him when we hit the ground, coughing up water and holding my chest like it would stop my heart from beating so fast.

Fear slowly let go of me, quickly replaced by anger. Before I could think it through I turned around and slapped Konstantin’s face as hard as I could. The sound echoed around us like a gunshot. It left my hand stinging from the force of it, but I didn’t care. The pain barely registered.

His face was turned slightly from the blow, his jaw clenched, but he didn’t say anything. Slowly, he looked back at me, his eyes digging into mine and settling there.

Neither of us spoke, still a little confused about what had just happened as well as the quickly growing tension around us. I couldn’t believe I still wanted him after that.

And yet when his hand wrapped around my neck, pulling me to him and slamming his lips on mine, I let him. I let him kiss me again and moaned against his mouth, wanting,needingmore.

My hands were back to clutching his shoulders, his around my waist, bringing me as close as possible until I straddled him. He licked my lips and I parted them readily, letting my tongue tangle with his. The taste of chlorine mixed with him was intoxicating, and I needed more. My anger subsisted and I poured it all in the kiss until it disappeared.

Everything we had talked about prior, the fact that we couldn’t be together, went out the window at this very second. I hadn’t wanted to say it in the first place but I needed to, to protect my rapidly, stupidly falling heart.

Needing to breathe, we pulled apart, his forehead resting against mine as we shared a breath.

“I can’t stop wanting you. I don’t want to. Fuck everything else, Ayaari, you’re mine.”

I didn’t want those words to be true, but I couldn’t contest them anymore. Nobody made me feel like he did.

“I got it!I got the role!” was the first thing Briar told me when we met at our usual table during breakfast.

I was already sitting, Sinem next to me yapping about her plans for Christmas break in just over three weeks. Mia was still missing, claiming she was too ashamed of herself to show her face in the dining hall and risk bumping into Dominik. After I told her about what Lorenzo did yesterday, she was even more mortified and cried for ten minutes straight. Speaking of, my cousin wasn’t anywhere to be found either, probably still licking his wounds.

I couldn’t say I was happy about what happened to him, but he’d brought it upon himself. I got that he wanted to be chivalrous and show support to his sister, but he certainly hadn’t gone about it the right way.

“No kidding, you got Black Swan?” Sinem jumped up and hugged Briar over the table.

I grinned, happiness blossoming in my chest for my friend.

I hugged her next. “I knew you had it in the bag, girl. I’m so proud of you.”

Briar simply grinned and sat down in front of us, telling us all about the auditions, and how excited she was for practice to start.

“The premiere is the week before finals. Please tell me you guys will be there.”

Shaking my head, I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the day off studying just for you.”

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