Page 10 of Fault Line

“Not at all.”

She gives me a look of blatant disbelief. “Then what?”

“I just didn’t realize that you two weren’t a thing.” I scratch the back of my neck. “I thought—well, this whole time, I thought you guys were dating. It’s kind of blowing my mind.”

“Okay ... ?” Her tone is skeptical. “Sorry to disappoint.”

I grin. “Doesn’t disappoint me at all.”

“Right.” She drags out the word, one hand poised on the doorknob, clearly in a rush to head back to the party. “Well, as entertaining as this has been, I’m gonna go smack your friend Rai upside the head and then resume my mission for the night.”

“Mission?”

“I—uh, never mind, actually.” Her hand awkwardly moves into her hair. “I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Ah, but you can’t stop there, Karras.” Pausing my movie for the second time, I raise a curious brow. “Tell me about this mission of yours.”

“And what do I get out of it?”

“I promise not to show you up in class on Monday.”

“Hard pass.” She shakes her head, giving me an unimpressed frown. “You couldn’t even if you tried. We have a guest lecturer this week, and I happen to know them on a personal level.”

“I can get Rai Rai back for you,” I offer.

“I think I can fight my own battles whereRai Raiis concerned.”

“Alright.” I make one last-ditch effort. “What if I promise to help you, then?”

“Help me?”

“Yeah, on this mission of yours. If you tell me what your goal is for the night, I bet I could help you accomplish it in, like, half the time.”

“Yeah, I’m so sure you could.” She snorts, her distrustful gaze flickering across my face. “You know what? Fine. As embarrassing as this is, I’m looking for a hookup tonight. If you have any friends that aren’t total jerks, I’d be down for a setup.”

At her request, there’s an uncomfortable pinching sensation in my chest. For some reason, I’m rattled by the thought of her hooking up with one of my teammates. It’s not because I want her for myself—to date her or anything like that—but it’s just the principle of the matter.

Kaia Karras is mine to fuck with.

“Hell no,” I finally manage to spit out.

She’s taken aback by my sudden mood shift, brow creasing in confusion. “What, why?”

I grapple with an excuse, finally settling on, “I’m just not doing that.”

“So you don’t think I’m good enough for your friends?” She crosses her arms and lifts her chin, indignant. “Is that it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I get it—you hockey boys are like celebrities on this campus. And what, because I don’t usually party with you guys or because I’m not in a sorority, then I’m suddenly not even worth a hookup?”

I bite back a bitter laugh. “Yeah, you’re putting a whole lotta words in my mouth that I sure as hell didn’t say.”

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, frantically attempting to push my door open. “Forget it. I’ll find someone on my own.”

“Yeah, have fun with that.”

“I will,” she flippantly tosses back, not bothering to shut the door on her way out.

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