Page 53 of This Is War: All's Fair Duet
I scrub my hand through my hair as I walk. Good fucking thing my coat hits below my goddamn hips, or everyone I pass on campus would be sure to see my raging hard-on.
Approaching the quad, I scan the area, finally spotting Rya on a bench. She’s curled up, knees to chest, with her arms wrapped around, holding herself in a tight ball. She’s staring at something across the quad that I can’t quite discern. My brows draw together. Or maybe it’s more that she’s looking off into space. Lost in thought. As I get closer, I recognize this time she at least has gloves and a hat on, unlike when I found her running from the dorm.
I’m almost right on top of her before her head snaps up. She gives me a tremulous smile.Uh-oh.I don’t waste time with small talk and squat in front of her. It’s even more obvious now that she’s upset. The skin at the edges of her eyes appears tight, almost as if tears dried there. “Tell me who put that look on your face.”
She shakes her head, lets out an exaggerated breath. “I’m just having a bad day.”
My brows raise as I study her, my hands gripping her by the ankles. “Okay. What’s going on? I seem to recall telling you I’m a good listener.”
She wets her lips. “I’ve been thinking. I have a lot on my mind.” Her mesmerizing green eyes are haunted in a way I’ve never seen before. Like whatever’s happened between talking to her last night and now has taken her usual sunny disposition and drop-kicked it to the curb. “I-I talked to Logan. We—haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately. It didn’t go well.”
And as much as I don’t know what to do about the bane of my existence or anything that’s going on between us, Rya’s tears make me want to say the right thing.
“I’m sorry. I’m a mess.” She draws herself up and pats the seat beside her. “Sit with me.”
Pressing my lips together, I shift positions, sitting on the bench and putting an arm around her. “What if we talk about something else for a minute? And then maybe if you feel like sharing what’s going on with you and Logan, you can.”
“And if I don’t want to?” She swallows, blinking up into my eyes. A shiver racks her body despite her warm outerwear.
I tug her close to me. “Then we don’t have to talk about it.”
She snuggles against my side. “That’d be good.”
I exhale, my breath a visible puff as it hits the cold air. “How’d your studio practice, or whatever it was, go today? When’s the audition again?”
“You’re such a guy.” She wrinkles her nose, and it’s almost as if she melts against me. Dance is her happy place, of that I have zero doubt. Turning her head, a radiant smile lifts the corners of her mouth. “Good, I think. I decided I’m focusing on ballet. We’re allowed to audition in more than one discipline, but I will feel better concentrating on just one.”
“Isn’t that putting all your eggs in one basket?”
“It’s giving myself the best chance to be selected. Especially since I’m a freshman, you know? Preparing one piece of choreography and performing it as best I possibly can.”
Her face has become animated again. Thank fuck. “Do you think I could watch the audition? Or is there a way to watch you practice? How else can I support you?” She’s still shivering, so I reach over, grasping her legs and swing them over my thighs before scooting her sideways onto my lap. The damn bench is metal, cold as fuck, and I have no idea how long she was sitting here in a thin pair of leggings.
“What are you—” She clamps her mouth shut for a moment as it sinks in that my legs are warmer than the bench. “Oh. That’s better. Thanks. And, um… yeah. If you want to watch, I’d love for you to come to the auditions. I’ll probably be in the practice studio several times this week, too.” She gives me a slow smile while staring down at my hand, which I’ve conveniently placed on her thigh.Just over here subtly taking what’s mine.“You’re really good at distracting me, though.”
I give her muscular leg a squeeze. “Yeah. And I’m all about distracting you. Kinda like I did on the phone last night,” I whisper against her temple.
She delivers a half-hearted smack to my chest with her gloved hand, and turns her cold face toward my neck, laughing. “You can’t say things like that.”
God, she smells so fucking good.“Uh. Yeah. I can.” She’s looped an arm around my neck and when she pulls back to gaze into my eyes, the way they sparkle in the sunlight makes me feel lighter than I have in a very long time. This girl is worming her way into my heart and ruining all my plans. But maybe that’s okay. I smirk to myself, trying to decide if stealing her from Logan for good is an even better plan than the one I initially had. My voice husky, betraying how much she’s getting to me, I murmur, “And I’m gonna keep doing it because I like it when you smile, like knowing I’m the one who made you laugh.”
Suddenly, it’s more than just the cold pinkening her cheeks.
Time to turn the charm up to ten, because I have a gutinstinct telling me now is my opportunity to claim this girl, to make sure she knows what I want. I clear my throat, aiming my dreamiest, most swoonworthy gaze at her. “That’s my pretty girl.” I drag my teeth over my bottom lip, watching as her eyes follow. “Rya, I’m gonna say something, and I hope you take it as it’s meant.”
She searches my eyes, nodding that I should proceed. “Go ahead.”
I let out a little sigh, that I hope she finds endearing. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Logan, but I need you to know, I like you. I think you’re sexy, sweet, ambitious as hell, compassionate… and for all those reasons and more, I want to keep seeing you. I want to give the idea of us and everything I know we could be a real shot.”
Emotion flickers in her eyes, an internal battle that only she’ll ever truly know. Her head dips for a few seconds, looking downward. These might be the longest moments of my life. Finally, she lifts her gaze to mine, nodding as she swallows. “I’d like that. A lot.”
A grin slides swiftly to my lips. Shifting slightly, I pull my phone from my pocket. “Selfie?” I snap a photo as she’s looking up at me—adoringly—as she agrees. “Now that that’s settled, why don’t we go get something to eat?”
A few taps of my phone screen later, and I’ve uploaded it to IG for everyone’s viewing pleasure—and the unending torment of my stepbrother.
29
RYA
