Page 27 of The Revenge Plan (Forbidden Descendants 1)

“Oh,” he said, nodding and soaking in my answer. “Alright, then. Great. What about flowers? And flirting? Would your mom think it’s cute or creepy if I flirt?”

“Please, God. Do not flirt with me.”

Rush snorted and shoved my arm. “Ha-ha, you’re so funny. But I’m not talking about you, moron. I’m talking about your mother. Should I flirt with her? I saw that on a movie once and it worked like a charm.”

“Well, I would find it creepy,” I said.

He rolled his eyes. “As if I care what you think. What would she like?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled. “She’d probably laugh, and blush, and call you sweet, I guess.”

“Cool. I’m totally flirting with her, then.”

I shook my head. “You’re such a weirdo.”

Rush shot a cutting remark back at me, but I suddenly didn’t hear him.

Slowing to a stop when I saw her ahead, sitting on a bench and talking to some girl I’d never seen before, I stared in wonder.

My dream girl. She was right there.

And just like that, everything I’d been stressing about went silent in my head, all anxiety drained from my limbs, and the air that entered my lungs seemed fresh and crisp with the scent of promise and approaching autumn.

God, she was pretty.

“Hey, I know that chick,” Rush said. Or at least, I think that’s what he said. I wasn’t really focusing on him, until he added, “The one talking to your girl.”

My girl. I glanced at him, blinking. “What?”

“Yeah.” Nodding, he tugged his phone from his pocket and pulled up a social media app. “Blair Rodgers. She’s in my speech class; w

e’re friends on Facebook. I bet if we look her up, she’ll be connected to your lady too, and we can finally learn mystery girl’s name. Huh?”

But as soon as he started typing, I lifted my hand. “No! Don’t.”

“What?” Wrinkling his nose, he scowled at me. “Why not? Don’t you want to know her name?”

More than anything in the world.

“Not this way,” I told him. “This feels…stalkerish.”

“Oh, and staring at her all the time from across a room isn’t?” He rolled his eyes and went back to searching.

“It is,” I agreed, wincing. “But if I can’t grow the balls to walk up to her and just talk to her, then I don’t deserve to learn anything about her. Don’t you think? I refuse to be any creepier than I’m already being about this.”

“Alright, then,” Rush said, nodding his approval. “Great. So go talk to her and learn her fucking name already.”

When he shoved me forward, I jarred to a halt and turned right back to him. “Except I can’t.” Shaking my head, I adamantly searched his gaze for understanding.

Which he didn’t possess.

Throwing back his head, he groaned long and loud. “Oh my God. You are driving me crazy with this shit. Fine.” Gripping the air with his hands as if pretending to strangle me, he muttered, “I give up. You’re hopeless. You’re absolutely fucking hopeless, Henry. Talk to her, don’t talk to her, I don’t give a fuck anymore. I’m out.”

And he stalked off, only to lift his phone and call over his shoulder. “And for your information, I just learned her name.”

Oh shit. He knew her name?

Biting back the urge to chase after him and beg for it, I watched him storm away and then sighed over my own ineptness. Damn, I was such a failure. He’d been trying to coach me into approaching her for weeks now, ever since that first disaster where she had run into me and I almost passed out on her. But I’d resisted all efforts on his part to try again.

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