Page 97 of Heart of a Rebel

“El.” I squeeze her hands. “You’re chanting like you’re performing the voodoo magic your brother is always accusing you of.”

She opens one eye, peeking out at me and smiling.

“Talk.” I brush her hair from her face and tuck it behind her ears.

Her sandy brown locks are in their naturally stick straight state today and I realize how long it’s getting. Hanging all the way to her belly button where it falls over the front of her shoulder.

“I’m making the right decision, aren’t I?” She squeezes my hands harder as if that’s possible. “Talk me out of it.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Okay, then talk me into it.”

“Get out of your head, you’ve got this.” I step in closer and don’t miss that it makes her breath catch in her chest. If I have to distract her with the fact that she can’t help but react when I’m this close to her, I’m fine with it.

“It’s just an interview.” She rolls her shoulders back like she’s preparing for battle.

I nod. “Just an interview.”

Probably the biggest one of her career, not that I’ll say that. It can’t be easy to bare your wounds to someone, much less the press. I’m still working through sharing some of my trauma with Eloise, and she’s the girl I’m head over heels in love with.

Eloise is walking into a room of unknown faces to talk about being attacked by her rapist.

The thought still brings bile up in my throat, and I have to actively tell myself not to hunt him down in prison.

“What was that?” Eloise brushes her fingers over my chest. “You just went somewhere dark.”

She’s got a way of reading people that makes it impossible to hide anything from her, so I don’t even try, opting for kissing her instead. Which catches her off guard if the gasp that escapes is any indication.

I hold her cheeks in my hands and take all her doubts away, appreciating that she softens like she always does when I touch her. I’m no longer sure how I went so many years resisting her because I can’t imagine the bleak desert that was my life before Eloise bloomed an entire garden in it.

“Break it up, lovebirds.” Something hits me in the side of the head as Sebastian’s voice interrupts our moment.

He’s lucky he is Eloise’s brother and my friend because I’m tempted to smack him when I look down and see he tossed a pen at me.

“You’re lucky that didn’t hit her.” I glare at him.

“Wasn’t gonna.” He leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve got killer aim.”

Eloise rolls her eyes. “Don’t hurt yourself patting yourself on the back.”

“Oh, El, that’s cute that you think I would.” He points his thumbs at himself. “Rock star, remember. I’ve got people to do it for me.”

“Oh my God, make him stop.” She tips her head back and groans.

“I’ve given up on that miracle.”

Sebastian laughs and walks over to us, planting a hand on each of our shoulders. “Good luck, El, you’ve got this.” He turns to me. “And you’re being summoned while your girlfriend is busy.”

Girlfriend.

I’m not sure why that word catches my attention the way it does. It’s what Eloise is, even if we haven’t labeled it with that word in particular. It feels insignificant to call whatever we are something so trite after everything we’ve been through.

Eloise must notice too because she stiffens. “We’re—”

“Good luck,girlfriend.” I stop whatever argument she was about to make, and even if the word pales what I actually feel for her, I don’t mind that her cheeks light up when I say it.

Sebastian steps back, giving us room for me to plant one more inappropriate kiss on her before she disappears.

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