Don’t kiss me.
Kiss me.
No, don’t ruin this.
A loud clap against the silence of the room had me flinching away. My eyes flew open, and Maddox’s darkened as he pulled away.
I swiveled around and faced Bea. When did she get here?
“Lila!” she squealed, clapping her hands. “That was amazing… explosive! Oh my god!”
Bea walked further into the room, looking quite pleased. If there was any tension in the air, she ignored it.
She fanned herself. “The chemistry… Sweet Jesus, have mercy on us. Just wow! No one would believe you two are just friends. That was… yeah, wow.” Bea pointed at Maddox and I. “This is exactly what I was looking for. You need chemistry with your dance partners. You need the audience to feel your dance even though they aren’t dancing.”
Her smile widened. “Oh, I’m so excited. Thank you, Maddox. For doing this on such short notice.”
“Lila asked,” he grumbled, running his fingers through his hair. “I couldn’t say no.”
Bea turned to me. “Are you guys hungry? We can grab lunch.”
Maddox took a step back, pulling further away from me. He grabbed his duffel bag, his jaw clenching and his body tensing. “No. You go ahead. I’m leaving.”
“Maddox–”
But he was already stalking away without glancing back at me. Without a goodbye.
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.
The moment between us was gone, the spell broken.
It was better that way, before either of us made a mistake we’d both regret for the rest of our lives.
Friends?
Friends.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Lila
I walked in on Riley and Colton. They both looked furious, glaring and spitting venom at each other. He had her caged against the wall, and their heads snapped toward me as I walked inside the apartment. Colton pulled away from Riley as though she burned him, and Riley was glaring daggers at his back.
Without a word, Colton left and slammed the door behind him. Welp, this wasn’t looking too good.
The animosity between Colton and Riley was getting out of control.
I cleared my throat, and Riley sniffled. Her face crumpled, and she choked back a cry. “I hate him.”
“Colton or Grayson?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Both,” she hissed, fury burning in her eyes. She stomped into the kitchen and filled herself a glass of water.
“What happened?”
“Grayson called,” she deadpanned.
Oh. Shit.
She made a sound at the back of her throat. It sounded like a whimper. “Why did he call? After so long… why?”
I placed my shoulder bag on the counter and sat on the stool. “What did he say?”
Riley huffed, her lips twisting with a sneer. “Nothing.”
My eyebrows rose, and I waited. “He called, I picked up. He didn’t say a word. I could hear him breathing over the phone, but he’s such a damn coward. I hung up.”
Poor Riley.
Three years ago, I thought Grayson was the best choice for her.
Two months after graduation, he broke her heart.
Grayson wasn’t going to attend any universities. Riley wanted to do a long-distance relationship. Hell, she even thought of quitting Harvard and moving back, just so they wouldn’t have to break up. She was ready to put her heart on the line for him.
But Grayson was adamant and said it wouldn’t work out. He wasn’t willing to do long distance, but Riley knew it was a bullshit excuse. Something had been up with him, something he had been hiding from all of us. We figured it had something to do with his adoptive parents and his past, but he wouldn’t say a word.
She wasn’t ready to give up on him though. After going back and forth, making things difficult on Riley, he left. Grayson broke up with her right before the start of our first year at Harvard.
Grayson was back in Manhattan, and Riley was here.
She was still very much in love with him, and I knew, if Grayson showed up now, she’d give him another chance.
Enter Colton–who thought after Riley’s break-up, he’d have a chance with her.
Oh boy, did he try. He cared for her, any one could see that clearly. If there was someone who could heal Riley’s heart after Grayson broke it… it was Colton.
But Riley refused to give into his advances. Tension brewed between them, growing much volatile every day.
“I miss him,” she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. “If only he had given us a chance.”
I grasped her hand in mine and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Ry.”
She swiped away a tear, almost angrily. “Do you think maybe… Grayson has a good reason for staying away?”
Something bothered me about that day.
The frantic and desperate look in Grayson’s eyes as he pushed Riley further away from him. And the words he roared.
“I’m protecting you, damn it!”
Protecting Riley? From what? From who?
She let out a humorless laugh; her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “He’s had three years, Lila. Three years I’ve been waiting for him, three years for him to realize we could have been so good together, but he gave up on us.”