Page 21 of Enemies to Lovers

Her brown eyes widen, and she snorts into her hot chocolate, spraying her lips. “Excuse me?”

I scratch my beard. “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“That you’re delusional?”

Scratch, scratch.“The perfect tests, the perfect essays, the perfect answers to any and all questions in discussions… And that’s just schooling.”

She runs a finger around the edge of her cup. “I got an A minus in gym once.”

All because she couldn’t pass the long jump. I hate to admit the joy I felt when I saw her struggling with it—and the irritation that she laughed her way through the whole thing. Like it didn’t bother her one bit.

I shake my head, dropping my hand from my beard. “You’re walking sunshine, Val. You can’t tell me that isn’t just… perfection.”

Her brows twitch, and something glassy shines in her brown eyes, and I wish I could take it back. Wish I wasn’t here. Wish I wasn’t an asshole. Wish I didn’t listen to my stupid brother. Wish things were as easy for me as they seem to be for her. Wish I was the only one up for this internship.

Her lips turn into that smile I hate because it’s so damn pretty. She leans in, her breath warming my cheek.“I might kiss you.”

I swallow hard, my knee bouncing uncontrollably. My grip on the hot chocolate loses to the earthquake of my anxiety, and my cup topples over. Boiling hot liquid soaks into my crotch, running down my legs. I leap from the spot, swiping at the mess.

Val rushes past me, only a dark-haired blur.

“Excuse my hands!” Val shouts, and I only see the top of her head before she tugs on my waistband, then stuffs a fistful of snow into my boxers.

Her hands are down my pants. They’re just down there, and she did it like it was no big deal, but it is ahugedeal… and getting huger by the second.

“Uh…”

“Better?” she asks, and I force my brain to think of the cooling and not the cupping.

“Uh…” That’s all my voice can do. A loud cough pulls my attention to a couple just to our right.

They’re only nineteen, twenty. The guy is on his knee, holding a ring out to his girl in front of the brightly lit Mormon temple. And they only have eyes for me…

And Val.

And her hands. Down my pants.

“Oh!” she squeals, then she eases her fingers from my boxers. Snow clumps stick to her crocheted gloves. “Um, carry on.”

Then she grabs my hand and drags me to the other side of the reflection pool, hiding us behind a giant decorated tree. When we get there, the first real laugh I’ve had in a long time tumbles from my mouth. Before I know what I’m doing, I ask, “You free tomorrow?”

I lie in bed, staring at my ceiling, trying and failing to get Val out of my brain. She’s always sort of been there, niggling at me.

Now it’s that damn laugh and smile and her fingerless gloves brushing against my knuckles and how she calmed me with her small talk. It’s easy to forget she’s the one thing standing in the way of the internship, and Ican’tforget that.

I scrub a hand down my face, ending with a scratch to my beard. She told me to surprise her with the activity tomorrow. I hate surprises with a passion I can’t accurately describe. How do I pull one off for someone who enjoys them—while simultaneously persuading her to like me enough to give up the internship?

I groan and roll over, stuffing my face into my pillow. Hershey shifts by my feet, settling her head on my ass. She’s still the only one talking to me. Sammie and Emerson gave me the same narrowed eyes and hair flip when I got home from the date. Not a word passed their lips as they left the kitchen to their separate rooms. Paxton was over, and he shivered as if the room dropped at least twenty degrees.

He asked me how it went. For the life of me, I didn’t know what to say. I lifted a shoulder and took Hershey out to pee. Paxton was talking to Sammie just outside her room when I got back, so I slipped into my room without making too much noise.

I punch my pillow again. I know it’s a blaring red sign I’m not doing the most moral of things when my sisters won’t give me the time of day. I don’t even know if it’ll work. But… Val seems to have a good time with me. What’s the harm? I give her a few good nights and ask if she’ll let me have this chance with Dr. Goff. Harmless.

I drift off without truly convincing myself.

***

I set my hand at the small of Val’s back like I’m not shaking like a paint mixer. I catch the smallest of smiles at the corner of her mouth as we walk into the arcade just a few blocks away from her place. After our adventure downtown, I decided to play to my strengths for date number two. I’m happy this place is open on Christmas Eve.

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