Page 33 of Stroke of Fate

“Don’t, Levi. Please, just don’t.” There’s a subtle warning in my tone, even though my insides feel like goo.

It’s enough for him to drop his hand back to his side, and I step around him, avoiding eye contact.

Grabbing my tote bag and textbook, I decide I’m done. I need to leave. Walking away is harder than I care to admit.

Whatever weird attraction, chemistry, or voodoo magic exists between us will fade—it has to.

Levi calls out my name, but I force myself to ignore it.

Don’t turn around. Don’t look at him.

Whatever he has to say, I don’t want to hear it. Because when things get spoken out loud, they become real. And real things have the potential to break. And when they break, good people get hurt.

And I’m tired of hurting.

12 | BEAR

Staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I run a brush through my hair, loosening the tight curls into beachy waves with every stroke. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this excited about going out.

Once my hair is done, I slip into my outfit—a black, long-sleeved bodysuit with a deep V cutout on the back. Since it shows plenty of skin, I keep the rest of my outfit simple: distressed boyfriend jeans and my favorite sneakers.

Next, I start on my makeup. I’ve done this routine so often that I don’t even have to think about it, so my mind drifts to the one person who has occupied it most this past week: Levi.

The thought of seeing him tonight leaves my stomach in a mix of nervous anticipation and excitement. And if I bump into him, what do I do?

Run away?

Talk to him like a normal person?

He might not even think I’m normal after running out on him.

Oh God, I blame Pia for my confusing thoughts. After the courtyard incident, I was convinced that avoidance was the way forward. That is until Pia and I had a long-overdue phone call this morning, and now her words are pushing against my resolve.

“You’re kidding,” Pia says, sounding equally amused and shocked after I tell her about the Levi and Finn situation.

“Nope,” I reply, popping the ‘p.’ “Oh, and then, as Finn walks away, Levi tells him to delete my number off his phone.” I cringe, knowing exactly how bad this sounds.

“Bear, that’s…that’s so...”

“I know,” I groan, at the exact moment she says, “So hot!”

“Wait, what?” I gape.

“Yes, hot as in H.O.T.” The glee in Pia’s voice filters through the phone. “People write books about stuff like that, and you get to live it.” She sighs like it’s the dreamiest thing.

“It wasn’t hot. It was humiliating, and I feel bad that Finn was in the middle of it.” I mumble.

“You would have felt bad regardless because you never liked Finn like that.” She says matter-of-factly.

And there it is. See, the problem with taking advice from people who know you so well is that they never tell you what you want to hear.

“You're right, but still…” I trail off, knowing I can’t argue. I felt bad even before Levi showed up, and I would have felt worse if he hadn’t intervened.

“I am, but that’s beside the point. Finn will get over it, I promise. He sounds sweet, but Daddy Levi might be just who you need.” She giggles.

“Pia,” I gasp, heat creeping up my face. Thank goodness we aren’t on Facetime, or she would have called me out on it, too. “You can’t go around saying stuff like that.”

“Why? Because it’s true?” She teases.

---