Page 79 of Reconciling With the Rival

He leans forward, so much so that he reaches out and grabs a piece of my curly hair. “Because we had our slip up the other day.”

“And?” I ask, my voice a whisper compared to what it was.

“And I know you needed it as much as I did. Well, I need a distraction from some shit that’s going on, and since you’re right across the hall, it would work perfectly.”

Oh, fuck, he’s being serious. “Leo, it wouldn't work. How would we even go about this?” I hate that I’m even entertaining his idea, but I have to admit, I’m intrigued. “We hate each other.”

“All the more reason to do it. We have no strings attached, Ella. It would be easy to only do it a few times.”

“I think I’d rather—”

He scoffs at me. “Don’t fucking lie, Ella. Youlovedfucking me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. It was fine. I barely even remember it.” I roll my eyes at him. The fucking audacity on this man is astounding.

He shakes his head, his curly brown hair unstyled today, so it waves around as his head moves. I hate that I can’t stop staring at it.

“You’re a terrible liar, darling.”

I get up out of my desk and start to pace. “I’m not a liar. You’re the most infuriating man I’ve ever met.”

“Keep going, Ella.”

“And you chew way too fucking loudly. You were eating granola the other day, and it sounded like you were chewing on rocks.”

He stands from the chair he was sitting in. “What else?”

“You wear way too much cologne. It always smells like you showered in it.”

“And?”

“And you assume everyone is attracted to you because of how you look.”

He steps closer to me, and suddenly, the list of things that pissed me off about Leo Zimmerman vanishes from my mind.

“Please keep going, Ella. You’re turning me on.”

“And I hate you.”

He smiles softly at me. “I hate you too, darling.” His mouth comes to my ear. “But that’s why this would work so well.”

I can’t move. I can’t breathe. All that’s flashing through my mind is the night I saw him naked in my bedroom for the first time in years. God, he’s fucking with my mind, and I can’t stand it.

His breath on my ear makes my body shiver. “Think about it tonight while you’re alone in your room, trying to get yourself off, Ella.” He steps back from me, grabs his bag, and opens the door. “Let me know by tomorrow.”

“What?” The door slams behind him. “Tomorrow?”

I have no idea what to do, and there’s only a few people who can help me figure it out.

I’m going to have to tell them tonight at book club. The only problem is, I’m going to have to tell themeverything, every part of our history, so they understand why I can’t fucking figure out what to tell him.

Paige and Grant are going to freak the fuck out, and I don’t feel ready to air all our dirty laundry to my favorite people on the planet.

But I am considering it. I just need to know how much it’s going to fuck my life up before I agree.

“So, that’s it.” WhenI turn around and face my friends, Paige’s mouth is wide open, Hads is in disbelief, Grant is smiling wider than I’ve ever seen, and Oliver looks confused. “Please say something. I’m going fucking crazy.”

“I knew it! I knew there was a history between you two! Ever since last Halloween, it was basically confirmed.” Paige is ecstatic right now, and rightfully so. She has always been the biggest cheerleader for us—same with Grant. I’m sure those two are already thinking this is going to lead into some sort of relationship between us.

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