Page 27 of Tag

Stop it.

Rye????

Stop what, Sass?

You have no idea what you do to me, do you?

My breath hitched, fingers hovering above the keyboard. It wasn't typical of Ryder to say things like this outright. He occasionally teased, flirted, and subtly pushed boundaries, but this felt different, the truth starting to seep through the line we both pretended still existed. I stared at the message for a moment longer than necessary before typing the only response that came to mind.

Annoy you?

His reply came just as fast, as if he'd been anticipating my message.

Rye????

You do drive me insane.

In ways you never want me to say out loud.

Your pretty boyfriend wouldn’t like that.

My heart raced, every part of me knowing I shouldn't engage in this. Yet, embracing my inner masochist, I replied anyway.

Neither would Brooke.

The three little dots appeared, and for a moment, I wished they wouldn’t.

Rye????

That’s why I haven’t said everything you need to hear. I told you to be ready, remember?

I read his last message at least four times before shoving my phone back into my bag and making myself look as if I were focusing. I already knew I wouldn’t retain a single word. I’d just steal Cloe’s notes later. They’d be ten times neater and moreorganized than mine ever were, anyway. Her brain had a filing system mine never developed.

I didn’t know what to make of Ryder’s behavior lately. For the past two weeks, it had been a consistent push and pull. Heat and silence. Extra touches like last night on the field, his hand brushing mine when it didn’t need to, the way his voice dropped just low enough to get a rise out of me. The comments. The looks.It was all too intentional, but nothing with Ryder Voss was simple. Every word felt like a test. Every touch, a dare.

I hadn’t even told him about the creep under the tree just now. I was so tangled up in thewhat-are-we and what-the-fuck-are-you-doingof it all, I’d forgotten to mention the very thing that should’ve had my full attention. Both of us being in relationships didn’t seem to deter him anymore. That was one of the worst things about his change of heart. He never acted this way when we were both single.

Not once.

It was like the second a real line was drawn—boyfriend, girlfriend, boundaries—he picked up a blade and sliced through every piece of it meant to keep us apart. What was the end goal here?

Even if Ryder wasn’t with Brooke, if he was just the beautiful, infuriating boy I loved boldly out loud and deeply in silence, we could never be together. I had made peace with that. At least, I thought I had. Now I was trying to figure out how to live with it, and he was steamrolling my efforts. Should I have been furious? Hurt? Offended?

I wasn’t.

I was unsettled and frustrated, but my anger was hard to pinpoint. I wondered if he only wanted me now because Ididfinally have a boyfriend. What if all those glances we’d shared were nothing more than moments I’d romanticized? Maybe I was the only one haunted by them. Guilt hit fast and sharp foreven thinking Ryder would do that to me when he’d never once made me feel like anything less than special to him. I felt even guiltier thinking about any of this when I had Ashton, who had no idea what was coming.

Yes. I was a mess.

Cloe glanced over as if she could sense the turmoil brewing within me. I offered her the best smile I could muster, which wasn't convincing and wouldn't fool her for a single second. I returned my attention to the whiteboard and forced myself to pay attention. My personal life might’ve been circling the drain, but I couldn’t afford to let my academic one go with it.

After my morning classes, the mere thought of lunch nearly brought me to my knees with tears of joy. Earlier, I had startled some poor guy in the west wing as I hurried past, shoving huge bites of the muffin Ryder gave me into my mouth. That provided temporary relief, but once it wore off, the hunger pangs returned with a vengeance, along with my sleep deprivation. Food was my only salvation after enduring back-to-back lectures. Thankfully, there was no cheer practice today, or I’d be completely flatlined.

Cloe and I left our final elective together, joined by Olivia and, surprisingly, Meghan, who was also in our class. I wasn’tsure why Meghan decided to tag along since we hardly spoke on a good day, but the atmosphere was light, and our conversation flowed easily as we made our way to the dining hall.

“Are you still seeing Ashton Hayes, Sanj?”

“Yes?” That sounded more like a question than I intended, and part of me considered telling her she hadn't earned the right to shorten my name like that.

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