Page 47 of Would You Rather
A light scoff escapes his lips as he glances at me, a small smile on his lips. “Of course you’re beautiful, but you already know that. You don’t need validation, not from me or anyone else.”
I turn away, feeling my cheeks flush with heat, and stare down at the drawing of me, looking at all of the intricate details. “So when you said you had nothing else to offer,” I start, glancing back up at him. “That was a lie.”
He huffs out a laugh, shaking his head. “Not really,” he says. “I meant what I said. Modeling is the only thing that brings me money.”
“There are more important things than money, Lucas.”
“You’re right.” He nods. “Like making sure my family is taken care of. That’s important.”
My shoulders drop, knowing he’s right. “But you could still do something you love and make money,” I offer. “You said you like to draw buildings?” I raise an eyebrow, and he smirks when he catches on.
“Are you going to talk about how much potential I have and that I could be an architect?”
My nose scrunches as I shake my head. “I would never compliment you that much,” I joke, my chest feeling light when he laughs along. “But… yeah.”
His laugh settles as he sighs. “I thought about it,” he admits. “Back when I was in high school, a few teachers told me I was good, and I did think about it.”
“But…?”
With a shrug, he shakes his head. “But it wasn’t meant to be,” he says, a frown forming on his lips. “I was making money by then, and my mom could finally rest. She worked non-stop after my dad died, and I could tell it was killing her. I couldn’t risk it all for somedream. I just had to accept that it was never going to happen.”
I frown, thinking about how Lucas had to give up his dream in exchange for stability. Will I have to do that someday? I hope not.
“Question number ten,” he says, crossing his arms, his elbows touching mine in the process. I shoot him a look, but he just shrugs. “Hey, you started it. Besides, I still have things I want to know.”
“Fine,” I say, leaning back against the headboard. “What do you want to know?”
His thumb runs over his bottom lip while he scans me from head to toe. “What do you see in Connor?”
“You’re serious?” I ask with a glare. “This again?”
“I just want to know what you see in him,” he says with a dismissive shrug, but nothing about the tone of his voice says he’s dismissive about this.
I let out a sigh. “I like his smile, I guess. It’s the first thing about him that caught my attention. He smiles with his whole chest, and I like that. I like how happy he is.”
“So that’s it?” he asks. “You like him because he’s happy?” He puts so much emphasis on the last word it makes me rethink everything.
“I guess so.” My brows furrow, and the conviction behind my words isn’t there.
“Happy is overrated,” he says with a scoff.
“You don’t want to be happy?” I ask him.
His shoulders lift in a shrug. “I do. Of course, I do. I just meant that happiness is fleeting. It’s here one minute, and the next… gone.” His face is hardened, and I wonder if he’s thinking of his dad or what his friend went through. “It doesn’t last forever.”
“Neither does beauty,” I retort. “But isn’t that the leading factor in why people get together?”
He rubs his chin. “I guess. But beauty can last forever if you love someone. Even when they get old, gray, and saggy, their beauty doesn’t fade with age in the eyes of that person. It grows.”
His eyes fix on mine, and the thought is nice. Forever beauty. Someone loving you through everything. But if it’s anything like what I had with Daniel. I don’t want it.
“Question number eleven. Is that what you want, then?” I ask. “Are you looking for a soulmate?”
He sighs, tipping his head back. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I don’t even know if I believe in soulmates. While I love the thought, I don’t know if it even exists. Or if it just doesn’t exist for me.”
My brows furrow. “Why not?”
He shrugs, glancing my way. “I can’t see myself getting lost in someone like that, where they’re the only thing that matters, my whole world,” he admits. “Besides, the only girls I ‘date’ are hired by Ana.” He smirks. “Can’t exactly start a loving relationship like that, can I?”
