Page 101 of Collide
Broderick
At least frat guys know how to have fun. Your idea sounds like a PTA fundraiser.
His smugness makes me grit my teeth.
Elena
Excuse you. Karaoke is a time-honored Filipino tradition that brings people together.
Broderick
If by ‘brings people together’ you mean ‘destroys friendships and eardrums with off-key singing,’ then sure.
Elena
If you lack talent, just say so.
Broderick
My talents lie elsewhere.
Elena
In a ditch?
Broderick
Damn, killer, why you gotta be so mean?
Elena
Consider it payback for your horrific behavior at brunch.
Broderick
You secretly loved every minute of it.
His last text stops me cold, fingers hovering over the keyboard.
Did I…loveit?
No. Definitely not.
But my traitorous brain replays his smirk, those infuriatingly green eyes, the way he looked at me like heenjoyedgetting under my skin. And worse, how some part of me enjoyed it too.
My breath catches on a smile. Nope. Not happening. He’s just a pretty face, like overpriced wall art. Something you admire from a distance.
Before I can reply, another text pings.
Broderick
I’m calling. I need to hear you struggle to resist me in real-time.
What the actual fuck.
Incoming Call.
I stare at the screen, debating if I should throw my phone across the room. But my thumb, apparently lacking all sense, hovers overaccept.
