Page 14 of Through the Flames
He was calm in a way no one else was. He was deliberate, elusive, and completely in control. And hot. Ridiculously,stupidlyhot.
Whenever I bumped into him, there was a tiny jolt in my chest, my brain scrambled, and I had to pretend I was paying attention to literally anything else. Which was so. Fucking. Hard.
There was something about the contrast. Everyone else was predictable, messy, and human in all the wrong ways, but Hunter wasn’t.
He was full of sharp edges and silent intensity. I couldn’t resist watching him.
Hunter was built differently, with a broad chest and shoulders as big as boulders. He was solid everywhere and powerful in a way that made six-packs look like a mere decoration.
Even without chiseled abs, he was the strongest guy I’d ever seen.
Snapping back to reality, I hesitated for a second before typing:
Ella: Hmm … how nice of you to invite my roommate along…
Dom: Hey, can’t just abandon her, right?
Ella: Riiight.
I smirked, though. I knew my brother better than he would have liked, and I had a sneaking suspicion. As his big sister, I naturally had a responsibility to be nosy.
A familiar tick of nerves crawled up my spine. It wasn’t panic, more like a little reminder that I was always on display.
I measured every word, every gesture and every glance, replaying them in my head over and over again later.
Old habits from a hometown that had no interest in letting me forget my mistakes.
Five
Ella
Clothes lay strewn across the bed, piles of other discarded items were heaped on the floor, makeup was scattered across my desk, and my straightener was beeping annoyingly loud because I’d left it on for too long.
I’d been changing in and out of outfits like I was fighting for my fucking life. Was there anything worse than having to make decisions?
Music was playing from my phone, buried somewhere in-between the clothes, but it mostly served as background noise to my thoughts.
My room was never quiet. Silence made me anxious and sent my mind racing … mostly in the wrong direction.
I pinched the fabric of my top, trying to make it fall just right. Outfit number four, and still no sign from God. She was really having a go at me today.
I twisted a strand of hair around my finger, hoping it would help me decide between outfits four and five.
I wasn’t nervous, just very emotionally invested in looking like I wasn’t trying.
Digging through a pile of clothes, I pulled my phone out from under it to check the time. The empty screen, void of any notifications, sent an unwelcome pang through me.
I knew I shouldn’t care. But I did. More than I wanted to admit.
My brain, the traitor that it was, immediately flicked to Hunter. I couldn’t picturehimstaring at a blank phone.
He just didn’t seem like the kind of guy who needed people. And here I was, needing way too much.
Trying my best to shove those thoughts into a drawer in the far corner of my mind, I gathered my makeup from my desk and lowered myself to the floor in front of my mirror to start my usual routine.
Dabbing concealer underneath my eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder about what could possibly have led to Hunter throwing this party.
It was weird. He was literally the last person I’d ever expected to be cool with a bunch of co-eds invading his space and possibly trashing his pretty cushy suburban home.
