Page 37 of Cross the Line
Christina laces our fingers, offering a faint smile. “Do you believe that? That Elijah is using you to hide who he is?”
My heart screamsno. My head sits on the fence; Switzerland between hope and fear.
“Look, he wouldn’t be the first guy to pull that shit. That’s the reality, you know?” She adjusts in her seat and one-handedly unlocks her phone, pulling up the article—the photo of Elijah and Ryker. “There are a shit ton of women in LA who would play house with him for appearances, for the sake of his name and money, and if they got two hotties for the price of one, even better.”
She gives me a bitty, wistful smile. It’s soft, on the verge of pity—except she doesn’t do pity. Thank God. Pity would obliterate me.
Christina turns the phone over. “None of that is fact. The fact is that Elijah went back for you, Finley. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t want you. There’s no way he would kick the hornets’ nest for anything other than love… or a death wish.”
The goofy, cross-eyed face she pulls plucks a laugh straight from my belly. Warmth ripples through, and the fear quiets.
Reality begins to settle with each steady breath.
“Fact is that Jayden is fucking obsessed with you. Dude, if he could’ve swallowed you up earlier, I’d be missing my best friend right now. Being a conduit doesn’t make you redundant now that their relationship is evolving. You know? Like, I don’t think you could’ve brought them together if they didn’t trust you and love you. If they didn’t want you.”
“I think I’m losing my mind,” I whisper.
Christina giggles, toasting her coffee to mine. “I think that’s a common side effect of love.”
“Since when do you believe in love?”
She shrugs. “I believe in science, and you and them are a visual lesson in physics.”
“Physics?”
“Yeah, like you’re the earth, and Eli is the moon. He’s always orbited around you, but now you’ve found the sun…” She circles her hands. “And now the gravitational attraction of the sun has shifted Eli’s orbit. But he’s still there. Still spinning around you, because the pull between you two is too intrinsic to break, even if the pull from Jayden is too strong to resist. The wonderful thing is that now, you’re able to experience so much more. You get day and night, and all the seasons. It’s science, Amish. Plain and simple.”
“Science,” I murmur.
“Yup, and I’ve officially used up all my brain cells for the day. Now I can blame all my stupid mistakes on you.” Her eyes light as she looks past me, smirking.
I glance back toward the entrance, where a few of the guys are gathered. The second my gaze finds Matheo, I know what kind of mistakes she means.
He saunters our way, wearing a matching grin… until a coach calls, “Hey, Rio,” and stalls him. He mouths a very clearFuck! and traipses backward.
Christina feeds on his disappointment. She chuckles, finger-waves, and turns back to me.
“You’re so evil to him.”
Her brow ticks. “I make it a game so he won’t take the fucking to heart.”
“What?”
“You know how I feel about relationships. I don’t believe in love.”
“But you just?—”
“Yeah, I made you see sense because you believe it. Same way you believe in God, and I… I’m not sure. Faith, love… they kind of work the same, right? You can’t see them, you can’t physically hold or encapsulate them. But you believe them enough and they become real.”
“You make it sound like a delusion.”
“Delusion is never real. I just mean different people live different realities. In my reality, love fucked up my mom. Faith… well, I don’t see God curing her broken heart and making her whole again, so…”
“Tina—” I stop when a big hand squeezes my shoulder.
Jayden.
I know from the earthy scent, the specific warmth of his touch—how it lightning-rods through me, setting off a thousand fireworks before I even lift my eyes.
