Page 128 of Until We Burn
Sophia scoffs. Her mouth quirks up into a disdainful smile.
“Is that line supposed to work for you?”
“It depends.” Luke steps forward until he closes the gap between them. “How close am I to getting your name?”
Sophia’s throat bobs. For a second, her attention flickers down to his lips. But she regathers herself in time to level him with an unimpressed stare.
“Maybe if you had better pick up lines, circumstances would shift in your favor,” Sophia challenges.
The familiar glint of intrigue and excitement comes alive on Luke’s face. It’s the same look I saw on him when our high school hockey coach wanted him to play defense. Falling and getting back up from skating backwards excited him just as much as acing it did.
“How about better pick up lines and a drink? On me.” Luke draws out some cash and hands it to the bartender. “I’ll have a rum and coke!”
Sophia still has her arms crossed, mistrustful and wary of him. But Luke simply stares back at her, calm and undaunted. That’s when Sophia unravels her arms and gives in.
“A sangria for me.”
“Whoa, hey, hey!” Pride bursts in. “We’re still talking here.”
“Is that what you were trying to do? I thought you were just embarrassing yourself.” Luke laughs. “Jessica Lovelace wasn’t wrong when she said,‘There is very little difference between a prideful man and a senseless fool.”
The Viper scowls. “What the fuck?—”
“—For both fail to acknowledge,”Sophia continues,“that they are utterly insufferable beyond repair.”
“And for that, they are one in the same,”Luke finishes.
The air between them shifts. Their masks fall and their gazes collide with the quiet harmony of two people who realize they like the same thing.
Pride glares at Luke. He sidesteps Sophia to shove Luke back. “I’m not gonna tell you again, asshole. Leave us alone!”
Luke smiles, yet the threat in his manner is clear. “Didn’t anyone tell you to keep your hands to yourself?”
Luke and Pride nearly go head-to-head before Sophia cleaves herself between them.
“Oh, stop being dramatic.” Sophia scowls at the Viper. “Go away. I’m tired of listening to you ask boring questions about the hockey team and brag about yourself.” She waves her hand as if he’s nothing more than a servant she dismissed. “You’re done.”
Pride sputters, struggling to piece a sentence together before he ultimately gives up and storms away.
But not without leaving Rowan and me suspicious.
“Why are the Vipers asking about us?” I ask.
The crease between Rowan’s brows deepens. “That’s what I want to know.”
“Guys!”
Wallace hurries towards us. Stress wears down his face, as booze slicks off his iPad. “Someone in line spilled their drink on me and I need to get the iPad fixed. I have to step away from the doors for a bit.”
Rowan pinches the bridge of his nose, yet his voice stays steady and calm. “Fine. Any news about Simon?”
Wallace frowns. “Not yet.”
He rushes down the end of the hallway where other DHUSA reps are waiting to help out.
Panic starts to race through my body. I fight to thread my breath in and out, but the music is too loud, my skin crawls at all the sweaty bodies pushing and shoving past me, and the situation with Simon and the Vipers is already spiraling out of control, and I don’t know what to do?—
“Kai, look at me.” Rowan grips my shoulders, forcing my eyes to his. “Don’t let this throw you off, okay? Wallace will be back at the doors. Everything is going to be fine. Let’s just focus on getting Diana what she needs from Sophia. That’s the only thing that’s in our control.”
