Page 5 of Until We Burn
“Oh, I just thought…” he gestures at me, “you know, the heels, the makeup.”
“I like dressing up,” I assert. “It makes me feel prepared.”
Kai’s curiosity fades under the amused smile curling across his lips. “Well, you look good.”
My heart flutters. “Oh, um...t-thank you.”
“And you definitely look like you’re ready to raise hell if someone crosses you.”
I hide my smile behind the rim of my cup. “That might be in the cards, too.”
Kai laughs.
My nervousness unravels at the sound. I just want to keep hearing it over and over.Enough, Diana.Making Kai laugh is not part of our plans this year.I clear my throat and straighten up in my seat. “How are your people-watching skills?”
His brow arches at the projections swirling around the room. “Is that what this is?”
“What did you think it was?”
“I’ll be honest, I thought it was a ritual for human sacrifice.”
I laugh. “Well, we're actually supposed to look at the projections that pass over our faces, write down what they bring out in us, and share our observations with each other. This exercise will let us practice our analysis skills and get to know each other.”
Kai shakes his head, chuckling as he rubs a hand over his eyes. “This is some crazy shit they’re making us do at 9:45 in the morning.”
I arch a brow. “Don’t you wake up at the crack of dawn to swat around a puck?”
He rolls his eyes playfully. “Unlike this, hockey comes naturally to me.”
“This exercise can’t be so different from the sport.”
“You think?”
I set down my cup and turn towards him. My heel accidentally brushes against Kai’s ankle, making his breath hitch.
“Imagine I’m an opponent on the ice.”
“Alright.”
I keep my eyes on him with a bravado that unsettles and excites me all at once. “So, watch me closely.”
The expression in his eyes changes. What was once clear and relaxed sharpens into a calculating, analytical stare that leaves me breathless. His gaze roves over my face, trailing over the faint arch of my brows, before lingering on the curve of my lips. Kai’s throat bobs. My fingers tighten together, fighting to hide the slight tremor vibrating through them. Kai’s gaze finally drops away from my lips and falls to my hands. In the window behind him, I can faintly see my reflection. Crowning my head is a projection of a serpent winding around a diadem. Its jaws clamped down on the shimmering jewel, its skin slightly tearing at the effort.
“You’re quiet and sly in how you move…” Kai leans his forearms against his knees, drawing us closer together as he begins to unravel me piece by piece. “Judging by all the jewels, you’re hungry and determined for success.”
The air feels hot and frigid all at once. I shiver against the heat in his stare as it trails across my skin, stripping away the façades my parents taught me to put up. My hands tighten even more. “What else do the projections say about me?”
“Everyone might think you’re nothing except hunger and pride.” Kai angles his head. “Deep down, though…there’s a small part of you that…”
“What?”
“There’s a small part of you that wishes you can just let go sometimes.”
I stiffen. “You’re wrong about that.”
“You told me to study you like an opponent on the ice.” Kai nods at the emails pinging on my laptop before glancing at my hands. “So, I did.”
I look down. My hands are stacked tightly on top of each other, skin pale, knuckles stark. I tear them apart and straighten up. I shut my laptop.
