Page 115 of Until We Burn
Kai bursts out laughing.
I can feel the blush rise onto my cheeks. I peer down at my socks, nudging my toe against the carpeted floor. “You know, if you need to destress like you did last night…you can always call me again.”
In the corner of my eye, I can see Kai perk up. “I can?”
“Yes.” I smile up at him. “I’d like it if you did.”
Kai’s throat bobs as he takes me in. Something unreadable smolders like a steady, burning flame on his face.
“I’ll call you tonight,” he promises.
Stella’s laugh suddenly breaks us apart.
I avoid making any more suspicious eye contact with Kai as I head towards the doorway to put my shoes on.
Rowan cracks open the door for us. When I cross the threshold, Stella suddenly whirls back around with her finger up.
“Oh! Before I forget, can you be more careful with my poke bowl next time?”
“Uh-huh.” Rowan begins to close the door on her.
Stella persists even as she backs further out into the hallway. “I’m only asking because the salmon cubes always slosh to the side when they arrive?—”
“Got it?—”
“—If you hold the container with two hands–”
“—Drive safe, stalker.”
Rowan cracks a ghost of a smile before he shuts the door in her face.
Stella groans.
I faintly hear Rowan’s laugh behind the door. Stella rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue. Before I can ask about it, she’s smoothing down her ponytail and hooking her arm through mine to guide us down the hallway. The gesture is so innocent and playful, it brings me back to a time I never got to live out as a little girl.
“So, what did you think of the boys?”
“They’re cool!” Stella chirps. Then, a mischievous smile sneaks across her lips as she nudges me. “So, how long have you and Kai been banging?”
CHAPTER 46
KAI
“Doyou guys think Diana was jealous earlier? You know, when I was teasing her about flirting with Sophia and her friends?”
The boys glance up from their laptops. We’re all occupied with a different thing: Wallace is sorting out details for the Halloween party, while Rowan, Luke, and I are catching up on homework. With our bones aching from the Grouse Grind, there’s no better time to get late assignments done.
“Well, Diana looked like she wanted to strangle you,” Rowan muses. He twirls a highlighter between his fingers. “Was that the plan or are you just a masochist?”
“It’s a good sign, right? It might mean she’s just as into me as I’m into her.”
Wallace purses his lips in confusion. “Didn’t she have a crush on you for three years?”
“She did. But at the Wing and Flame, she said she doesn’t have feelings for me anymore. With everything going on with her dad and the CEO vote, she’s doing everything out of necessity.” My hands come off my laptop to fiddle with Diana’s hair clip. I shake my head, groaning a little. “Except sometimes, I feel like she never actually stopped feeling something for me. I can seeit in the way she touches my hand. Whenshe calls out my name.” I glance back up at the boys. “Am I overthinking this?”
“Oh, absolutely not, bro.” Luke jabs his finger at the hair clip. “Diana wouldn’t have given you that if she didn’t have feelings for you. A gesture like that is literally in every Jessica Lovelace book.”
Rowan sighs and sets his textbook aside. “Can I offer an opinion that’s actually rooted in reality?”
