While I couldn’t hear what she said, they were striding out the dining hall doors together not even two minutes later.
I laughed, deciding she must have used a pickup line like, “Orgasms have been proven to help get good grades. Let’s ace some classes.”
The laughter kept coming as I stood and grabbed a mint from the candy bowl on the table. Would that line work on me? I’d definitely give the guy a date, but I wouldn’t jump into bed with him. I liked connection and trust before sleeping with someone.
My stomach twisted as I thought about Piper’s dad. Lucas had made me laugh. He would listen to me talk for hours on the phone, and I trusted him.
“You were both young,” I whispered to myself as I left the castle. I tightened my cropped sweater around my chest. Thanks to Piper, I’d gotten used to these maxi dresses with high slits. They were comfortable and cute.
Thinking about Lucas always brought my mood down, so instead I chose to focus on the little blue lights lining the walkway to the lake gazebo. Ease settled into my bones as I took in the moonlit lake and its calm surface in the distance. I bet if I looked over the edge of the gazebo railings, I’d see a perfect mirror effect.
Well, unless the sea monster decided to pay me a visit.
“If it isn’t my favorite star,” a familiar voice called out. The closer I got to the gazebo, the more details of the lone figure came into focus.
Sharp, scruffy jaw, bright smile, stormy eyes, and muscular arms resting on the railings.
Rylan.
“Do you have people radar as a magical gift?” I teased, standing against the post furthest from him.
“Of course, I use it to stalk your every move.”
He smiled, and I liked this back and forth between us. Did I think he really had magical stalker powers? No. We just happened to like similar things… like quiet spaces without many people. The gazebo was nice and usually empty. Many students either kept to the castle or explored the woods further.
“Something bothering you?”
Rylan stood, and I stared at the lake instead of his powerful body. The magic inside me fizzed like a soda bottle, ready to pop. Before I could reel my words back in, they flew out of me.
“I was thinking about orgasms, masturbating, my ex, and the mistakes we made.”
My cheeks were hot as I stared intensely at the trees across the lake.
Why, oh why, didn’t I have filter?
“Ex-husband, I presume.”
I wasn’t a liar, and I didn’t like people who beat around the bush. So, I pushed forward despite how soft my armor felt talking about Lucas. “Ex-baby daddy. I fell for his pretty blue eyes, nice smile, and confidence. Jumped into the back seat of his pickup and got landed with a baby in high school.”
He was silent for a minute, and the breath in me stilled. Would he think less of me for falling for pretty eyes back then? I was young and looking to feel love. I didn’t know any better.
“Makes sense why you’re nervous around me. If it makes you feel better… while I do have a nice smile, I don’t have a pickup to jump into.”
I laughed, and words I immediately wished I hadn’t said blurted out of me. “So, you admit you’d take me to a truck’s backseat if you had one?”
I tensed hearing his steps closing in on me and didn’t dare to look at him. I fucked up, and we both knew it.
“Backseat, bed, lake, gazebo railing.”
His presence wrapped around me, and my lips parted. He hadn’t even touched me, but the warmth of his body radiated against my back.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
I bit my lip and tried mentally listing pros and cons. On the one hand, I know it would be great sex. And who doesn’t love getting good grades, am I right? But what if my heart got involved? What if I got jealous seeing him with others? What if—
“Stop thinking. Just feel,” he said, only inches away from me. “What do you want, Temperance?”
My name flowed from his lips like a purr.
