He cocks a brow. “Literally, or figuratively?”
“The latter. A few months ago,” I say. “She was leaving Stanfield as I was walking in. Dropped her phone. It cracked. I picked it up.”
Rishi nods. “Smooth.”
“It wasn’t like that. She looked… defeated. Hollow. I don’t know why, but I told her that cracks mean change.”
Rishi stares at me. “Dude.”
“I wasn’t flirting. But for the half a second we stood face-to-face, I felt whatever she was carrying with her that day. It was pretty heavy.”
“You sure it’s her?”
I nod, eyes on that beaming white smile. “Yeah, it’s definitely her. But I haven’t seen her since. She was an up an coming force to be reckoned with, but then she dropped off the face of the earth.”
“Go say hi.”
I watch her throw her head back at something the guy says. She turns. Sheseesme. And then it’s a flash. A flicker. Recognition crackling across the rooftop like lightning.
Reality and the weight of the day slam into me, crushing any ounce of confidence I might’ve still had.
I shake my head. “Yeah, no.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a wreck. Not to mention, she’s probably still pissed you smoked her at Vanguard today.“
“Nah, it’s business,” he says. “She’s an adult.”
“No.”
After a beat, she turns back to her friends, laughs again. But it’s different this time. Forced.
I stare at them. She’s trying not to look. But she’s failing.
“Not tonight.” I exhale, set my glass down.
CHAPTER 4
STARE HARDER, I DARE YOU
RORIE
Maya leans over. “Who. Is. That?”
“Rishi Patel from Big Stream,” I bite out. “He’s the fuckstick who pitched against me at Vanguard today. Or—sorry—strategically undercutour value, dragged it into a flaming dumpster, and somehow got a standing ovation for it.”
Jeremy leans over, squinting in the direction I’m burning holes through. “The tall one with the untouchable bone structure, feral heartbreak eyes, and smolder levels set to brood?”
I don’t answer. My gaze shifts a fraction to the left, lands on the man standing next to him.
Broad shoulders.
Carefully-rolled sleeves.
A glass of amber liquid in his hand.
The smile he gives Rishi is tight. Uncomfortable. And when he glances up, our eyes lock.
