The last bite. The best bite. The grand finale of my sandwich.
Oh yes, this is great. This is the bit I’ve been saving.
But just as I’m about to taste perfection, I look up. And suddenly, I forget how to chew.
Kai Steele is standing right in front of me, towering over me like some dark omen in a school hallway, and something about the look in his eyes pins me in place.
I don’t know if it’s the eyes or his general presence, but it affects me enough that my fingers slowly lose grip of the sandwich, and it plummets to the floor.
I stare at it with deep, soul-crushing misery.
No. No, no, no.
My stomach clenches in despair. That wasmysandwich. And now it’s dead. Murdered.
I look back up at him, my hunger-fuelled devastation morphing into pure resentment. “Y-you—”
Kai just tilts his head slowly. “I?” he drawls.
I exhale through my nose, levelling him with a glare. “I was gonna eat that, you know.”
His gaze flickers downward, assesses the sandwich like it’s roadkill or something, then lifts his head, meeting my eyes again. “Switch with me.”
I blink. “What?”
“Be my partner.”
If he had asked me to rob a bank with him, I wouldn’t have been more shocked.
“…what?” I repeat, because surely, I’ve misheard him.
Kai rolls his eyes then, and it seems playful, but I don’t miss the faintest flicker of impatience in them. “Be my partner for the project.”
For a solid three seconds, all I can do is stare. Because this—this doesn’t make sense. Why would he want to work with me? Something tells me Kai Steele would never willingly work with me unless…
Unless he wants something.
“Are you feeling alright?” I ask, because naturally, that would be the other conclusion.
His lips quirk slightly. “Would that change your answer?”
I stare at him. “This is about the project, right?”
Kai just smiles, flashing me his dimples. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Because it’s you, I want to say.Because nothing is ever that simple with you.
But before I can say any of that, he shrugs. “I already told Anderson we’re working together.”
I jolt. “Youwhat?”
“You heard me.”
I gape at him. “I can still ask to switch back.”
Kai just stares at me, expression blank, then says, “Really?”
It’s one word, but it’s enough to make me realize how insignificant my word would be against someone like him. Becausereally,what chance do I have?
