There’s something new in his gaze. Curiosity? Interest?
“You’re gonna be trouble, aren’t you?”
I bite my lip. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
A lazy smile plays on his face, and I feel my pulse tick up a notch. There’s a boldness in the way he watches me, like he’s trying to solve a puzzle, or maybe like he’s already solved it and just enjoys watching me squirm.
“You want to get some air?” he asks.
I nod, relieved.
We carry our trays out into the courtyard, finding a shady bench tucked away. My eyes dart back and forth searching for Darren, but he’s long gone. I settle, knowing Nik is with me. Something about him puts me at ease.
Nik stretches out one long leg and leans back like he owns the world. I sit with my tray in my lap, picking at my pizza.
“Do you always stir up drama wherever you go?” he asks after a beat, one brow raised.
I huff out a laugh. “Only on Tuesdays. And apparently, every other day since I got here.”
He grins. “You know, I didn’t think you were gonna be fun.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. You had that tight-shouldered, deer-in-the-headlights new girl look.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“But I was wrong,” he says, angling toward me slightly. “You’ve got fire.”
I glance sideways at him. “Is that your line?”
“No,” he says, tone quieter now. “My line is usually something way smoother. But you’d see through it, wouldn’t you?”
That takes me by surprise. Not the flirty banter—I’ve come to expect that from Nik—but the insight. The way he said it like he already knows I’ve got walls a mile high.
“I don’t like games,” I say.
“Then good thing I’m being honest.”
We fall into a lull again, but it’s not awkward. There’s something kind of nice about sitting next to someone whoseesyou but isn’t demanding anything.
“Rachel’s a lot,” he says eventually.
I snort. “Understatement.”
“She’s always been kind of intense. But when you showed up, it was like she flipped a switch. I think she thought she had dibs on Axel or something. It’s dumb.”
I wish I could tell him she doesn’t have anything to worry about, but I can’t bring myself to lie.
“Axel and I… it’s complicated.”
Nik glances at me. “Complicated like… you’re into him?”
I don’t answer right away. “Complicated like… I’m notnotinto him.”
He nods slowly. “Fair.”
Another moment of silence passes between us.
