Once inside, I sit on the bench, fists tight, breathing through my teeth as the word pounds through me.Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
No matter how much time has passed, no matter how many hours, it doesn’t lessen the pain.
The door creaks. I don’t turn. I don’t have to.
She walks in.
The sound of her footsteps echoes around me until she’s standing in front of me.
Now, I look up.
Her jaw is set. She doesn’t look the same today.
She looks pissed.
“Why are you avoiding me?” she snaps, storming closer, chin lifted in challenge.
“I’m working.” Except I’m not. I’m sitting empty-handed on a damn bench.
“You walked right past me.” Her voice hits me like a punch to the gut.
“Congratulations. You’re observant.”
Her eyes flash. “What the hell is your problem?” she demands, stepping closer into my space, like she wants to start a war.
“You, Little Bird,” I growl, heat rising. “You’re my problem.”
She freezes. Chest rising, falling. Eyes wide, bright, furious.
I don’t stop. Can’t.
“You walk around tossing scraps of attention like it’s a favor,” I bite out, stepping into her space. “Like I should be grateful you looked at me. Like I’m a toy you’ll outgrow the second your daddy pulls up in his private jet and whisks you back to your designer future.”
Her breath hitches. But I’m not done.
“News flash—” I move closer. Close enough to feel her inhale. “I’m not one of your manicured boys in polos. I don’t fetch. I don’t kneel. And I sure as hell don’t need a rich girl slumming it for a little summer entertainment.”
The slap comes fast. Sharp. Loud. Honest.
My head snaps to the side. The sting blooms across my cheek.
And I deserve it. All of it.
But then, before I can breathe . . .
She grabs my shirt. Fists it. Yanks me toward her with a sound that’s half sob, half fury.
And kisses me.
Hard and furious.
Desperate in the way only suppressed things can be.
It steals my breath.
My thoughts. My restraint.
And I kiss her back. I kiss her like she’s oxygen. Like I’ve been denied air for years. Like I mean to set her on fire. Because I do. Because she already lit the match.
