A deep part of my soul thought he might follow in his footsteps, and it forced tension through my body.
I dare a look at him, and his eyes are already on me, but he isn’t looking at me the same way he usually does.
His gaze has a dark edge to it, could even be mistaken for an icy blast, but the way it makes me feel alive says otherwise.
And despite it adding to his terrifying facade, it only makes me want to lurk beneath its depths.
Shifting my head forward again before I faceplant, I force down a swallow. “What am I going to do without you helping me cut the lunch queues?”
Saint and Rex would usually have lunch with us when we were all free. We were close growing up, but they’re in the year above, so had already built different friendship groups. We still managed to all congregate together. My mom finds it heartwarming that we’ve all gone to Kingstone University.
“Oh, I’m sure if you bat those lashes hard enough, someone will inevitably cave to doing it for you,” he says, but then as soon as the words come out his mouth, his jaw grinds.
We chat back and forth as we make the climb up the hill, and he jogs ahead to lift a branch, ushering me to duck under it.
The golf course isn’t far from where we live, and I’ve done this trail before, but never ventured off it.
When I slip through, it leads to a small viewpoint, the lookout soaring over the entire grounds below. The sky is a mix of blue and orange, the last remaining clouds of the day almost opaque.
I never knew this spot was here; it’s encased by the trees apart from this small clearing.
“It’s beautiful here,” I say breathlessly, taking a moment to enjoy it. I bet it looks even better at night when the stars are on show.
“It is now,” Saint says behind me, and I turn to find him sitting up on a rock, watching me.
His arms are resting on top of his raised knees, his biceps protruding against the fabric of his shirt. He tilts his head for me to sit next to him.
One hand reaches out as an offering to boost me up when I reach him.
“Do you remember that time I crashed my dad’s car into the gate?”
A laugh bursts free from me. “You asked me to let you in my house so you could hide out… Then fell out of the tree, and I tried to call an ambulance.”
He’d decided after one driving lesson, he didn’t need any more and took the car out the garage; he didn’t even make it twenty feet before he collided with the iron gates.
He adjusts his hat, wiggling the back with a smirk on his face. “You played a very good nurse though.”
I smile at the memory. I was so damn nervous the two of us were in the house alone.
“Gave myself a crash course through YouTube on treating concussions. I’ve kept it handy in case I ever need it again.”
Some sick, twisted part of me rejoiced at the fact he ran four blocks over to my house, instead of heading to Rex, who was only one over. He even stayed for a couple hours after it.
“What age were we then?” he asks, and I frown, looking over at him.
“Jeez, I must have been like what, fifteen? You’d be sixteen?”
His gaze lingers on my eyes before darting to my lips, then shifting back up again. “Yeah, five years ago.”
My throat feels like it’s closing up; wings flutter within my chest all the way down to my stomach.
I wet my lips. “So, uh, what made you want to ask me on a hike without the guys?”
Saint twists so he’s leaning back on one hand. His scent follows into my nostrils as the light breeze carries it, instantly making me feel high.
His deep, velvet-like voice wraps around me. “Indie, I think it’s about time you and I both stopped playing this game.”
The last of his words come out with a hint of a growl, and I’m not entirely sure I heard him correctly.
