David whistled long and steadily. “God, it kills me how much you fascinate me. You and all that energy you put into being this version of yourself that you’ve crafted. It’s the one thing I can’t wrap my head around. I can’t understand why it works and why, like everyone else, I’m?—”
David stopped himself. I frowned, confused at the abrupt cut-off, but ultimately took advantage of it.
“Person I’ve crafted? What about you?” I asked.
He frowned. “What about me?”
“You’re telling me you’re naturally a nuisance?”
David shrugged. “Some people find their destiny along the way. Othersare born with it.”
I laughed. “So you were born to be a pain in the ass? That tracks.”
“Disagreeable,” he corrected with a smile. “I prefer the term disagreeable.”
“Do you like that destiny?” I watched him closely as he responded. We were half joking, but in all of our back and forths, there was always a small inkling of realness. And when I was lucky —which was rare— I could pick through the bullshit to find it.
“It’s fun,” David confirmed. “Getting to rummage through everyone’s genuine emotions is fun.”
My brow furrowed as I considered his words. “Genuine emotions?”
David nudged his chin toward the girls. They were laughing and squealing at their failed attempts to get comfortable on the rocks. “They’re not going to show you who they really are if you’re nice and agreeable all the time. People rarely show you who they truly are unless under pressure.”
“I disagree. I think you can tell a lot about a person in how they respond to kindness.”
He rocked his head back and forth, considering my words. “Maybe. But you learn even more about someone by how they respond to strife.”
I laughed, even though he had a point. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I wasn’t taking him seriously, but from the cloud that appeared across his face, I could tell my intentions didn’t matter.
When David didn’t feel like he was being taken seriously, he sniffed twice. I’m not sure if he knew it was his tell. The first sniff was barely audible. The second sounded like he was trying to fight off a sneeze… or the urge to charge like a bull; the odds were fifty-fifty.
“Your personal philosophy is kind of sad,” I said, my smile fadingslightly.
“Yours is sadder.”
“What is mine, exactly?”
“Push and push until you’re bone tired. Smile your way through it all until you get what you want. Fake it till you make it. Play happy until you learn how not to be so sad.”
My smile was gone entirely. David had dug around in my brain, shining a light on all the dark, secret corners. I didn’t know how to disinvite him, so I stood my ground. “I’m not playing happy. I am.”
“Are you?” Another gust of wind blew against us, carrying his scent under my nose. Swirling his presence all around me until it was all I felt and wanted. Fury and desire were an infuriating combination.
“Because I think if you were,” he said. “You’d have told me to fuck off a long time ago. You wouldn’t keep texting me. You wouldn’t have looked for me on campus. You wouldn’t have wasted a dare to invite me today.”
I tried to laugh, but there was no air left in my lungs to breathe it into existence. “I tell you to fuck off every day.”
“Yeah, but have you ever really meant it?” he challenged. “Be honest.”
“Yara!” Emmy called.
I jumped, not ready for how close she’d been behind us. David smiled at my surprise and stepped away from me.
“You ready?” Emmy asked, looking between the two of us. Thankfully, she knew well enough not to ask questions.
I nodded, shaking my hands out as if that were enough to ward off whatever feeling David left in my bones. “Ready.”
“Great.” She bounced on her toes, then directed her next comment to David. “Stop distracting her, yeah? I’m pretty sure you were just invited to carry things and look pretty.”
