Page 31 of Against All Odds

I exhaled slowly, my confusion growing by the second.

She sighed. “I don’t know how to say this, okay? I’ve done some reflecting, and I realized you were right. I shouldn’t have played with your feelings like that, and I’m sorry.”

My world started spinning so fiercely, I had to sit down on one of the tables. “You—you—what?” I stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Lying was easier than admitting my feelings.” Rebekah blushed – actually blushed. “For you.”

“Your—” I knew I started to sound like a broken record, but my brain short-circuited so violently, I didn’t even know how to respond to this. “Really?” I forced out, cautiously studying her face for signs of manipulation. “You—you’re not joking, are you?” My voice came out brittle. I hated feeling so vulnerable, hated that the idea of her liking me was so ridiculous, it was easier to believe she was fooling me.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like this.” She frowned. “Raya, please say something. I’m pouring my heart out here; please tell me I haven’t been imagining things.”

“You haven’t.” My heart hammered in my throat, palms sweating so much, I had to put down the backpack. “Why—God, I wish you would’ve said something earlier. Do you know how long I have been feeling this way about you?” My cheeks burned, but I no longer cared. My heart fluttered with a happiness I hadn’t felt in a long time. Suddenly, all my problems felt insignificant, fading into the distance as if they had never mattered.

“You have?” Rebekah’s innocent blue eyes widened – an odd, adorable sight.

I let out a laugh. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“I guess… maybe I just didn’t want to see.” She got up slowly, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized what was about to happen. I’d dreamed about this moment too many times.

Rebekah’s hands took mine, gently wrapping around them. The moment our skin touched, an electric current shot through my body. For a moment, we locked eyes.

She stepped closer, leaving only inches between us.

She sighed out against my parted lips – the sound of it rippling through my body like a shock wave. Then, she wrapped her hand around my neck and leaned in.

I closed my eyes just before her lips met mine, and when they did, my entire world shifted into place. Her lips were soft – way softer than my own chapped lips – and tasted vaguely of cherry. For a moment, we stayed like that – lips locked, hesitantly, both waiting for the other to make the next move.

Then, I entangled my hands in her hair to pull her closer and kissed her like she was the oxygen I had been starving for. Because she was.

To my surprise, she matched my desperation. She was a slow kisser, and it was delicious. Delicious because it drove me crazy for more, making it hard to slow down and match her pace – but I would, I had already waited so long for her, she’d forced me to learn patience, and I didn’t mind waiting a little longer. Her hands roamed my body, feeling and gripping possessively. She moaned into my mouth when I pressed my thigh between hers, and the sound alone made my body thrum with need – the need to draw more sounds like that from her, make her mine before she changed her mind again.

She pulled away as abruptly as she’d started, her eyes wide. “Fuck,” she stammered. “We shouldn’t do this.”

My heart, that had been fluttering with the high of her kiss, dropped into my stomach with an intensity that crushed the butterflies – but right away, they flew up again, stubborn, delusional. She had kissed me. She had admitted her feelings for me – that had to mean something. Right?

She turned abruptly, and I followed her gaze to the students walking by, occasionally peeking into the classroom through the window.

“What—what’s the matter?” My lip started to quiver; I didn’t want it, but it was beyond my control. “Did I do something wrong? We can go slower if you want, or—or I could take you out to dinner first?” I hated the hopeful hitch in my voice.

“No, it’s not that; it’s just…” Rebekah turned back to face me, biting her lip. “I’ve—I’ve never told anyone I like girls. These people, they’ll talk, and…”

“They don’t care!” My arms dropped to my sides. “It’s 2026, no one cares. Right? Most of them aren’t even looking. They’re just on their way to class.”

“I can’t. Not so quickly after I broke up with Parker.” She turned around so abruptly, almost too fast for me to register. “I have to go to class now. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait!” I shouted after her, but she stormed out of the classroom, leaving the door ajar.

Without thinking, I ran after her, but as soon as I entered the corridor, I no longer saw her. I frantically looked from left to right and back again, but she was gone – impossibly fast. Most of the other students had made their way to class now, leaving the corridor near-empty. I should also go to class. I was going to miss—

“Raya.”

I spun back around to see Rebekah. Calm, unbothered – a sharp contrast with how she’d just stormed off.

I blinked slowly. Was I going crazy? I thought she went the other way. Had it actually just happened?

Someone cleared her throat behind me. I turned around, and my stomach dropped.

Because behind me was also Rebekah. There were two of them.