Fierce(44)

He chuckles a little. “I told you you’re afraid of me. I knew it.”

I bite my lip, my cheeks burning up, feeling very exposed. “I’m n-not,” I stutter.

“Yes, you are. You’re terrified of me. Just a touch from my hand makes you shiver.” The grin on his face is making me feel both embarrassed and hot and bothered.

“Why are you so afraid? I’m not going to hurt you,” he says with a cocky voice that makes me want to give him a second black eye.

“Because I’ve never had a boyfriend before, okay?” I say, sighing. “At least not past the kissing stage.” There. It’s out now. I’ve said it. And I feel completely stupid for blurting it out.

For a second Hunter just stares at me with a blank look on his face. Then he bursts out into laughter.

“Is that it?” he says, in between laughs.

Frowning, I make a fist with my hand. “Yes. Stop laughing.”

I pound him on the shoulder, and he inches back with a wince. “Ouch. Damn, your punches have improved.”

Shaking my head, I snort. “You’re an asshole, you know that? Laughing at girls because they’re not experienced.”

Suddenly Evie walks into the room and stops in her tracks when she sees Hunter sitting there.

I clear my throat. “Hey,” I say.

“Can we talk?” Evie says, looking fazed.

Hunter looks at her and immediately gets up from his stool. “I’ll get going.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow for training then?”

“Sounds cool,” Hunter says, and he smiles. “Thanks.”

Then he passes Evie, who’s still standing in the doorway.

I clean up all the mess that’s left on the desk, while Evie just holds herself, standing there, looking at me. I don’t really know what to do or what to say. She’s mad at me, that’s for sure. Ever since I told her I was falling for Hunter she’s been acting strange.

Does she really hate him that much?

“Do you have time?” she says.

“Sure,” I say, and I turn toward her.

She sits down on her bed and stares at me from a distance with a scared look on her face.

“What’s the matter?” I say, getting up and sitting down next to her.

“I … I just can’t deal with this. Seeing you and Hunter together all the time …”

“Why? I mean, he’s nice. You should really get to know him first.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Frowning, I look at her. I don’t get what she’s saying. Her lip is quivering, though.

“I’ve been afraid to tell you all this time … and that’s why I’ve been hanging out with Scarlet for such a long time. She’s actually quite nice, if you get to know her.”

Wow, it surprises me that Evie’s actually saying this. I never expected her to see past her initial opinion of Scarlet, but she’s done a complete turnaround now. Weird.

“Anyway … She’s been helping me out a little, and I’ve been helping her in return.”

“That’s nice. I’m glad you found another friend. Now I’m not the only one,” I say, and I grab her shaking hand and squeeze it.

I want to show her that I’m here for her, no matter what she’s going through. I don’t care if she got mad over Hunter; I just want us to be friends.

“She told me to just tell you.”

“Okay? What do you want to tell me?” I say.

She turns around to look at me, her lips parted. She licks her lips anxiously.

Suddenly she leans in and kisses me right on the mouth.

I panic, open my mouth and draw back. What is she doing?

A flush spreads across her cheeks and she looks in pain just from seeing me react.

Shit. Brody was right all along. She likes me.

Oh God. What have I done?

“I … I’m sorry,” I say. “I don’t feel that way.”

I should’ve known. I should’ve realized it sooner.

I’ve been flaunting Hunter and my feelings for him in front of her face all this time, and she’s been pining over me instead. I can’t believe I’ve been such a jerk to her. Now I understand why she dislikes him. She hates that he stole me from her.

But I can’t do anything about that. I don’t want to lose Hunter.

But I don’t want to lose her either.

“It’s okay,” she says, her smile fading. “I know. I’ve known for quite some time, but I was ignoring it. I wanted it to be different. I didn’t want to be ‘just best friends.’ I wanted more.”

“I’m sorry,” I repeat.

She chuckles lightly. It sounds like she’s embarrassed. “No harm in trying, right?”