Chapter Seventeen WILLOW

I wait for his answer, holding my breath. Worried he’ll reject me or worse, laugh at me and then reject me. This entire night has been surreal, and I’m low key terrified of what his response might be.

If he tells me no, I’ll die on the spot. Right here on the log in front of everyone. At least that means I won’t have to worry about facing everybody at school after the rumor gets out that Rhett and I are supposedly together.

“You really think we could keep things friendly between us?” he asks me, sounding amused.

“I don’t want to fight with you—”

“I’m not talking about fighting,” he says, interrupting me. “I’m talking about how much I’m attracted to you.”

I go silent. All I can hear is the pounding of my heart. I wonder if he can hear it too.

“But I’m thinking you don’t feel the same.” He’s staring at the fire again, the disappointment written all over his face.

“Rhett …” I clamp my lips shut, unable to find the right words.

He shifts his position, trying to get comfortable, which is impossible on this stupid log. “You’re going to let me down easy. It’s fine. I get it.”

Let him down easy?

“Just know that I’d never give you a reason to feel confused or conflicted. If we were together, you would know how I feel about you. I’m an upfront kind of guy, even if I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

“What sort of thing?” I whisper.

“Work so hard to get a girl to admit she’s interested in me.” A low laugh escapes him and the sound of it makes me tingle. “You’re tough.”

“I don’t mean to be.” I pause again for a moment, deciding to just go for it. “Have you ever wanted someone you can’t have?”

“No.” He grins. “If I want something, I go after it.”

“And do you usually get it?”

His grin grows, if that’s possible. “Always.”

I stare at the fire once more, though I can feel Rhett’s gaze on me. “I never do.”

“Oh, come on now.” He sounds like he doesn’t believe me. “Don’t pull a poor little rich girl act on me.”

“I’m not trying to,” I start, but he shakes his head, cutting me off.

“Maybe you’re going after the wrong things.”

The way he says it, so simple, so logical, makes me realize that he’s probably right.

“You think so?”

“I’m sure of it. Sometimes what you want is sitting directly in front of you, but you don’t even see it.”

I stare into his eyes, wondering if he’s referring to himself.

Wondering more if he’s doing it on purpose.

“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” I ask, curious.

He shakes his head. “Never.”

“Hmm.”

“What about you? How many boyfriends have you had?”

“None.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” I nod. “My number is zero.”

“Ever been kissed?” His gaze drops to my lips as he leans his body closer to mine, our shoulders brushing.

That brief contact sends a scattering of tingles up my arm.

“Yes,” I admit, my voice soft. “A few times. Briefly.”

“No full-on makeout sessions?”

“Why are you so interested in how long I’ve kissed someone?” This is embarrassing. I should’ve had a beer. At least that would’ve given me a little liquid courage.

“Want me to be honest?”

“No.”

Rhett ignores my answer. “You look like a girl who hasn’t been kissed much.”

My lips part and my throat goes dry. “Is that an insult?”

“Just an observation. Definitely not an insult. You have a sweet, innocent way about you.”

Oh God.

Oh.

God.

I know he didn’t mean it as an insult, but it kind of felt like one.

I jump to my feet, eager to get out of here. “I need to go.”

He tilts his head back, his expression confused. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here.”

I leave him where he sits, determined to head back to my dorm suite and be done with this night once and for all, but by the time I’m rounding the front of the old ruins, I can hear Rhett shouting my name as he chases after me. I can feel him draw closer.

It’s no shock at all when I feel his long fingers clamp around my upper arm, and I go easily when he spins me around to face him.

“What the hell, Lancaster? Why’d you run like that?”

“I hated what you said to me,” I admit, my voice low. I cross my arms in front of me yet again, cold once more.

“What? About you not being kissed much?”

That wasn’t the worst part.

“When I called you sweet? Every girl I know wants to be called that.” He sounds frustrated with me, but he’s still here. Talking to me. I take that as a good sign.

“The innocent part,” I tell him. “I just—I don’t know. It set me off.”

“I’ll say.” He practically snorts. “You stormed off like a snake bit your ass and you needed to see a doctor, stat.”

I roll my eyes. Sometimes he says crazy stuff. “I don’t want to be known as a sweet, innocent girl. I just spent a year abroad, drinking wine and learning about art. Growing up and doing things on my own, you know? But here, I’m the same person I was before. You didn’t even know me then, and you described me exactly how everyone else sees me.”

Well, I lied a little bit. I only drank wine like twice, but I felt terribly sophisticated when I did it, even though it tasted kind of awful. Rhett doesn’t need to know any of that though.

He shifts his stance, leaning back against the old building, which makes him almost at eye level with me. He’s so tall, it’s kind of nice to face him without having to tilt my head back. “What exactly do you want everyone to see?”

“I don’t know.” I do, I’m just embarrassed to admit it out loud.

“Here’s what’s funny, Will.” He levels that gaze on me and it’s like he can see right through me, which is unsettling. “I think you know exactly what you want everyone to see when it comes to you. You’re just afraid to voice it out loud.”

I remain quiet, vaguely disturbed that he’s able to figure me out so easily. No one else takes the time to do that. Not even Iris, though I don’t blame her for it. We’ve known each other since birth. I’m sure she believes she knows everything there is about me.

But she doesn’t. Not everything. Just like I’m sure she has a few secrets of her own.

“Come here,” he murmurs when I don’t respond, tilting his head to the side. He settles onto the slight ledge that sticks out of the building, his expression expectant. He’s waiting for me to do something. Say something.

Hesitating, I part my lips, confused. Part of me wants to reprimand him for trying to tell me what to do because he doesn’t own me, but the bigger, more secretive part of me wants to immediately give in to his gently-spoken command.

He has a confidence I aspire to. Like he fully expects everything to work out for him because he’s just that lucky. Or maybe he doesn’t even believe in luck. Confident people don’t need to—things happen because they want them to.

“Come on, Will. Get your pretty ass over here.” He actually pats his thigh like I’m going to … what? Sit on his lap? In his dreams.

Hmm, in mine too.

I take a tentative step toward him. Then another. When I draw close enough, he lets out a frustrated growl and grabs my hand, yanking me to him. I collide with his big body, a soft “oh” emitting from my lips, and I almost squeal when he whips his arm around my waist and settles me on his thigh, having me sit on his lap, just as I imagined.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, bracing my hand on his chest when his thigh dips lower, jostling me around.

“Go ahead. Act like you’re into me.” He leans forward, his mouth settling at my ear, murmuring. “Your friend is watching us right now.”

I freeze for a moment, just about to check and see who he’s actually referring to when his arm tightens around my waist like a band.

“Don’t look,” he warns before he slowly pulls back a little bit so I can see his face again. “We need to play it cool.”

“What do you want me to do?” I lift my chin, staring into his eyes. This close, I can definitely see the flecks of green, and the golden-brown mixing in. Oh, his eyes are beautiful.

Everything about him is beautiful.

“Go ahead.” His voice sounds like a dare, resonating inside me. “Give in to what you want, Willow.”

My skin prickles at him calling me by my full name, something he rarely says, and it’s just the fuel I need to do exactly what he’s telling me.

I lightly touch his face. Can feel the faint stubble on his cheek prickling against my palm. I slowly streak my fingers downward, my gaze wandering, blatantly drinking him in. Lingering on a tiny scar that I see on the left corner of his mouth.

“What happened here?” I trace the tiny scar, coming perilously close to his lips.

His smile is lopsided, not revealing his teeth. “Accident when I was five. Fell off my bike.”

“Must’ve been bad.”

“I barely remember it.” His gaze drops to my lips. “I’m not kissing you tonight.”

Disappointment floods me. “Maybe I didn’t want you to.”

“You do.” His lips curve.

“You’re terribly confident.”

“I know you want it.” He leans in once more, his mouth brushing my ear lobe, making me shiver. “I want it too, but not out here in front of everyone. I want to do it right.”

Rhett pulls away and I’m breathless at his words. Mindless. Confused and exhilarated and all of the things. “What do you mean, do it right?”

“If you have to ask, Will, then I’m assuming you haven’t experienced it yet.” He smiles, the look on his face reminding me of a devil.

Because only a devil could tempt me this badly, and we haven’t even done anything.