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Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I notice Kevin’s gaze pointed just to my side, tethered unmistakably to Ramya.
“He’s looking at you,” I say, encouragingly. “Go talk to him.”
“Should I? Can I? Do I look okay?” she stutters with an adorable nervous eagerness.
I giggle. “Answer one, absolutely; answer two, absolutely; and answer three, no—you don’t look okay, you look hot as hell, and we both know it. Get over there.” I nudge her knee with my own.
A nervous grin curls on her face. She takes a deep breath. “Okay,” she says, before taking a fortifying sip of her drink. “Tell me to break a leg.”
“Break a leg,” I say on a laugh, shooting her a wink as she hops off the high-top chair and weaves through the crowd towards Kevin.
The seat beside me isn’t empty for long. Aiden saunters over and takes it. His dark, hazel eyes alight on me. He’s another drama major who I’ve acted with a couple times. We even shared an on-stage kiss last semester.
Ever since then, I’ve kind of gotten a low-key vibe that he might be into me. The way those hazel eyes are looking at me right now, that vibe is shifting up to high-key.
“Hey, Olivia,” he greets me. “Heard about you trying out for that Macbeth production in Burlington.”
“Yeah,” I answer. “I know it’s a long shot, but …”
He shakes his head. “Not a long shot at all. The only long shot is you remembering the little people like us once you’re a Broadway sensation.”
His tone is flirty and lightly teasing. I laugh in response, though it feels a little forced. “Don’t worry, I’ll remember you all when I’m on Broadway. Once I make it to Hollywood, on the other hand …” I jest with a grin.
He barks out a laugh. “Oh, duh, that goes without saying. I wouldn’t even imagine you’d still remember my name at that point.”
Yeah, I think we’re definitely flirting. Which is … good, right?
Yes, it’s good.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened with Tuck throughout the week. Not just the thing that happened with him That Morning in New Hampshire, but what’s been happening between us. The way our chemistry’s been building.
I’ve concluded that I do want to finally pull down some of the walls I’ve built up around my heart, the walls that have kept me from even contemplating finding a new relationship for two years.
But I’ve also concluded that Tuck is the wrong person to do it with. He’s too risky. There are too many ways we could go wrong, too many ways I could get hurt. A guy like Aiden, on the other hand … he’d be a safe choice.
So, I lean into the flirting.
When he makes another teasing joke, I playfully swat at his chest.
I expect some sparks to fly. But there’s nothing.
When my knee simply brushed with Tuck’s for a fraction of a second in the tutoring room, there was an eruption of electricity, a flash of heat that crawled up my leg and spread through my center.
But my palm pressing against Aiden’s chest? Nothing. Not even a tiny flicker of static.
When I tilt my head to the side thinking about a question he asks me, strands of my hair feather across my face. Aiden reaches out and gently sweeps them behind my ear.
The gesture doesn’t make my chest feel fuzzy, doesn’t make my stomach flip—two sensations I know I’d get if Tuck did the same thing.
But then, something does make my stomach flip.
“Hey, pal,” Tuck’s voice, his drawl casual but with an unfamiliar sharp undertone to it, sounds from beside us. I look over and see his blue eyes fastened on Aiden. “Thanks for keeping my date company while she was waiting for me.” His brow lowers. “But I’m here now, and I’m gonna need that seat.”
“Oh,” Aiden peeps, caught off guard. His gaze bounces between me and Tuck. “Date?”
“That’s right,” Tuck replies, a bite to his voice. “My date. Olivia.”
“Uh, okay …” Aiden says, getting up from his seat. Tuck’s low and hard brow, his stormy expression, and the iron in his voice don’t make Aiden eager to argue. He shrugs at me. “See you later, Olivia.”
