Page 20 of Power Play

Ryan’s mouth curves. “Look at you interpreting language already.”

I fight a smile and lose. “You’re irritating.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“Means you’re arguing instead of waiting for someone to tell you what to think.”

“I always argue.”

“No.” His amusement softens as he studies me. “You usually apologize first.”

The accuracy of it leaves me without an immediate answer.

Bliss reaches for another row of clean glasses. “She struggles with abstract arguments.”

“You mean she struggles with having an opinion nobody approved first,” Aura adds.

I glare at her.

Ryan’s eyes remain on mine. “That sounds closer.”

“It’s a difficult course.”

“What are you reading?”

“The introductory module uses excerpts from Plato, Aristotle, Locke, and Nietzsche before moving into literary frameworks.”

“Fuck Locke.”

I blink. “That is your professional analysis?”

“He wrote pages to explain things people could understand in two paragraphs.”

“Maybe he enjoyed nuance.”

“Maybe he needed an editor.”

Bliss looks delighted. “I’ve never cared about philosophers before, but I’m willing to pick sides.”

“Take Plato,” Ryan tells her. “He was dramatic and committed to the bit.”

Aura loads another tray. “Which philosopher would Easton be?”

Ryan glances toward the back table, where Easton has a woman whispering into his ear while he continues watching Aura.

“Machiavelli.”

“That feels insulting,” Bliss says.

“It is.”

“What about Cade?”

“Aristotle. Obsessed with systems, structure, and telling everyone the correct way to behave.”

Cade lifts his middle finger from across the room as though he heard him.