He shrugs, taking another sip of his drink. “I like being single.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. “I’m sure. You flash that cocky smile, and every girl just drops their panties for you.”
His grin widens, but his eyes flash with something challenging as he leans in, closing the space between us. “You’re not immune, Isabella. Trust me, I know.”
My chest churns, my heart skipping a beat, and for a second, I really wish he didn’t care about my brother and just kissed me already. “If I remember correctly,” I murmur, “you wanted my number.”
He nods slowly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. “I did.”
I pause, his words circling in my mind. Pressing my lips together, I lean forward, daring him—daring myself. “Do you still want it?”
The muscle in his jaw tightens, his eyes darkening as he seems to weigh the consequences. “Probably wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Right.” I nod, knowing he’s right, even if it’s the last thing I wanted to hear.
He keeps his eyes locked on mine, unwavering. “Nathan and your dad…” He blows out a breath, running a hand through his hair.
“Yeah, I know.” I nod again, but my mind keeps circling back to the way his eyes had drifted to my lips just seconds ago. “I just keep thinking… if Nathan hadn’t walked in…”
The tension between us grows as his gaze drops from my eyes to my lips. “Good thing he did.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, my voice betraying me. I don’t believe a single word that leaves my lips.
His eyes snap back to mine, a smirk creeping across his face. “Cause you don’t date hockey players.”
“And you don’t date. Period.”
Ryan’s smirk widens, his eyes glinting with amusement as he lets out a low chuckle, leaning back slightly. “Exactly.”
A part of me wants to keep pushing him, but I know Ryan respects my brother too much to ever cross that line with me, even if it’s what we both want.
“But we can still be friends, right?”
An amused smirk tugs at his lips. “You wanna be my friend?”
I pause, thinking it over. Can I really be just friends with Ryan when earlier tonight, I wanted nothing more than for him to have my clothes on his bedroom floor and his name slipping from my lips?
I haven’t been friends with a guy since… ever.
But seeing as I now attend Colton U, and I’ll probably run into my brother and his teammates often, it would be a lot easier if we just agreed to never cross that line.
“Yeah,” I say, offering a smile, my shoulders lifting in a shrug. “Why not?”
Ryan’s eyes linger on me, his gaze scanning my face as if he’s searching for something, before he finally nods, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk. “Sure. Friends.”
“There you are.” I turn my head, seeing Aurora heading toward me, letting out a relieved sigh. “I’ve been looking for you all this—” She cuts herself off, her gaze flicking betweenme and Ryan. A smile slowly spreads across her face, growing wider with each passing second. “Shit, sorry. Was I interrupting something?”
“Not at all,” Ryan replies with a laugh. “Just keeping her company.” He grips the railing and lifts himself up. As he turns to walk away, he flashes me a smirk. “See you around, Isabella.”
He walks away, hands tucked in his pockets, before disappearing into the crowd.
I glance up at Aurora, whose grin only makes me roll my eyes. “Thanks for pushing me into him, by the way,” I tell her, lifting myself off the steps.
She chuckles. “You’re being sarcastic, but you should be thanking me,” she teases, wrapping her arm around mine. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have talked to him.”
I purse my lips. That’s true, but then again, if I hadn’t talked to him, I wouldn’t have almost kissed him. And this weird tension between us wouldn’t be hanging in the air.
An amused smirk tugs at her lips. “So, what happened? Did you kiss him? Give him your number? Hand stuff?”
