Chapter 4

Maya

I should leave.

That was the smart thing.

The only thing.

I should walk out the front door, go back to my quiet little house, eat what was left of my pizza, and pretend Cole Ryder didn’t have the ability to make the air feel electrically charged just by standing too close.

Instead…

I stayed rooted to the spot like an idiot.

Cole’s gaze held mine, steady and unreadable, like he was waiting for me to do something.

Or maybe waiting for me to stop doing something.

My heart was doing gymnastics in my chest.

“I’m going,” I said, even though my feet didn’t move.

Cole’s smile was slow.

“Sure.”

“I mean it.”

“Of course.”

“I’m not intimidated by you.”

That actually made him laugh.

A real laugh.

Warm and low.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured, “you kicked a football back into my yard like you were trying out for the team. Intimidated isn’t the word I’d use.”

My cheeks flared.

“I was annoyed.”

“You were impressive.”

“I was hungry.”

His eyes flicked to my mouth again.

“That too.”

I swallowed.

This was spiraling.

I cleared my throat. “Move.”

Cole didn’t.

In fact, he leaned closer, just enough that I could smell him—clean soap, something sharp and masculine, and the faintest trace of beer.

It was unfair.

Everything about him was unfair.

“You know,” he said softly, “you could’ve just told me you wanted my attention.”

I blinked. “I absolutely did not want your attention.”

His grin turned wicked.

“Then why do you have it?”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

Because unfortunately…

I had no answer.

Cole’s hand lifted—not touching me, not quite, just hovering near my waist like he was testing the idea.

Like he was giving me space to run.

I didn’t run.

His voice dropped.

“I should apologize about the pizza.”

My brows lifted. “You think?”

He nodded solemnly. “It was rude.”

“It was criminal.”

“It was… impulsive.”

“It was insane.”

His smile softened, almost boyish for half a second.

“I wanted an excuse.”

My stomach flipped.

“For what?”

His eyes locked on mine.

“To get close to you.”

Oh.

Oh no.

That wasn’t funny.

That wasn’t cocky.

That was…

Dangerous.

My breath caught, and suddenly he was even closer, the space between us narrowing into something fragile.

His gaze dipped.

My lips tingled like they already knew what was coming.

“Maya,” he murmured.

My name sounded wrong in his mouth.

Too intimate.

Too real.

My pulse slammed.

Cole’s hand finally brushed my waist, barely there, like a question.

And I—

I didn’t say no.

I didn’t say anything.

He leaned in.

I leaned—

“RYDER!”

The shout cracked through the moment like a gunshot.

Cole froze.

I froze.

We both turned toward the voice.

A guy stumbled into the hallway, eyes wide, clearly drunk enough to have lost all sense of self-preservation.

“Coach is here!”

Silence.

Then chaos.

Cole blinked. “What?”

The guy nodded frantically. “Coach Daniels! He’s downstairs! Like… in the living room! With his wife!”

Cole’s entire face shifted into something between disbelief and horror.

“You are kidding.”

“I’m not kidding!” the guy squeaked. “He’s wearing his angry jacket!”

Cole muttered something under his breath that definitely wasn’t appropriate for an Ethics paper.

The drunk guy looked at me like I was suddenly part of the emergency.

“And also… uh… hi. You’re… wow.”

I stared back, still mentally stuck on almost-kiss mode.

“What?”

He shook his head like he couldn’t afford to think about it.

“No time. Coach. Angry jacket.”

Then he sprinted away.

Cole dragged a hand down his face.

“This is a nightmare.”

I blinked rapidly, trying to reboot my brain.

“Your coach is here?”

Cole exhaled. “My coach is never here.”

“Why is he here?”

He looked at me like I’d asked why the sky was blue.

“Because this house is cursed.”

Before I could respond, Bree appeared out of nowhere, practically glowing with evil delight.

“There you are!”

I whipped toward her.

“You left me!”

Bree waved dismissively. “I didn’t leave you. I strategically abandoned you.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “You.”

Bree smiled brightly. “Me.”

“Maya was about to leave,” Cole said.

Bree gasped. “Were you?”

I opened my mouth—

Cole cut in.

“She wasn’t.”

My face went nuclear.

Bree’s grin stretched impossibly wide.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “You were about to kiss her.”

“I was not,” Cole snapped.

Bree tilted her head. “Your hand is still on her waist.”

Cole looked down like he’d forgotten his own body existed.

He immediately dropped his hand like it burned.

I stepped back, flustered.

“We were not about to kiss.”

Bree’s eyes sparkled.

“Maya. Your lip gloss is trembling.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“I will actually kill you.”

Bree clasped her hands. “Not before Coach Daniels kills him.”

Cole swore again.

Then the music abruptly cut off downstairs.

A deep, furious voice boomed through the house.

“RYDER!”

Cole went pale.

Bree grabbed my arm.

“Oh this is better than television.”

“I need to go,” I whispered.

Cole’s eyes snapped to mine.

“You can’t go.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

He stepped closer again, urgency replacing amusement.

“If you leave now, I don’t get to finish what I started.”

My breath caught.

“What you started was stealing my pizza.”

His mouth twitched.

“That too.”

Another shout echoed.

“RYDER, NOW!”

Cole winced.

Then he looked at me like he was making a promise.

“Don’t disappear, Maya.”

I swallowed.

“I wasn’t planning on—”

“I’m serious.”

His eyes held mine.

And then he turned and sprinted down the hallway toward his impending doom.

Bree watched him go, sighing dreamily.

“Oh, he is so down bad.”

I stared after him, my heart still pounding, my lips still tingling, my entire life suddenly off balance.

“This is a disaster.”

Bree smiled.

“No,” she corrected.

“This is the beginning.”