All Chapters of Project Heartbreak: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Monday. The school felt like hunting ground. I moved through the halls like a ghost, my senses hyper-tuned to the space where he might be.The final bell was a reprieve. All I had to do was get to my locker, get my stuff, and get out. I was almost free when I saw the crowd forming down the hall, near the gym entrance. My stomach plummeted. I knew, with a sickening certainty, what or who was at the center of it.I was about to turn and flee when I heard the voice. Mark Sable. It was a sound that grated, loud and deliberately obnoxious.“—think you’re so special, Ryder? Just ’cause you’re the Ace with a golden foot?”I edged closer, pressing myself against the lockers, invisible. There he was. Jax. He was leaning against the wall of lockers, arms crossed, looking bored. The picture of calm. But I saw the corded tension in his forearms, the way his jaw was set a little too tight.Mark, red-faced and puffed up like a rooster, was circling him. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or a

The walk to the school clinic was a silent, buzzing affair. My hand throbbed in time with my heartbeat, a dull, steady ache that was nothing compared to the riot going on in my head. After I win, I’m going to take it off you myself. The words played on a loop, heating my blood and turning my ears a permanent, burning red every single time.Jax walked beside me, his hands shoved in his pockets, a picture of casual arrogance. But I could feel the weight of his attention, the sidelong glances he kept throwing my way. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.The nurse, a kind, frazzled-looking woman, clucked her tongue at my hand. She cleaned the cuts with a stinging antiseptic that made me hiss, then wrapped my palm in a neat, white bandage. The whole time, Jax leaned against the doorframe, watching with an unreadable expression.When we were dismissed back into the empty hallways, the final stragglers long gone, the silence between us felt different.We were halfway to the main entrance

The engine purred to life. Jax didn’t say anything, just pulled away with a smooth confidence that was both irritating and, I hated to admit, a little thrilling.I stared out the window. I could feel his gaze flick over to me every few seconds, a quick glance that made the fine hairs on my arm stand up.“You clean up alright, Reed,” he said finally, breaking the silence. His tone was casual, but the words sent a jolt straight through me.“Orhan’s doing,” I muttered, picking at a loose thread on the pristine white trousers.“I owe the little terrorist a fruit basket, then.”“He’d prefer cash.”That earned me a short, genuine laugh from him. The sound was so unexpected, so unguarded, that I dared a glance in his direction. The setting sun caught the sharp line of his jaw, turning his skin to gold. My stomach did a slow, dangerous somersault.We lapsed back into silence, but it felt different now. He drove with one hand resting lightly on the gearshift, his fingers tapping an absent rhyt

We walk back to the car. My lips still tingled, and my mind was a chaotic jumble. He’d kissed me in public. First he did in school and now, in public. Well, in a dark theater, but still.Jax didn’t say a word, just held the passenger door open for me again. I slid in, the scent of his cologne in the confined space now feeling familiar. He got in, started the engine, and pulled out of the lot.I stared straight ahead, my heart still doing a tap dance against my ribs.“You hungry?” he asked, his voice cutting through the quiet.I wasn’t. My stomach was a tangled knot of nerves. “Not really.”“Tough. We’re getting food.” He put the car in reverse and backed out of the spot. “You think too much on an empty stomach.”He drove us to a 24-hour diner on the edge of town, the kind of place with cracked vinyl booths and a smell of stale coffee and grease that felt weirdly comforting. It was brightly lit and almost empty. A safe zone, or so I thought.We slid into a booth by the window. A tired-

We sat like that for a few peaceful minutes, wrapped in a silence that felt softer than anything I’d ever known. I could feel the tension slowly leaching from my shoulders, my body molding against his. His chin was a comfortable weight on my shoulder, his breath a steady, warm rhythm against my neck.“Feeling better?” I whispered, not wanting to break the spell.“Mmm. My levels are rising. But I think I need a booster shot.” His voice was a low, suggestive hum that sent a fresh wave of heat through me.I pulled back just enough to look at him. “A booster shot? What does that entail, Dr. Ryder?”A slow, devastating smile spread across his face. “This.”He leaned in, and his lips met mine.It was slow and sweet. A gentle exploration that made my toes curl in my shoes. His lips were soft and sure, moving against mine with a tenderness that stole the air from my lungs. I sighed into it, my hands coming up to rest on his shoulders, my fingers curling into the rough fabric of his practice j