SAINT, SINNER AND THE GIRL IN BETWEEN のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

RYDERGreat. Now I have ruined everything by blurting it out like this. She basically hates me. Why did I think I could win her by being so casual? But I can’t take back the words. Might as well keep going.I raise my hands, a small smile tugging at my lips. “I promise I won’t try to break your feet. Or anything else.”It takes her a second. Maybe two, then the walls are up again. Her expression hardens, shoulders straightening, putting distance between us without moving an inch.“That’s inappropriate,” she says, her voice tight. “Just because I agreed to bend a few rules about tutoring spaces doesn’t mean it’s an invitation for you to get closer.”The rejection slaps hard, but I don’t let it show.“It’s not about that,” I say, keeping my tone easy. “I just like your company and I was thinking maybe... we could hang out outside all this.” I gesture vaguely between us. “When you are not trying so hard to hate me.”Her eyes flash. I don’t think it’s anger but it’s definitely heated.“I

CALLAI don’t stay at the door. The second Ryder disappears back into the diner, I step away. My pulse is still uneven as I make my way back to the terrace. I sit and for a second, I just breathe because that’s what I need now. I was done for the day, done with him, with this, with whatever that moment had been. So why did I stop? It wasn’t just them being there, running into them, explaining, standing there while Brina looks at me like I have done something wrong, and Miles asks questions I don’t want to answer.My thoughts trip over themselves, and I press my lips together. It was something else too. My gaze drops to the two milkshake glasses still sitting on the table. He forgot to carry them I guess.I shouldn’t even be thinking about it but he just reached over to mine with that familiarity, like that kind of thing was normal between us. It should have annoyed me more than it did. It did annoy me. I exhale softly. But not enough to stop me from taking his, or from noticing how g

CALLA“I didn’t order this,” I say automatically.Ryder leans slightly against the table, one hand resting beside the glass.“It’s free.”I glance at the drink then back at him.“I didn’t know customers get free lemonade here.”He tilts his head, a faint smile playing at his lips. “Not every customer.”“Oh?” I raise a brow.“Just the ones I might have offended with my... advances.” His voice dips slightly at the last word. “So they don’t hold it against me.”Heat rises to my face instantly but I don’t let him see it. I lean back slightly, crossing my arms. “You are going to have to do a lot better than a glass of lemonade.”His expression shifts with more intent. “Okay,” he says slowly. “What about this.... Every time you come here, your drink is on me. Whatever you choose.”He means that. I can see it in the way he is looking at me. It would be easy just saying yes. Instead, I hesitate. My fingers tap lightly against the table as my mind races ahead of me. He is waiting for an answer

CALLAJust watch me.The words keep repeating in my head long after he is gone.I shouldn’t be here. That’s the thought that comes after as I sit on the cold metal bench, trying to look like I belong in a place that clearly isn’t mine. The rink is loud as expected. The sharp scrape of skates against ice, voices shouting and laughing... It’s messy and unfiltered, nothing like the polished games at school where everything feels controlled.I shift slightly, eyes scanning the ice without really focusing on anything. I told him I wasn’t into hockey. That this would probably be the most boring day of my life. I was prepared to prove that. Instead, my gaze finds him automatically. My brain doesn’t even ask permission anymore.Ryder moves differently out there. Here, he doesn’t look like someone trying to prove anything. He just plays. His body is fluid, already knowing what to do before anyone else catches up. Someone passes to him and he catches it clean, shifting direction so quickly I

RYDER“Damn, Pierce. If I knew you were such a good kisser, I wouldn’t have waited that long.”Calla’s eyes widen before she narrows them at me, mock offense written all over her face.“So you thought I was bad at it. That’s why you waited?”“Not even close.”I step a little closer. The teasing look on her face slips for a second. Her gaze drops briefly before finding mine again, and I feel my chest tighten in a way I can’t quite control. Being this close to her has become dangerous. Every time she lets me in, every time she lowers her guard even a little, I want more.I have for a long time. Long before she kissed me back and long before she started looking at me the way she is looking at me now.“I wanted you to be ready to want me,” I add after a beat.Her face flickers but not with defiance. I know where her mind probably went. I know how she feels about Miles. I’m not blind, I’ve seen it. He is just to dense to realize. And on my part, I think she could do better.Before she can