Black Thorns (Thorns Duet #2) by Rina Kent

“You…waited?”

“I think I have.”

“What were you waiting for?”

“I don’t know. Maybe an opportunity.”

I scoff. “You could’ve made your own opportunity without waiting for Reina’s bet.”

“That’s the problem. I didn’t know I needed to make a move until that fucker Josh almost took you away. Being threatened made me take action.”

“Josh wouldn’t have stood a chance. Arrogant football players aren’t my type.”

“Except for me?”

“I never said that.”

“You don’t have to, Tsundere. I watched you long enough to recognize your hot and cold attitude.”

I bite my lower lip and inhale deeply, taking in his scent mixed with blood and something else. “I can’t believe you watched me for three years and I didn’t notice anything.”

“I’m pretty good. Besides, you tend to be blind to your surroundings, especially when you have those headphones on.”

“Not to you,” I murmur. “You see, I watched you, too.”

“You did?”

I nod against his thigh. “Since the first day I got to school. You probably don’t remember it, but I do. Clearly.”

He’s quiet for a beat, and I can only hear the guttural sounds of his breathing in the dark silence. It’s haunting and chopped off, a clear indication that he needs help and no matter how much we fool ourselves into believing we’ll be okay, we probably won’t.

I suck in a sharp breath and choose to remain in the here and now, even if it’s only temporary.

The now is all we have.

“It was during my first day at Blackwood High. Once again, I was mad at how Mom kept relocating us from one city to another. Not that I loved San Francisco, but it felt like home for so long. And out of the blue, Mom told me she’d bought a house in some town filled with rich people. We’d lived in small towns before and I’d hated them all. People in those places were mostly racist, narrow-minded assholes, and yet, Mom didn’t seem to care.

“I didn’t believe her when she said this time would be different. She kept singing different tunes about the wealth of the town or how the crime rate in Blackwood was close to zero or that its residents were the kindest. But she forgot the tiny detail about how I’d be a transfer student in the middle of my senior year and they’re always doomed for rejection.

“I missed the tour the principal specifically booked for Mom and me, because we arrived at the last second into town. In addition to being a new face in the middle of the year, I was completely clueless about how to get to Blackwood High, and to make matters worse, it was raining. The GPS got me to the top of a hill, then got so funky that I couldn’t tell whether the school was located to the left or the right. So I stopped the car on the side of the road near a football field and got out, assuming it was the school’s field. But I couldn’t find anyone to direct me to the stupid school. I thought my first day was doomed for failure from the get-go.

“But when I was walking back to my car, someone tapped my shoulder and pointed to the right without really looking at me. He was running in the middle of the pouring rain and he had earbuds in, so he didn’t hear me when I thanked him. He didn’t notice that I stood there, staring, thinking maybe this town wouldn’t be as bad as the others.” I gulp down the lump that has formed in the back of my throat. “That someone was you. It was a random show of compassion, but for a newbie in town who knew no one and was clueless, it meant a lot more than you’d think.”

He’s silent for a second and if it weren’t for the irregular rhythm of his breathing, I’d believe he’d fallen asleep or something.

“You probably don’t even recall that moment,” I blurt. “But…do you know why you did it?”

“Did what?”

“Pointed a stranger in the right direction. You lack empathy, so you shouldn’t have stopped to help.”

“I didn’t stop to help.”

“You tapped my shoulder and helped.”

“I probably saw something in you.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Just like I don’t know why I stopped and stared at you that day. Maybe all of those things led to how we got together.”

“You think?”

“I’m sure. After all, you watched me as much as I watched you. Did you have a crush on me, baby?”

“No!”

“Defensive, Tsundere. How about you be honest for once?”

“It’s just that whenever I saw you the other times, I thought of the feelings I’d had on that day. It was oddly relieving and safe.”

“Then I came along and crushed those feelings?” There’s an exhausted hoarseness in his voice, and while I love the natural edge of it, it’s abnormal.

“Not really.”

“Do you mean to tell me you still feel relieved and safe?”

“To a degree, yes. The way you came after me with sheer determination scared the shit out of me. Our relationship and depraved chases terrified me, too, but I do feel safe with you. If I didn’t, I would’ve ended it a long time ago.”

“Mmm…I…like that…” he trails off, his voice losing its raspiness and turning weak.