Chapter 4 Chapter 4
Maya
I should leave.
That thought had been repeating in my head for the last five minutes.
A perfectly reasonable thought.
A smart thought.
The kind of thought responsible college students listened to.
Unfortunately, my body seemed completely uninterested in cooperating.
Because despite every logical argument my brain was making, I was still standing in the middle of a crowded football house staring at Cole Ryder.
And somehow he was staring right back.
The music pulsed through the walls.
People laughed nearby.
Someone dropped something in the kitchen.
The entire party continued around us.
Yet all I could focus on was the guy standing three feet away.
Which was irritating.
Deeply irritating.
Because this was Cole Ryder.
The football captain.
The pizza thief.
The human embodiment of every bad decision a woman could make.
And somehow he kept making me forget basic things.
Like breathing.
Or forming complete sentences.
Or leaving.
“I should go.”
The words finally escaped.
Cole nodded immediately.
“Okay.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Okay?”
“Okay.”
Something about his agreement annoyed me.
Which made absolutely no sense.
“You don’t seem very upset about that.”
One corner of his mouth lifted.
“There it is.”
“There what is?”
“The real reason you haven’t left yet.”
I folded my arms.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure.”
His grin widened.
I hated that grin.
Mostly because it made me want to smile back.
“I do have somewhere else to be.”
“Mhm.”
“I do.”
“Maya.”
“What?”
“When you’re lying, your nose wrinkles.”
I immediately touched my nose.
Cole laughed.
A real laugh.
Not the confident football-player smile.
An actual laugh.
The jerk.
“You just proved my point.”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
The answer came far too quickly.
His expression shifted the second he said it.
Not regret.
More like surprise.
Like he’d spoken before thinking.
For the first time all night, Cole Ryder looked slightly off balance.
And oddly enough?
I liked that.
A lot.
“You’re awfully confident,” I said.
“Usually.”
“Usually?”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
The movement looked strangely nervous.
“I was having a better night before you showed up.”
I blinked.
That wasn’t what I expected.
Not even a little.
“You were?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
He looked at me.
Really looked at me.
Then he sighed.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only answer you’re getting.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Typical.”
“Sweetheart, you came to my house specifically to mess with me.”
“Technically, that was Bree’s idea.”
“But you came.”
“I was peer pressured.”
“You walked in looking like that.”
My stomach immediately betrayed me.
“Looking like what?”
His gaze drifted over me.
Not in a creepy way.
Not even in a cocky way.
More like he genuinely couldn’t help it.
“Like trouble.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks.
I hated how much I liked hearing that.
The worst part?
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
His grin returned instantly.
“There she is.”
“Stop.”
“What?”
“Whatever you’re doing.”
“I’m standing.”
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
His laugh was softer this time.
“I honestly don’t.”
That should have sounded arrogant.
Instead, it sounded honest.
Which was somehow worse.
The noise of the party faded into the background again.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Enough for me to notice how close he was.
Enough for me to notice the way his attention never seemed to wander.
Enough for me to realize I wasn’t thinking about my essay anymore.
Or my pizza.
Or leaving.
And that realization should have alarmed me.
Instead, it made my pulse speed up.
Which was definitely alarming.
Cole took half a step closer.
Not enough to invade my space.
Just enough that I noticed.
His expression softened slightly.
Gone was the cocky football captain.
Gone was the guy who stole my dinner.
For a moment, he looked almost…
Curious.
Like he was trying to figure me out.
And somehow that felt more dangerous than flirting.
“You know,” he said quietly, “I probably should apologize.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“For what? Breaking into my house or stealing my pizza?”
His grin returned.
“Both.”
“Good answer.”
“I’ve been practicing.”
“You need more practice.”
“Fair.”
For a second, we simply stood there smiling at each other.
And that was the problem.
Not the flirting.
Not the compliments.
Not even the staring.
The problem was that being around him suddenly felt easy.
Comfortable.
Like we’d known each other longer than a week.
Like this wasn’t the first real conversation we’d ever had.
My stomach tightened.
Because easy was dangerous.
Easy was how people snuck past your defenses.
Easy was how people mattered.
And I absolutely refused to let Cole Ryder matter.
His gaze dropped briefly.
Then returned to mine.
Something shifted.
A quiet moment.
A fragile moment.
One of those moments where you become painfully aware of every inch separating you from another person.
My pulse jumped.
The room suddenly felt warmer.
And for one terrifying second, I wasn’t sure who leaned in first.
Maybe neither of us.
Maybe we just stopped moving away.
Then—
“RYDER!”
The shout exploded through the house.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Cole flinched.
Actually flinched.
Which would have been funny if my heart wasn’t trying to escape my chest.
A guy came barreling into the hallway looking absolutely horrified.
“Coach is here!”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Cole blinked.
“What?”
The guy pointed downstairs.
“Coach Daniels.”
Another pause.
“With his wife.”
Cole closed his eyes.
Slowly.
Like a man receiving terrible medical news.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“He’s wearing the angry jacket.”
The guy looked genuinely traumatized.
I stared between them.
“What is an angry jacket?”
Neither man answered.
Which somehow answered the question.
Cole dragged both hands down his face.
“This house is cursed.”
The guy nodded.
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
Then he noticed me standing there.
His eyes widened.
“Oh.”
I immediately didn’t like that.
“What?”
He pointed at me.
Then at Cole.
Then at me again.
Understanding dawned on his face.
“Ohhhh.”
Cole groaned.
The guy backed away.
Quickly.
Smart man.
Before he disappeared, he offered one final piece of wisdom.
“Good luck, man.”
Then he vanished.
I looked at Cole.
Cole looked at the ceiling.
Then the music downstairs abruptly stopped.
A deep voice echoed through the house.
“RYDER!”
Every trace of color drained from Cole’s face.
I burst out laughing.
I couldn’t help it.
The sound just escaped.
His head snapped toward me.
“You’re laughing?”
“You’re terrified.”
“I’m not terrified.”
Another shout echoed.
Louder this time.
“RYDER!”
I laughed harder.
“Oh my God, you are.”
Before he could defend himself, Bree suddenly appeared beside me.
Like she’d been summoned by chaos itself.
“There you are!”
I pointed accusingly.
“You abandoned me.”
“I strategically relocated.”
“You disappeared.”
“You seemed busy.”
Her eyes flicked between me and Cole.
Then she grinned.
Uh-oh.
That grin never meant anything good.
“Oh my God.”
“No,” I said immediately.
“Oh my God.”
“Bree.”
“You two were having a moment.”
“We were not.”
She pointed at us.
Neither of us spoke.
Unfortunately, that silence was probably the worst possible response.
Bree gasped.
“You absolutely were.”
“Nobody asked you.”
“I know.”
She looked thrilled about that fact.
Downstairs, Coach Daniels yelled again.
Cole physically winced.
I lost it.
Another laugh escaped.
His eyes narrowed.
“Enjoying yourself?”
“A little.”
“A little?”
“A lot.”
That earned me a reluctant smile.
Then another shout boomed through the house.
“RYDER! NOW!”
Cole sighed dramatically.
The sound of a man accepting his fate.
He looked at me.
Really looked at me.
And suddenly the amusement faded.
Just enough.
“Don’t leave.”
The words caught me off guard.
So did the sincerity behind them.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then he took a step backward.
Another.
“Seriously.”
My pulse stumbled.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
His expression relaxed.
Just slightly.
Then he pointed at Bree.
“This one can’t be trusted.”
“True,” I admitted.
Bree gasped in betrayal.
Cole grinned.
Then he turned and headed toward the stairs.
Toward Coach Daniels.
Toward whatever disaster was waiting downstairs.
I watched him go.
Which was a mistake.
Because the second he disappeared, I realized something uncomfortable.
I wanted him to come back.
Beside me, Bree sighed dramatically.
“Oh, he likes you.”
I tore my eyes away from the staircase.
“No.”
“Maya.”
“No.”
She smiled knowingly.
I hated that smile.
Mostly because for the first time all night…
I wasn’t completely sure she was wrong.
