The conversation
1363 Words
He took a whole 10 minutes to reply, she was already sure he wouldn’t when he did.
About?
She stared at the single word and cursed under her breath. What did she think? Nathan would never make anything easy for her.
She typed: you want me to come in so we could talk about it? She made sure the threat was obvious but subtle. Though knowing him, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea for her to threaten him.
She stared down at her phone, on his name, waiting for him to type something, anything. But she only waited in vain.
Just as she turned around to head inside, she bumped right into just the person she was waiting for. Her body hit hard against his chest. Adria hated that his body felt so built. And she hated more that she noticed it.
She looked up at him as she took a step back; he was so tall. His gaze was flat, he looked down at her with his brow slightly raised at her.
“You don’t want to talk anymore?” he asked her quietly.
She swallowed. “Well, I waited for a while here. Thought you wouldn’t come,” she said as she backed away.
Her lips slightly pressed against each other with a pinched look. She wanted so bad to act like a goddamn teenager and turn everything into a fight, but she had a point she wanted to make. She had to be logical.
She pushed away the strands of her chestnut hair behind her ear and looked at him, waiting for a response.
“I don’t like being interrupted when I’m eating my food, I love to take my time.” His eyes pierced deeper. “Good dishes shouldn’t be eaten undone.” His husky voice made the sentence more provocative.
His eyes didn’t leave hers as he said those words, making Adria actually question the innocence of those words. Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.
What was he doing? Did her mind suddenly become rotten? Or was he really saying those things to get a reaction out of her?
“I don’t have all day,” he said as he walked past her to the flower pot near the entrance.
She rolled her eyes and followed behind him. His hair was almost dry now. That didn’t make his stiff face any less uncomfortable to look at. His blue eyes pierced through hers and she immediately looked away.
He let out a low but harsh scoff followed by a shake of his head. She gave him a pinched expression. “So infuriating,” she muttered under her breath.
“Didn’t catch that,” he said, leaning closer.
“I said such a good boy.” Her fakest smile didn’t stand a chance against the one she was flaunting at him.
He grinned so hard that he couldn’t help the smile that chipped at the corner of his lips.
“Did you just say call me a good boy?” he asked her with bewilderment.
She shrugged at him. “I know you’re not. But you don’t have to brag about it.” Her tone was low but sounded entirely taunting.
He let out a chuckle. “So you think I’m a bad boy then?” He sounded bemused, but in a good way.
“You tell me, I’ve known for only a short period of time and record hasn’t exactly been great,” her voice grew more confident and defiant.
His brows arched, that familiar smirk tugging at his lips. He leaned in just enough for her to feel the heat of his stare.
“Careful,” he murmured, voice dipped with amusement. “You’re starting to sound like you want me to prove you wrong.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, forcing a scoff even though her pulse betrayed her.
“In your dreams,” she muttered, trying to sound unbothered. “You’re not that irresistible.”
Though her voice didn’t quite match the steadiness she wanted.
His grin widened, slow and knowing, like he’d caught her bluff.
“Not that irresistible?” he echoed softly. “Funny, your voice says otherwise.”
She rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. “You hear what you want, don’t you?” she shot back, arms crossing in mock annoyance.
“No ma’am,” he said as his smirk deepened, eyes glinting with mischief.
A beat of silence stretched between them, his grin still lingering like he’d won something, her arms folded tight across her chest. The air buzzed with unspoken challenge, but she drew in a steadying breath, forcing her tone back to business.
“Enough,” she said, cutting through the moment. “This isn’t why I called you out here.”
That earned her a curious look, his smirk softening into something more watchful.
“Oh? Then do enlighten me,” he drawled, folding his arms to mirror hers.
She exhaled sharply. “We need to stop giving them a reason to breathe down our necks. If we keep snapping at each other, they’ll never let us breathe.”
His brows rose, amusement flickering across his face. “So, let me guess—you’re suggesting we play nice? Smile at the table, nod politely, pretend we don’t want to strangle each other?”
“Exactly.” Her voice was firm, though her eyes sparked with irritation. “It’s either that or deal with constant lectures, and I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the lectures.”
He leaned against the wall, crossing one ankle over the other, looking entirely too relaxed. “Huh. Never thought I’d see the day you’d beg me to play nice.”
She shot him a glare sharp enough to cut. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not begging. I’m being practical.”
His smirk returned, slow and deliberate. “Practical. Right. You just can’t resist teaming up with me.”
“Teaming up with you,” she repeated dryly, “is the last thing I’d ever want. This is survival. Nothing more.”
He tilted his head, studying her with infuriating calm. “Survival, huh?”
“Yes. Or don’t you want to go back to your place?” she asked with feigned concern.
“Oh, you know I have a place?” he asked with a grin.
“Don’t even,” she warned.
Maybe she didn’t know that, but Nathan thought that no matter how much she tried to stare daggers at him, the look ended up being cute. She had such feminine features that were captivating.
“I wasn’t about to say anything,” he said, raising his hands.
She eyed him. “Are you in or not?” She had patience, but not when it came to Nathan. He infuriated her.
He gave her a curt smile. “Oh, I’m in,” he said with a firm nod. “See? This is me admitting openly to you being irresistible. I can’t say no to you, stepsister,” he said with pure sarcasm.
Adria’s nose scrunched up with annoyance. “You just blab anything.”
“Anything that would make you annoyed, yes,” he said in confirmation, which made Adria slap his arm. She regretted it. Because now she felt warm where their hands touched.
He stared down at her hand before looking up at her.
“You have tiny fingers.” It definitely looked like there were, in fact, thoughts behind those blue eyes of his.
“So?” she asked innocently, which earned her a smirk from him.
“They don’t do much.”
She was confused as hell, but he didn’t give her a second to think.
“Let’s do this, Nut,” he said as he stood up straight. “But if we’re doing this little act, you’d better be convincing. Otherwise…” He let the word hang in the air, a teasing edge in his tone as he walked past her.
Her jaw tightened. “Trust me. I can sell it better than you.”
She heard him scoff.
- Writer
