40

I've rehearsed this conversation in my head a hundred times. Replaying every moment, every word he's said to me that's left me more confused than ever.

And now, as I stare at him, I feel the frustration rising again.

"Then what was all that about?" The words come out sharper than I intended, but I don't regret it. I need him to hear me.

It's now or never.

Levi's brows furrow, his usual confidence slipping for a second. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Levi," I snap, crossing my arms tightly across my chest as if that might keep the emotions inside. "One minute you're teasing me like usual, but then—then you're... different. You give me these looks. You get close—too close. You flirt with me like it's nothing, and I—" My voice wavers. I hate how vulnerable I sound, but I keep going. "You leave me confused. You give me these signals, and then you just pull away."

Levi opens his mouth to say something, but I'm not done.

"And then Mia showed up out of nowhere —" I continue, my voice barely above a whisper now. "You invited her to our hangouts. And I thought... I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was reading too much into things. Maybe all the flirting was just part of our stupid banter. But then there was that picture. And now this."

His eyes flash at the mention of the picture, and I know he remembers it as clearly as I do.

I say, staring down at my hands. "You sketched me. Not like one of your usual, sarcastic doodles, but... me. Sitting at the restaurant across. And you didn't say anything, you just gave it to me like it was nothing."

I let out a shaky breath. "But it wasn't nothing to me, Levi. It never was."

The weight of my words hangs in the air between us. I can't bring myself to look at him, afraid of what I'll see in his eyes. Instead, I continue, my voice thick with emotion.

"You confuse me. You push and pull and play these games, and it hurts. It hurts because I like you, Levi. There, I have said it. I've tried so hard to keep it hidden. I tried to stop — I couldn't though. But I can't anymore. It hurts too much." My voice breaks, and I bite my lip, trying to keep the tears at bay.

For a moment, the only sound is the rustling of the leaves outside us, the soft hum of the world continuing as mine falls apart.

When I finally gather the courage to meet his eyes, I see the shock in them. His usual calm, cocky demeanor is gone, replaced with something I can't quite place. Guilt? Regret? I don't know.

"Cora..." he starts, but I cut him off.

"Don't," I say, holding up a hand. "I don't want your pity. I just need to understand." My voice is trembling now, the weight of all the feelings I've kept hidden crashing down on me. "Why do you keep doing this? Why give me mixed signals if it doesn't mean anything to you?"

Levi shifts uncomfortably, his eyes flicking away from mine. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" I demand, my voice rising in frustration. "Because you sure haven't done anything to make it clear. You act like you care one minute, then Mia shows up and suddenly I don't even exist."

He flinches at that, his jaw clenching. "Mia was just—"

"A co-worker, right?" I finish for him, a bitter laugh escaping me. "That's what you said. But it didn't feel that way, Levi. You two were close. Too close." I swallow hard, fighting the tightness in my throat. "I saw the way you looked at her. The way you smiled when you were with her. You were so easy with her, and I—"

I can't say the rest. The jealousy, the insecurity—it's too raw, too painful. I've spent so much time hiding it, and now, laid bare in front of him, I feel exposed. Vulnerable.

Levi's quiet for a long time, too long. His silence only makes the ache in my chest worse. I can't take it anymore.

"I thought you felt something too," I whisper, staring at the ground. "But I guess I was wrong. I was reading too much when there was nothing to read."

"Listen to me.", he said.

"Why should I listen to you?" I snap, my voice harsher than intended, cutting through the charged silence between us.

Levi's eyes flash, but instead of the sharp retort I expect, his lips twitch into a slow, deliberate smirk. Then he says something that knocks the wind out of me.

"Because you owe me, sweetheart."

Sweetheart.

The word sends a jolt through me, freezing me in place. Levi's never called me that before. Not in all our years of rivalry, not in all our biting exchanges. I blink, the room tilting as I try to wrap my head around it. Sweetheart. Coming from him. It feels... wrong. No, it feels too intimate, too personal.

"What did you just call me?" I ask, the words slipping out before I can stop them. My heart is racing, and I hate how unsettled I feel.

"You heard me," he says, stepping closer, the smirk never leaving his face. His eyes are locked on mine, daring me to react.

I take a step back, crossing my arms as I try to regain my footing. "And what exactly do I owe you?" The confusion gives way to realization as it hits me—the escape room. That stupid, ridiculous bet. "You're really bringing that up now?"

Levi's face hardens, his smirk fading into something more serious, more dangerous. "I won. You owe me. And that means you're going to listen to what I have to say, without interrupting."

I open my mouth to argue, but the intensity in his gaze stops me. My stomach twists with a mix of frustration and something I can't quite name.

"And why should I care about what you have to say?" I shoot back, trying to salvage some control. "You never listen to me."

"Because I like you — so much that it's hard getting you out of my system."

The words hit like a punch to the gut. My breath catches, my pulse skittering wildly. "You've—what?" The disbelief is evident in my voice. I shake my head, trying to make sense of what I've just heard.

"You think I've spent all these years competing with you for nothing? All that back-and-forth, all those arguments—it was never just about winning." His voice is rough, almost vulnerable, but his eyes never leave mine. "You've been under my skin since day one, Cora."

I can't process it. The idea that Levi—could've felt this way the whole time is impossible. "No," I say, backing up a step, shaking my head. "No. You're just messing with me again."

"I'm not," he growls, stepping closer. His eyes are burning into mine, and I can't look away. "You've always been too caught up in beating me to notice."

I stumble over my words, my mind spinning. "If that's true, then—" I hesitate, the words catching in my throat before I force them out. "What was it with Mia, then?"

Levi blinks, the shift in topic clearly catching him off guard. I press on, the frustration bubbling up in me.

"You told me she was just a co-worker," I continue, my voice shaky but growing stronger. "But it felt like something more, Levi. You two were—" I stop, swallowing the bitter taste of jealousy that's been lingering since I saw them together. "It didn't feel like nothing."

Levi's expression hardens, his jaw clenching. "Mia was just a co-worker and a friend." he says slowly, his voice laced with something raw. "There was never anything more. You think we had something going on? We didn't, we were just good friends."

I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "Really? Because it sure looked like there was. You think I didn't notice how close you two were? How easy it seemed with her?"

He steps forward, his eyes flashing with frustration, but there's something else there too. "You were jealous." It's not a question. It's a fact. And the way he says it sends a rush of heat through me.

"I wasn't jealous," I snap, even though we both know it's a lie. My heart is racing, and I feel like I'm on the edge of something I can't pull back from.

Levi's eyes soften for the briefest second before his hand reaches out, cupping my cheek. The touch is unexpected, gentle, and I feel like the ground is crumbling beneath me. "Mia was never you, Cora." he murmurs, his voice low and full of meaning. "It was always you."

I swallow hard, my chest tight. The room feels too small, too charged with everything unsaid between us. I want to push him away, to retreat behind the safety of our old dynamic. But I can't. Not when he's looking at me like that. Not when his thumb is tracing slow circles on my skin, sending sparks of electricity through my body.

"And you," he continues, his voice dropping even lower, "you're still pretending you don't feel the same, aren't you?"

My breath catches. He's too close. His hand, his gaze, his words—they're all too much. I try to find something to say, something to break the spell he's casting over me, but nothing comes.

"Admit it, Cora," he whispers, leaning in. "You feel it too. You've always felt it."

I hate that he's right. I hate that my heart is pounding in my chest, that I can't think straight with him this close. But most of all, I hate that I can't lie to him anymore.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I say, my voice barely a whisper, but even as the words leave my mouth, they feel empty.

Levi's lips hover near mine, his breath warm against my skin. His hand tightens slightly on my neck, pulling me closer until there's barely any space left between us. "Then prove it."

But I can't. I don't. Because deep down, I know he's right. And that terrifies me more than anything else.