FRIDAY'S GIRL ·ϿʘϾ·

Chapter 34

That Saturday, I woke up very early, my head in the clouds due to what had happened the previous afternoon. I had spent most of Friday's review session joking around and flirting with April. I had really behaved like a mischievous kid desperately seeking attention. She played along a few times, though she kept scolding me to focus on what we were doing. The lesson ended with her arms around my neck as I kissed her on the dining room table.

"I don't think this is very professional of me, Mr. Owens," she whispered against my lips, smiling mischievously.

"Hmm..." I responded, giving her another passionate kiss. "We're alone, and my parents won't be back for another two hours."

"Mhm..."

"Would you like to come up to my room, Miss Storm?" My offer was anything but subtle.

"Not even in your wildest dreams, Mr. Owens." April gave me a quick kiss on the lips before hopping off the table, where she had been sitting until that moment. "They say good things come to those who wait, and you'll have to learn to be very patient with me."

"How cruel you are!" I lowered my head, giving her my best puppy-dog eyes.

"Poor thing," she smiled, giving me a kiss on the tip of my nose.

"You know I love you." I took her by the waist to give her another breathtaking kiss.

April tensed up when she heard my words. Maybe I hadn't been convincing enough, so I gently caressed her face, hoping to achieve the desired effect. I had declared my "supposed" feelings to her several times, but for some reason, she remained silent.

How ironic to think that there I was, so sure of myself and my sexual appeal, trying to extract a confession from her that I wasn't even sure I wanted to hear. For me, saying "I love you" no longer meant anything. They were just empty words, a weapon in my game of manipulation; Maddison and Oliver had robbed even that from me.

My classmate, with her bright and trusting eyes, had become just another piece on the board. Sure, I was attracted to her, I might even like her a little, though I didn't want to admit it, but being in love with her? Ha! No way, impossible. I would never fall into that trap again. This wasn't love, it couldn't be. My heart had already been sacrificed on the altar of betrayal, murdered in the most despicable way by two people I trusted. And, as everyone knows, a dead heart cannot be brought back to life.

"But it bothers you to see her near Oliver, and every time CaliPartyGuy18 gets a message from her, you get in a foul mood," that insufferable voice whispered to me, whose mission in life was to make me doubt myself. "Of course it bothers me, but out of self-respect, because I'm not willing to share her with anyone," I responded in my head, gritting my teeth.

April was going to be mine in every imaginable way. The mere idea of Oliver seducing her filled me with a rage I couldn't manage. I couldn't quite understand where this intense feeling was coming from. Maybe it all stemmed from the need to control the situation or to prove to myself that I had the power to make someone fall blindly in love with me without reciprocating; to no longer be the one who loves more in a relationship.

"I said I love you," I insisted in her ear, causing her to gently push me away from her body.

"Look at the time! I have to go home or I'm going to get in trouble for being late." Her wide eyes were fixed on the clock hanging on the dining room wall, trying to avoid meeting my gaze.

Her silence was a small victory and a defeat at the same time. I liked that she played hard to get, even though she was dating me while knowing I was in a formal relationship with someone else. So why couldn't I stop thinking about it? Why did her silence affect me so much? Deep down, I needed someone to break that destructive cycle, to show me that "I love you" could mean something real.