He stood up abruptly, pulling her up with him thanks to the handcuffs, and pinned her against the wall. His grip on her wrist tightened.
Ni-ki leaned in closer, his voice a cold whisper. "You're playing with fire, angel. Don't think for a second tha...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
RHAINE'S PHONE RANG loud enough to drag her from sleep. She groaned, glancing at the clock—6:57 a.m. She was tempted to ignore it, but when she saw Garam's name flash on the screen, she sighed and picked up.
"Hello?" she mumbled, her voice groggy.
"Rhaine! Guess what? I'm meeting this guy today!" Garam's voice burst through the speaker, full of excitement.
Rhaine's eyes shot open. "What? Who?"
"A guy I met on Tinder!" Garam replied, her tone practically sparkling.
"Tinder?" Rhaine blinked, her brain catching up. "Wait, how long have you two been talking?"
"Like...a day?" Garam answered casually.
Not again.
Rhaine choked, sputtering into the phone. "A day? Garam, you barely know this guy!"
"Don't be so uptight," Garam defended. "He's hot, Rhaine. Like, really hot. He sent me a pic of his big boy abs."
Rhaine rolled her eyes, the sleepiness fading fast. "That's what you said about the last guy. And the one before him. And the one before that."
"Those were different," Garam protested. "This one... this one has actual potential."
"Potential?" Rhaine scoffed. "You barely know him, and you're already meeting him in person. It's like you never keep the same guy for more than a month."
"Maybe that's because none of them keep me entertained," Garam shot back, unbothered.
"You know, there are better ways to find someone interesting," Rhaine replied, crossing her arms even though Garam couldn't see her. "It's like you're only picking them based on looks."
"Well, excuse me for having standards," Garam said, feigning offense.
"It's not about standards," Rhaine argued. "It's about getting to know someone first. You can't swipe right on a personality."
"Gosh, girl. You sound like my mom."
"Maybe that's because someone should be looking out for you," Rhaine countered.
"You're not really the best person to give dating advice," Garam pointed out. "You're the one faking a relationship with Ni-ki."
Rhaine made a sour expression. "It's different."
"Is it, though?" Garam laughed. "You're pretending to date a guy you used to hate. Isn't that, I don't know, kind of worse?"
Rhaine groaned, clearly frustrated. "I swear, Garam, it's not what you think."
"Oh really? Because I still don't know what happened after yesterday," Garam said, her tone shifting. "You—disappeared. Where did you go?"
Rhaine cursed quietly under her breath. She had completely forgotten to explain. "Shit, I was supposed to tell you."
