Buzzed Hearts

22: prove it again

SHE FINDS HIM IN THE exact place where they met. The day that Camila broke off things with Isaac Ayama and thrust herself into the perilous world of dating. It's hard navigating it but she thinks she's got it down.

"Why."

Maybe she could've been a bit more eloquent.

"Why?" Laurent looks up from his book.

"Okay, first of all, you were napping just now and propping open a book isn't going to disguise it because you're reading the translator's note and no one reads those. Second, yes. Why?"

"Why, what? Mila?"

Her voice drops to a whisper. "Why did you say what you said."

"What did I say?"

At this point, he's playing with her. A slow grin slips onto his mouth and his eyes, oh his eyes. Framed by curving lashes the color of dark almond with terrifying contents below. Even though she swears she's memorized it, Camila still can't remember where the depthless, dark blue ends and where the daybreak gray starts.

"Love is for suckers," she says softly, but not without a gasp.

He laughs until he starts to cough. Adorably, of course.

"Because it's fucking true, why do you think? Don't you agree?"

"No!"

"You should. Stop wasting time on useless relationships."

"I don't want to."

"You should. None of them are going to matter a month from now."

"They will."

"They won't. Believe me."

"I don't. I don't believe you," she says.

In this secluded corner, he reaches his hand out until it grazes her jaw and tilts her lips to his. Even if they weren't alone, he would have done it. All of this to prove a point.

"See? Nothing. Because I'm not a sucker," Laurent says. He's wearing his usual ensemble of a sports hoodie over joggers. He smells the same and his hair is the effortless, tousled blonde that he's known for—by the underclassmen girls. But Camila doesn't see him as she did before.

"Prove it again. Kiss me," she blurts out. "Again."

"In your dreams. I know you're after this hot piece of ass," he says.

Her eyes widen and his sigh reaches her ears. "If you know then why—"

"You're cute, okay? But I don't like anyone enough to date them at this point. You should probably get back with Isaac or Rhys or someone. Second chances are also love, aren't they?"

"You're wrong Laurent. You love me but you're just scared because you think you can't handle someone like me."

Laurent keels over with laughter again. "Oh, I love your determination. Fat chance."

"Skinny chance."

"What?"

"I'm saying this, Laurent, you're just an insecure little—"

"Reverse psychology won't work on me."

"We'll see."

"We'll see, Mila."