Page 65 of Rituals & Rivalry

Not that it was easy to do. I’ve wanted to kiss her every day since—every time she wears one of her little skirts, every time she bends over her desk, every time the setting sun shines through the windows and right onto her round face. When she smiles, I especially want to kiss her, but it’s never directed at me anymore.

I wince. “It’s all right. Please.”

Stop talking about it.

“Well…” She shrugs. “They’re already making our food. We already wasted the start of our lunch break. Might as well eat, right?”

Aurora smiles at me; it’s the first real one she’s given me in days, and I find myself melting for it, nodding even though I only somewhat agree. Yes, we can eat, but that doesn’t mean we have to eat together.

“Sure,” I say. “Might as well.”

“Cool.”

This feels too much like a date, which was probably the reason Farrah went out of her way to set this up.

“How are you enjoying working with Jewel?” I sip my water just to have something to do.

“Oh, she’s great! A really cool boss, and the pay is good—but I mean, it’s obviously about more than that pay.”

“Nothing wrong with being in it for the pay.”

My work is my passion, but it’s unsurprising that most people wouldn’t enjoy it. Antoni is here for the paycheck, and while it took him a while to get the hang of things, he puts effort in. He’s decent these days.

Aurora puts in effort, too. I see that.

“Right, right…” She tucks her puffy hair behind her ears and peers up at me from beneath her long, dark eyelashes. Does she realize how she’s looking at me, so doe-eyed and sweet? “Can I admit something?”

I nod, my mouth strangely dry.

“I’ve kind of missed hanging out with you.” She wrinkles her nose. “Sorry. I think that sounded better in my head.”

“Did it?” I tilt my head.

“Yeah. I sound kind of… I don’t know. What are your plans for Halloween, anyway?”

“I may pop by Donnie’s Halloween party. Have you met Donnie?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t talk much, so…”

So, she didn’t get an invitation. Truthfully, no one gets an invitation to his events. They happen every year, on the same day, and we all sort of show up. I skip most years, but if Aurora is going…

“You should go too,” I say. “He invites everyone.”

“Oh? Maybe I will.”

Silence passes by for too long.

“We could go together,” I say slowly.

It feels like she’s a horse, and I’m trying too hard not to startle her.

Her eyes widen as if she’s terrified. “Us? Together?”

“Yes. Us.” My brow furrows.

She said she missed spending time with me, but gods, this is all so confusing. Maybe she meant she misses planning events with me. We’re colleagues now, and she’s probably being professional. I’m the one ruining it. My awkwardness isn’t the reason I stopped dating, but come to think of it, it may be a close second.

She looks down at her hands for too long. “I’d like that. Like, I don’t want to go alone—even if he invites everyone. I mean, I’ve crashed a party before, but it feels different in Starbrook. Everything is different here.”