Page 132 of Face Off

Ryan released the paper. I expected him to move. Instead, he remained in front of me while the morning shifted around us.

“We were good,” I said.

“At scavenger hunts?”

“At us.”

His expression closed slightly.

“We were good as fuck, Ryan. We loved each other. We laughed, fought, studied, drank wine, and somehow made sense when we shouldn’t have. We were incredible until my fears became louder than everything else.”

“Your fear kept me hidden and that was unbearable to me.”

“And yours convinced you that leaving no room for forgiveness was the only way to survive me.”

His jaw tightened.

I knew what happened when Ryan reached the limit of what he could hold. His pain sharpened until every tender part of him became something he could use to cut the person standing closest. And he’d turned that edge on me with enough force to ensure I would never mistake his goodbye for uncertainty.

I didn’t want to summon it inside a hedge maze while both of us were buzzed and wearing pastels. I also refused to take back the truth.

Ryan looked down at the map. “The center is east.”

He started forward.

I followed beside him. “You didn’t say I was wrong.”

“I didn’t say you were right.”

“That sounds like forced politeness.”

“That sounds like me trying not to ruin Cade’s wedding before lunch.”

“You have two days.”

“I’m pacing myself.”

The humor returned carefully, carrying the part of the conversation he could survive. I let him have it.

We reached the center several minutes later. A stone pavilion stood beneath climbing ivy, with an employee waiting beside a pedestal containing the second wooden heart.

“You found it,” she said.

“Despite her leadership,” Ryan replied.

“Because of my map.”

“The map I had to recover from your shorts.”

The employee blinked.

“He didn’t recover it,” I clarified.

“I demonstrated restraint.” I say and look at the confused employee. “She weaponized my imagination.”

“That was self-defense.”

The woman handed us the wooden heart bearing an L, then directed our attention toward the challenge card. “To receive the next clue, you each need to write one thing your partner does that makes other people feel loved.”