Page 164 of Axis of Fire

Then he pointed a finger at me.

“And for the love of God, don't wear heels to the beach.”

I snorted.

The memory hit instantly.

Our first year at university.

Our first trip to Liverpool.

I'd completely forgotten about the beach and showed up in absurdly high heels.

And instead of taking them off and walking barefoot through the sand like a normal person, I'd stubbornly kept wearing them purely out of spite.

My friends never let me forget it.

“I'll pack the art supplies myself,” Dwayne continued.

“Need to impress Lars somehow.”

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“I'm almost certain he's coming with us.”

“God help him.”

“God helps the brave.”

“God abandoned you years ago.”

Dwayne gasped dramatically.

“I can't believe you'd say that to your favorite person.”

“You're not even in the top three.”

His wounded expression followed him all the way into the hallway.

Even after he closed the door, I could still hear him talking to himself.

Or maybe rehearsing pickup lines for Lars.

With Dwayne, it was hard to tell.

Smiling despite myself, I walked toward the closet and started pulling out clothes.

But as the smile slowly faded, my thoughts drifted back to Airis.

To the argument.

To the things neither of us had said.

We needed to fix whatever was happening between us.

Because the problem wasn't the tension anymore.

The problem was that I cared.