EMERSON
"Quick question. How do dragons tell who their rider is?" I asked Emily and Darren over breakfast.
"They have a mark unique to just two of them," Emily replied. "Why? Did you find your dragon?"
"What? No! Not at all."
What were the chances that Armani had the same mark as me?
"It is initiated by touch. Your mother forgot to add that. We heard Armani found his rider. Looks like we kept you away for nothing," Darren said with a chuckle.
"Yeah," I said absentmindedly. "Are dragons and their riders privy to each other's thoughts?"
"Yes, but they have to work for it. They have to completely trust each other for that to happen."
"What about nightmares?" I needed to be a hundred percent sure when I approached Armani.
"I think so. Why are you asking?" Darren asked with a raised brow.
I faked a smile. "I just want to know these things when I find my dragon."
Emily beamed at me. "Any dragon will be so lucky to have you."
"Thank you." I managed a few more bites of breakfast before pushing my chair back. "I'm full," I said, making a showing patting my stomach.
Emily frowned. "You've barely eaten. This is why you're so tiny."
"I don't have a huge appetite. I promise I'm full," I lied. "I'll be off now."
I rose from my seat picking up my backpack from the tiled floors.
"Have fun at school today!"
"I will."
***
I didn't get to talk to Armani until it was lunchtime. It was my turn to get food, and he abruptly showed up beside me, grabbing a tray for himself. I wasn't going to say anything about how he boycotted the other students on the line.
"I need to talk to you, Armani," I said, looking up at him.
"You're stopping the line from moving, Emerson," he said instead.
I snorted. "Says the guy who boycotted the entire line."
"You should get off the line if you're not eating. No one is forcing you to."
"I need to talk to you," I said much more firmly than the first time.
"Shame. I have nothing to say to you."
I dropped my tray back on the counter, clamping my hand down on Armani's arm. I ignored the whispers as I dragged him out of the cafeteria. They were the least of my worries right now. I had to make sure Armani was telling the truth.
"I have a girlfriend, y'know," he said when I slammed the door to a classroom shut.
"This doesn't affect your relationship with her. Plus, you offered no resistance when I dragged you out of the cafeteria."
I didn't mention the fact that I knew whatever was going on between them was pretense. Okay, the dragon rider part was, but I wasn't sure about their relationship status.
"I'm curious to see where this madness of yours leads." He plopped down on the teacher's desk, raising a brow at me.
I momentarily got lost in those enchanting green orbs of his. They held so many secrets and pain I wanted so much to unravel until I knew what made him tick.
Call me crazy, but I wanted us to have a connection. I wanted to soothe his tortured soul. I wanted to be the calm to the storm that raged fiercely in his eyes.
I just met him, but that didn't serve as a reservation for me. I still wanted to know these things nonetheless.
"Did you call me here to eye fuck me, or do you actually have something to say?" He asked, snapping me back into reality.
"Uh, yes. Something to say." I was at a sudden loss for words.
Armani hopped off the desk without saying a word, heading straight for the door.
"Stop."
I reached for his hand, but before I could grab it, he slammed me against the door, his hand curling around my neck.
"What did I say about grabbing me without my permission?" He asked, his eyes darkening with unexplained emotions.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just didn't want you to leave."
"What do you want?" He finally conceded.
"Can you release my neck?" He did as I asked, taking a step back, but somehow still able to crowd my space. "Can you explain this?"
I hiked up my t-shirt, exposing the mark on my waist. "You grabbed me there yesterday. I was wondering if you knew what it was."
He was quiet for a long minute before I felt rather than see him come closer to me again. His body heat enveloped me, chasing away the chill in the air.
His fingertips brushed over the mark, sending a visible shiver through my body. My eyes met his over my shoulder. I gulped at the intense look in his eyes as he moved closer to me, pressing his body flat against mine.
I melted into his body, dropping my t-shirt, but his hand remained on my waist, his thumb flicking over the mark with feather-light brushes.
He lowered his head toward mine that intense look still raging in his eyes.
"Is Cheryl your girlfriend?" I asked when his lips were just an inch away from mine. I was a lot of things, but one thing I could never be was the reason a couple broke up. I didn't want to be the 'other girl'.
"I don't cheat, Emerson."
There. I had my answer. The thing with Cheryl was a ruse to throw everyone else off.
His lips had barely brushed against mine when we heard a knock on the door, effectively breaking the moment between us.
"Babe?" Cheryl called out.
Armani pulled away from me, and I immediately felt the loss of his warmth on my skin.
"She's a good actor," I said, turning to face him. "Everyone thinks you two are a thing."
"Don't believe anything I said. I wanted to fuck you. Big deal. People say shit they don't mean when their senses are clouded with lust."
My cheeks heated up. He wanted to fuck me?
"So, you're a cheat?" He said nothing in reply. I got him there and he knew it. "Why are you lying about her being your rider?" I asked instead, clearing my lust-fogged brain.
"I'm not lying about anything," he said, his face giving nothing away.
"Explain this." I grabbed his hand, holding it in front of his face. "You have an identical flame."
He yanked his hand out of my grip. "Ever heard of tattoos? Don't be stupid, Emerson. You're not going to get what you want from me. Stay away. For your own good." He added the last part when he was at the door.
Before I could reply, he walked out, leaving me alone in the classroom.
"What were you two doing in there?" I heard Cheryl ask.
"Nothing. Forget about her. She's a nobody," Armani replied before their footsteps faded.
I was a nobody.
For someone who didn't know shit about me, his words stung, but I had my confirmation. I was Armani's rider.