Chapter 81 The date

Chapter 81 The date
Chapter 81

DARIUS 

We stopped at a small coffee shop on the way back, one of those quiet places tucked away from the main streets that most students did not know about. 

The interior was cosy and warm, with mismatched furniture and soft lighting that made everything feel intimate and peaceful.

I ordered coffee for both of us whilst Ravenna found a table near the window and began pulling out the snacks she had brought along. 

We spread our notebooks and papers across the surface, transforming the small table into a makeshift workspace.

"Who is going to present the final pitch?" Ravenna asked whilst organising her notes into a neat pile. "We should probably decide that soon."

I shrugged and took a sip of the hot coffee the barista had just brought over. "I do not know yet. When the time comes, we will figure out what makes the most sense. Maybe we both present different sections."

She nodded in agreement, then suggested we start rehearsing our business pitch properly. 

We took turns reading through our prepared speeches, each of us demonstrating how we would present the material to a room full of potential buyers and investors.

When it was Ravenna's turn to present, she stood up and began reading from her notes with careful concentration. 

Her voice was steady and confident as she worked through the pitch we had spent so many hours perfecting together.

I should have been listening to the actual words coming out of her mouth, critiquing her delivery and pointing out areas that needed improvement. 

That was the entire point of this rehearsal. 

But instead, I found myself getting completely carried away just staring at her.

All I could see was the intensity in her hazel eyes as they moved across the page. 

The vibrant red of her hair catching the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window. 

The smooth column of her throat as she spoke. 

Her lips rolling and shaping each word with careful precision, bringing our business proposal to life in a way that made it sound almost magical.

I was unusually quiet, not interrupting or mocking or making sarcastic comments the way I normally would have.

I should have been biting out critical words, making fun of something about her reading, finding any excuse to spite her and maintain the distance between us. 

But I was not in the mood to do any of that right now.

All I wanted to do was watch her. To memorise every detail of her face. To study how her expressions changed as she moved through different sections of the pitch. To commit this moment to memory so I could replay it later when I was alone.

Atlas began pacing restlessly inside my mind, reacting strongly to her scent at this close proximity. 

It was getting stronger lately, more intoxicating and harder to ignore. 

The wolf kept pushing forward, demanding I acknowledge what we both knew was true but I refused to accept.

Ravenna seemed completely focused on what she was doing, either ignoring the fact that I was staring at her so intently or genuinely not noticing. 

She did not point it out or make any teasing comments. 

She just continued with her presentation, though I could see tension in her shoulders that suggested she was very aware of the electricity crackling between us.

I glanced around the coffee shop and realized we were the only customers left. 

Evening had approached so fast whilst we were absorbed in our work. The sales girl was cleaning up behind the counter, probably hoping we would leave soon so she could close up. 

But I did not want to point out the time because that would mean returning to the academy, and I would lose this excuse to be close to Ravenna without anyone else around.

When she stumbled slightly over a complicated word in the middle of a sentence, something in me seized the opportunity.

I stood up slowly and moved to position myself directly behind her chair. 

My body was close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off her skin.

"Your posture needs adjusting," I murmured, my hands coming to rest lightly on her shoulders. "Delivering a speech is not just about the words. You need to be confident in your stance as well."

I guided her shoulders back slightly, straightening her spine whilst my breath fanned warm against the side of her neck. "If your posture looks weak or uncertain, the potential buyers will not pay attention to what you are actually saying. They will dismiss you before you even finish."

All the while I was speaking, my hands traced slow paths from her shoulders down her arms, eventually coming to rest on top of her hands where they lay flat on the table.

The contact sent electricity shooting through my entire body.

Ravenna turned her head to look at me, and suddenly our faces were so close that our lips almost brushed together. 

I found myself leaning forward without consciously deciding to do so, drawn to her like a magnet. 

But she pulled back teasingly, moving just out of reach with a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

My hand came up to steady her, fingers wrapping gently around the back of her neck whilst my lips hovered over hers. 

I could feel her breath mingling with mine, could see her pulse jumping rapidly in her throat. 

The moment stretched out, both of us frozen in this space between wanting and restraint.

Then reality came crashing back in with brutal force. 

I jerked away before our lips could actually touch, putting distance between us so fast.

Atlas whined loudly inside my head, furious and disappointed. "You are such an asshole. Why did you pull away?"

I chuckled darkly at my wolf's anger whilst trying to calm my racing heart. "Do not be deluded to think I'd kiss her. She is still my enemy, and we should not forget that simple fact."

"Stop with the bullshit you keep telling yourself," Atlas snarled back viciously. "Just admit that you feel something for this girl. If you did not, why would you take her out like this? Why would you have fun with her and laugh with her and almost kiss her? Just admit it and stop being such a dick about everything."

Before I could respond to that accusation, Atlas pushed forward aggressively. "And do not you dare try to push me back down right now. If you do, I swear I will force a shift right here in this coffee shop and embarrass you in front of her. I am done with your denial."

"You are becoming a real pain in my arse," I muttered internally.

"And you will never be able to get rid of me," Atlas completed the thought smugly. "So you might as well accept what I am telling you and stop fighting against it."

I turned back to look at Ravenna, who had been watching this entire internal struggle play out across my face with curious, questioning eyes. 

The vulnerability in her expression made my heart race, but I could not allow myself to feel that.

I could not let myself want her the way every part of me was screaming to.

So I did what I always did when things got too real, too intense, too close to breaking through my carefully constructed walls.

I hid behind coldness and cruelty.

I walked back to my seat and dropped into it.

Then I picked up her notebook from where she had left it on the table and began flipping through her notes with exaggerated criticism.

"Your way of speaking is all wrong," I announced harshly, my voice dripping with the kind of cruel mockery I had perfected over years. "Your delivery is weak and unconvincing. No potential buyer would ever take you seriously if you present like that."

I continued tearing apart every aspect of her presentation, pointing out flaws that did not actually exist and mocking her efforts in the most cutting way possible. 

With each word, I watched her expression shift from confusion to hurt to anger.

Finally, Ravenna had enough. She slapped her notebook shut with a loud crack that echoed through the quiet coffee shop. 

Then she stood up abruptly, grabbed her bag, and walked out without saying a single word to me.

The door swung shut behind her with a soft chime.

I sat there alone at the table surrounded by our scattered papers and half-finished coffee cups. 

The silence felt suffocating and wrong in a way I could not quite explain.

Watching her leave hurt more than I would ever admit out loud. More than I could acknowledge even to myself.