Chapter 5

Ryder's Pov

The next morning, I was no closer to figuring out how to make Lila say yes.

I’d run through at least six different approaches in my head, be nice, be pushy, be charming, bribe her with coffee, play the pity card, even ask Coach to talk to her again, but every version ended the same. She’d look at me with those steady, unreadable eyes and tell me no. She wouldn't even consider it.

And I didn’t have time for a no. That would hurt.

The clock was already ticking. My grades, eligibility, scholarship, every day mattered.

I had gone to the coach's office before class. When I entered, he was standing near his window, looking over the school grounds.

“Hi Coach.” I said softly.

“Son, you're early today.”

“I learnt my lesson yesterday. Didn't want to repeat the same mistake.”

“Good.” He turned to look at me.

“Figured out a way to get Lila to coach you yet?”

“I'm still on it, Coach. It'll happen.” I told him softly and he nodded.

“Alright.” The bell rang at that point.

“See you later, Coach.”

“Be good, Kid.” I walked away without looking back. I walked back to class, thinking of a way to talk to Lila. I didn't find any.

So when I spotted her in the third period, sitting two rows ahead of me, I decided maybe I’d just… talk to her. Simple. Direct. How hard could that be?

Apparently, harder than it looked.

I waited for a moment when the teacher wasn’t looking and leaned forward, keeping my voice low. “Hey. Lila, right?”

She didn’t turn. Didn’t even twitch. Just kept her eyes on her notebook like I wasn’t there.

Okay. Not exactly a warm welcome.

“Hi, can you hear me? I need to talk to you, please.” Still nothing. Not one reaction. Ouch.

Fine. I’d wait until after class.

When the bell rang, she stood immediately, sliding her books into her bag. A girl with long blonde hair joined her, laughing about something I couldn’t hear.

I caught up in three strides. “Hey.”

Both of them turned.

“My name is Ryder,” I said, holding out a hand. “I figured I should introduce myself before we start working together.”

The blonde-haired girl glanced between us, curious. “I’m Harper,” she said. Then she tipped her head toward the blonde. “And this is Lila.”

Lila’s eyes locked on mine, cool and unblinking. She didn’t take my hand.

So much for “working together” being a done deal.

“Coach told me you could tutor me,” I said. No point wasting time.

Her jaw tightened. “I’m not interested.”

“This is my one shot,” I told her, stepping closer. “One big chance. I can’t mess this up.”

Her gaze didn’t soften. “I’m not getting on the ice. And I’m not trusting anyone again. I told Coach to find you another tutor. Like I said before, I'm not doing it.”

The way she said it made me wonder who she’d trusted before, and how badly they’d let her down. Her eyes looked determined but I could also see the pain in them. But before I could ask, she turned to Harper.

“Come on.” she said, tugging at Harper's wrist.

Harper gave me an apologetic smile as Lila grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

I watched them go, and despite the brick wall she’d just thrown up, I felt a slow grin creep onto my face. I liked the challenge. No one had intrigued me the way Lila did. And I loved the fact that she made everything a challenge.

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to go hunting for opportunities to push her. Turns out we had nearly every class together. We were both finals in Arts major. And thank God for luck. Maybe that’s why she already felt… familiar somehow.

By the last period, I could tell she was ready to bolt the second the bell rang. Which is why I moved first, after the last person.

When she reached the door, I was already there, blocking her from leaving.

She stopped short, narrowing her eyes. “Move.”

“Just hear me out,” I said. “I’ve got a proposal.”

She looked at me for a long time, as if studying me then she glanced at her watch.

“You have one minute and this better be worth it, Ryder.”

I didn’t even think, just blurted the first insane idea that came to me. “Be my fake girlfriend.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“Im not kidding, Lila.”

She stared at me like she was trying to decide if I was actually dangerous or just incredibly stupid.

“What does being your fake girlfriend have to do with tutoring or a scholarship?”

I leaned against the doorframe. “If you’re my fake girlfriend, I’ll put in a good word for you to the coach

You’ll get the scholarship you want. And I get the clean slate I want.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You think you know what I want?”

“I know you’re not just here to fill time. You’ve got plans. Dreams. This could help both of us.”

She crossed her arms. “No.”

“Think about it. It's a win-win for both of us, Lila. You teach me, I pass, we both get scholarships. And you don’t even have to set foot on the rink to teach me. You can just tell me what you do from the stands.”

She closed her eyes briefly, like she was trying to process my particular brand of crazy. For a second, I thought I saw the wall she kept around herself crack, just a little. I thought I had gotten to her at least.

Then she opened them again. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy but you… you really have lost your mind.”

With a shove to my shoulder, she pushed past me and walked out.

I let her go, but my eyes couldn’t help following the soft sway of her hips as she disappeared into the hall.

Yeah, I was definitely in trouble.

Because Lila might think she’d made her decision, but I was already planning how to make her change it.