“You’re asking me that?” Charles mouthed with disbelief.“You know everything about me,” she said.“Why are you suddenly obsessed with knowing me?” he asked.“What?”Charles smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s not complicate things for each other. You said you wanted to learn to fight. Let’s do that instead. And, Sadie…” he hesitated. “Be careful around Natasha. I don’t like her vibes.”“There’s nothing wrong with her,” Sadie snapped. “And whether you tell me about yourself or not, I don’t care anymore. But I’ll do my part — I’ll keep being honest.” She stepped back, her voice trembling. “I’ll meet you in the gym room.”She turned and left.Charles clenched his fists as he watched her go. Of all the things he liked about her, the one thing that would never work between them… was her need to know too much about him.Because he wasn’t ready to tell anyone shit about himself.Trust people too much with your secrets and you’ll end up learning what they can really do with

Sadie blinked, a little stunned. Then, slowly, she nodded—crawling closer to him. Her hands pressed against the mat as she leaned in, inch by inch, her breath brushing his skin. Charles closed his eyes. One… Two… Three seconds passed. Nothing. His eyes snapped open—Sadie was staring right at him, a teasing smirk curling her lips before she broke into a loud laugh. “That’s exactly what you did the other time in front of Damien!” she managed between giggles. Charles groaned, shoving her lightly off him as he sat up. “We can still kiss if you want,” Sadie said, standing, her grin stretching wider. She stepped closer, eyes glinting. “Come on, let’s kiss.” “Stop,” Charles muttered, his face burning red. “Come on, babe. Let’s kiss.” He