"You know," she said one day, casual and conversational. "Your plan's not going to work."
He paused. The plan. The plan that he never told her. The plan that she somehow had figured out.
It was a petty plan, and a rather childish one at that. It was sneaky, underhanded and spiteful.
And she was right; it wouldn't work.
The plan was what he thought would be the perfect way of crippling that boonie, the ignorant bumbling moron that pranced through his home region without knowing a single thing except the feeling in his gut.
His sad excuse of a rival called it a heart. And he had decided, back when he was making the plan, that he would hit him in the heart if that was what mattered to the blockhead so much.
Seducing and sleeping with the girl he travelled with had sounded like the perfect course of action back then.
Getting her in bed had been another mind game puzzle entirely; she'd been fiery, spontaneous and not easy to charm, and there had been times when he hadn't been sure of his plan working.
Eventually, though, his perseverance had brought back results, and part one of the plan had been completed.
He had yet to move onto part two – inform said sad excuse of a rival.
Somewhere along the mind games and trials, he'd gotten genuinely attached and attracted. She was beautiful, in her own exotic and vibrant way, and a clear, unique individual with a strong mind. She was direct, headstrong but knowledgeable.
She was refreshing.
And she was right in that the plan wouldn't work. When he'd gone after her, he'd learned enough about her to realize that she didn't care for the boy romantically, and the feelings were mutual. There would be no heartbreak, no crippling pain in the chest for the boonie. The plan, made under false assumptions, would have fallen through had he carried it out completely.
"You're right," he admitted. And then, because he was curious, he added "How long have you known?"
She didn't insult his intelligence by asking him what he meant. Instead, she flipped her long, wild hair behind her shoulder and shot him a sly grin. "From the very beginning."
"What?" he asked, surprised. When she laughed, he stared in disbelief before he realized what he'd really been trying to play with all this time. "Ah, yes."