Look at me.
Cassie was not avoiding Damian Wayne.
She was simply choosing to ignore him. There was a difference.
After enduring an entire night of interrogation from Stella and Natalia, she had decided that the best way to prove them wrong was to simply act as if Damian didn’t exist.
Easy, right?
Wrong.
Because Damian, being the annoying, stubborn, and impossible person that he was, had noticed immediately.
Which was why, at this very moment, Cassie was hyper-focused on checking the readings from her Lantern ring, pretending that Damian was not standing three feet away, staring at her.
She felt his gaze like a weight on her, heavy and unrelenting.
He said nothing at first, just watching.
Waiting.
Cassie kept her eyes on the holographic map from her ring, tracing over crime hotspots, her heartbeat betrayingly fast for no reason at all.
Damian took a step closer.
Then another.
And then—he was right in front of her, his green eyes sharp, his expression unreadable.
Cassie ignored him.
Or at least, she tried to.
“Jordan.” His voice was smooth and firm, just a little demanding.
She hummed absently. “Busy.”
She didn’t look up.
Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Cassie knew that look. The he’s planning something look.
Before she could react, his gloved hand reached out—gently, but without hesitation—and tilted her jaw upward.
Cassie froze.
His fingers were warm despite the leather, his touch light but insistent.
“Look at me.”
His voice was softer this time. Not demanding. Just asking.
Cassie swallowed. Her heartbeat betrayed her again.
Her eyes flicked to his.
And suddenly, she was trapped—because Damian had this way of looking at people, like he saw straight through them, peeling back layers until there was nothing left to hide.
Cassie hated how her stomach fluttered.
“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked, studying her.
Cassie willed herself to breathe normally.
“I’m not avoiding you.” She forced a smirk. “You just have a big ego and assume everyone’s thinking about you all the time.”
Damian’s lips tugged upward slightly—not quite a smirk, but something close.
“Perhaps,” he admitted. “But I know when you’re lying.”
Cassie scoffed. “And what makes you think I’m lying?”
Damian’s thumb brushed against her jawline, barely there, before he slowly let go.
Cassie missed the warmth immediately, and that annoyed her.
Damian stepped back, still watching her like he was piecing together a puzzle.
“You tell me.”
And with that, he turned and walked off, leaving Cassie standing there with a racing heart, a confused mind, and the distant echo of his touch lingering on her skin.
Absolutely not.