Me: Wow, you’ve got quite the little perverted mind, Alexis Baker.
Lex: Probably because I’ve been hanging out with you so much lately.
Me: Hanging out? Is that what you wanna call our constant, hot make-out sessions?
When she doesn’t answer right away, I wonder if perhaps I pushed her too far. Then she replies, and a smile curves across my lips.
Lex: It’s not my fault you keep kissing me all the time. My lips must be really irresistible.
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as images of kissing those irresistible lips of hers replay through my mind.
Me: Oh, they fucking are.
Lex: I was just kidding.
Me: And I was definitely not kidding. Your lips are the most irresistible thing I’ve ever tasted. Like ever.
Lex: You’re such a freak.
Me: And you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
I wait for her to respond, but a message doesn’t pop up right away. I can see the dots on the screen, though, so I know she read the message. Eventually, she texts me again, and honestly, I don’t know what to make of it.
Lex: We need to talk after detention is over. Meet me out in the hallway?
Like I was just going to take off.
Still, the way her message seemed to shift to formal has me concerned.
What if she wants us to just be friends?
What if she tries to put an end to …?
I shake my head at myself. Put an end to what? None of this was ever supposed to be real to her. We were supposed to be fake dating, though I had hoped it’d lead to more. But that doesn’t mean she wants it to. Honestly, I’m not sure what she wants. For all I know, she could just pity me.
Great, this awesome plan of mine is turning into a real disaster.
Just like my life.
But I am going to do one thing right.
Taking out my phone, I send a text I’ve been meaning to send all day before Loraine and Eli distracted me.
Me: We need to talk.
Blaine: I’ve got nothing to say to you, asshole.
Me: You may not have anything to say right now, but you might after I tell you why we need to talk.
Blaine: Go fuck yourself. The moment you sucker-punched me, you lost your privilege to talk to me.
I roll my eyes. Privilege. Like it’s some sort of honor to talk to him.
Me: How about this then? We’re gonna talk about why Lex has been getting texts from an unknown number that’s registered in your name.
When he doesn’t answer right away, I know. Know that he’s somehow involved with this. Deep down, I think I’d been hoping Ellis was somehow wrong. Not because I want to stay friends with Blaine—our friendship ended the moment he broke Lex’s heart. No, I’m worried how Lex is going to handle this. Worry that her heart is going to get broken all over again.
Blaise: Meet me at my house at six.
That’s all he says, but it’s enough for me to be certain.
Certain that he’s part of this.
5
Alexis
I’m a nervous wreck during the rest of detention, for a few reasons, one being that I know Loki is going to be super upset with me when I get home. And two being that, after detention, I’m going to force myself to talk to West about what the blackmailer told me. Because, if I don’t, then I’m basically playing their game. And while I may have never said I wasn’t going to play their game, I know I can’t. At least, not for reals. If I talk to West, maybe we can come up with our own plan to play with the blackmailer.
I also need to talk to him about our fake relationship, because the line between what’s real and just pretend is starting to get blurry.
As detention comes to an end, I make my way out of the classroom then linger in the hallway, waiting for West to come out.
While I’m standing there, going over what I should say to him, my phone goes off. I immediately tense, wondering if it’s the blackmailer. Nope. It’s Loki
Loki: Don’t forget that you’re supposed to go straight to the store to paint it after you get out of detention. And then, when you get home, we’re going to sit down and have a little talk about what happened today.
Which means he’s going to chew my butt out for getting detention. Or maybe he’s just going to tell me it’s time to move out, that he is officially done with me. He kind of made it clear the day I got hauled to the police station that he was tired of my crap. Maybe this was the final straw. I am going to be turning eighteen soon, so he could tell me to move out.
I don’t know, though. Loki isn’t that hardcore, no matter how much he pretends to be.
Me: I figured as much. And I’m heading to the store in just a few. I didn’t forget.
Sighing quietly at that thought, I put my phone away and wait for West, who’s gotten trapped in a conversation with the teacher monitoring the classroom today, who also happens to be the PE teacher and coach. West used to play a lot of sports before he just up and quit, so he knows the coach pretty well.
The hallways are fairly vacant as I wait, something I’m relieved about since everyone has been gawking and whispering about me all day. Some were discussing the fight that went down between Masie and me, while others were gossiping about my and West’s heavy make-out session in the car. It’s annoying. Not that I care that anyone saw us making out. I mean, that was sort of the point of us fake dating in the first place. However, I’m not a fan of gossip. Masie used to do it all the time, and it was annoying.
“Hey,” West says as he exits the classroom with a few books in his hand. He offers me a small, somewhat nervous smile as he stops in front of me. “Sorry I got us detention. I know you were already in trouble. I hope this doesn’t make it worse.”
I give a dismissive wave of my hand. “It’s not your fault. I chose to be part of … what happened in the car.”
What did even happen in the car? Was that all pretend? Or did West really want to kiss me?
Do I really want to kiss West?
I sort of do, and that scares the crap out of me.
Hesitancy is written all over his face as he assesses me. “You’re okay with what happened?”
“You mean with getting detention?” I shrug. “I’ve gotten detention before.”
He slowly shakes his head, his gaze welded to mine. “No, with what happened in the car between us.”
“Oh.” My fingers unconsciously drift to where a hickey is branding my skin, memories of how it got there floating dizzily through my mind. Then I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “I’m fine with that … I just …” I grimace. “I just don’t get exactly what happened between us.”
A crooked, amused smile touches his lips as he brushes the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip. “Well, first we kissed, and then I bit your neck.” His gaze briefly strays to the spot marking the moment. Then he leans in and lowers his voice. “And then you grinded against me over and over again.” He kisses me then, just a light brush of lips. And once again, all thoughts vacate my mind as I reach up and hold his shoulders as I kiss him back.
Yesterday, when I drew a sketch of him, I wanted to erase the pain that haunted his eyes. Apparently, my dumb ass thought that meant kissing him. A lot. So much so that I forget about everything else. Like the fact that I’m supposed to be at a store, painting over my art.