“So they like to get a rise out of you... You know, some people call that foreplay.” Her brows waggled suggestively.
“Oh my god, you are serious.”
Flick shrugged. “I’m just saying, he’s looking at you like you’re oxygen and he’s drowning.”
No, he wasn’t.
Was he?
I discreetly peeked over at the football team again. They always sat at the same tables; the ones next to the windows overlooking the athletic field. Cameron wasn’t watching me now. He was talking to a petite blonde thing—a junior called Kayla, or maybe it was Kylie. I wasn’t sure, because unlike most of the kids at Rixon High, I didn’t make it my life’s mission to know everyone. In fact, I could count my friends on one hand. But it was easier that way. When we’d started high school together, and people realized I was Jason’s step-sister, they looked at me differently and I quickly became a stepping stone to Rixon High royalty.
Something I had no desire to be.
Ever.
I watched them together. Cameron smirking, her practically in his lap, all doe-eyed and coy, in a totally obvious kind of way.
“Is that jealousy I see plastered on your face?”
I leaned across the table and pressed my hand to Flick’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” We’d never talked much about Jason and his friends, let alone looked at them. But I’d caught Felicity’s eyes wandering in their direction more than once this week.
“Deny it all you want, but I know these things,” laughter filled her voice, “and I’m telling you Cameron’s into you.”
Into making my life hell more like.
I rolled my eyes at her, but found my gaze wandering back over to him. The blonde was stroking his stubbled jaw now, her chest pushed up against his. God, I wasn’t jealous. I was nauseous. The way girls threw themselves at them was disgusting. Raiders didn’t date. They screwed around. Rotated through girls like an all you can eat buffet. And the girls at school were all too willing to be on the menu.
“Remember that quiz we had to do at the job fair last year?” Flick said, her eyes darting to the tables the football team occupied. “How many girls do you think answered jersey chaser for the ‘where do you see yourself in five years time’ question?”
I snickered. “Too many.”
“It’s so pathetic.”
“Desperate,” I added, feeling a strange dip in my stomach. Ignoring it, I pushed my plate away, slid on my glasses, and pulled out my sketch pad and pencils.
“What’re you working on?” Flick leaned over to get a better look. “Wow, that’s good, Hails, really good.”
Pride swelled in my chest. I didn’t draw for other people, but it never hurt hearing someone appreciated your art. The piece, a sketch of kids filing into school I’d titled ‘first day rush’, had taken me hours but it still wasn’t quite finished. I liked to carry a project around with me for moments like this.
Moments where I needed to escape all the bullshit that came with being Jason Ford’s step-sister.
“Hmm, Hails.” Flick’s voice ruined my concentration and I glared at her.
“What?”
“Is that any way to greet your... friend?
I glanced over my shoulder to find Asher Bennet standing behind me, a smug grin plastered on his face.
“What do you want?” Pencil poised between my fingers, spine rigid, I readied myself for whatever bullshit he was about to throw my way.
The tables surrounding us had grown quiet. Everyone knew Jason and I were step-siblings. Everyone also knew there was no love lost between us. He didn’t usually come after me during school, preferring to keep our games out of the public eye, so whenever he or one of his friends approached me, it usually warranted everyone’s attention.
“I just wanted to return this.” He plucked something from behind his back, dropping it on the table in front of me.
My eyes widened and then narrowed at him with contempt. “Where the hell did you get this?” Heat flamed my cheeks as I covered the familiar black lacy bra with my hands, slowly dragging it toward me. It was a stupid question, one I already knew the answer to, but he’d caught me off-guard.
“You left it at my house.” Asher stroked his jaw, raising his voice a few decibels to make sure everyone in the immediate vicinity heard him. “When we... you know...” His brows quirked up, a wicked smirk plastered on his face.
The table across from us all snickered, a low rumble of whispers starting to build around me. Son of a bitch. I balled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my palms. There was no way to spin this to my advantage and from the arrogant glint in his eye, he knew it.
I knew if I looked over at the football table, Jason would be watching his plan unfold just the way he’d hoped. I was foolish to let my guard down. But after three days of radio silence, a tiny part of me had hoped he’d finally called a truce. Stupid girl. There would never be a truce between us, and I’d stopped wondering a long time ago why he hated me so much.
But I refused to just roll over and take his shit.
I couldn’t.
Keeping my glare on Asher, and not the football table, I stood up, and before I could stop myself, I slapped him. The crack of my palm against his cheek pierced the air and his eyes darkened. “What the—”
“You promised,” I cried with Oscar-worthy gusto. “You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone. I thought… I thought I meant something to you. I thought you loved me.”
He jerked back. “L- loved you?” Asher laughed but it came out all strangled and wrong. “I never said—”
“Sure, you did.” I inched closer to him, lowering my eyes and gazing at him with what I hoped were convincing puppy-dog eyes. “Right after we… did it, you said you loved me.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jason moving toward us, anger burning in his blue eyes. Knowing I had his attention, I continued. “I know you’re worried about what Jason will say, Ash, but it’s okay.” My hands slid up his chest and his expression fell. “We can be together. Jason won’t… Oh, hi, Jason.” I finally looked at him.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he seethed, derision rolling off him.
Stepping back, I moved closer to Jason, cutting us off from prying eyes since we had the attention of the entire cafeteria now. “You think you’re so fucking slick,” I said through gritted teeth, still smiling. “You’ll have to try a damn sight harder than that to embarrass me.”
The second I said the words, I saw his eyes light up. Crap. I usually didn't bite, but he got under my skin so much. Too late now though, I’d openly challenged him. And Jason never backed down from a challenge.
One of the few things we had in common.
“Jase.” The sound of Cameron’s gruff voice startled me. I hadn’t even realized he had approached us. My eyes lifted to where he stood to the side of Asher. “Come on, she isn’t even worth it,” he said coolly, not even flinching as the words left his lips, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
But I did flinch.
Even now, after all these years, it was hard to forget Cameron wasn’t a good guy. He was a jerk, just like my step-brother and Asher and the rest of the football team. But until this week, he’d never been so obvious about his dislike for me. Not that it really mattered because the feeling was entirely mutual.