Micah and Beau each have a girl sitting on one of their muscular thighs. Aria sits next to Xander, her arm wound through one of his, almost as if she’s hanging on, and her head rests on his shoulder. Every once in a while, she flicks her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and looks up adoringly at something he says. Hurl.
I shake my head and get into the lunch line. My eyes get big when I see all the choices. A nice-looking guy slides his tray along the counter behind mine. “Too many choices, right?”
“Yeah, you can say that again. It all looks like it’s straight out of a gourmet restaurant, too.” I shoot him an awkward smile, then scan my card and head out into the virtual sea of black-and-red uniforms.
This is the worst. I knew it would be like this on day one, but I guess I was holding out hope after Max and Daphne latched onto me this morning that maybe I wouldn’t have to go through this.
Tucking my lip between my teeth, I command my feet to move. My heart rate picks up as I scan the room for an empty table. I would much prefer to sit alone than impose myself on people I don’t know.
I’m about to give up and head outside to the gardens to eat in peace when movement from the side of the room catches my attention. Daphne and Max wave, and my shoulders droop in relief.
I cautiously make my way in their direction, winding through the tables. Unfortunately for me, the only way to get to Daphne and Max is to walk right past the football team and their adoring fans.
As I walk past, Xander looks me up and down. “Fucking scholarship students. Am I right?” The entire goddamn table of football players and cheerleaders bust out laughing.
What. The. Fuck?
I avert my eyes, my face flaming red.
“Check it out. Her face just turned as red as her hair.”
I don’t even know which asshole said that, but I pick up speed to get away from them.
Daphne grits her teeth when I get to the lunch table she and Max have claimed. “This is not good.”
I set my tray down and flop down into the seat. I scoff, “You think?”
Max shakes his head, looking over my shoulder at something going on behind me. “Xander’s still watching you. He’s like, weirdly fixated on you or something.”
“Awesome.” I pick up my fork and dig into the lasagna I’d selected.
“You’ve got to tell us. You knew his name, but just how well do you know him? Did you date him over the summer or something? He’s giving off jackass ex-boyfriend vibes, you know?” Daphne is so absorbed in my current drama she hasn’t touched a bit of her food yet.
This drama is something I want no part of; I already have plenty. I prop my elbow on the table and lean my head against my hand, eyes focused on the food on my plate.
I’ve lost my appetite.
Daphne and Max wait patiently for any sort of a response. I set my fork down and look up at them. “I just met him last week while I was out running.” I shrug. “I got a stitch in my side and stopped to catch my breath. He came up on me and asked if I was okay and walked with me for a while. The next day, I got the impression that he’d been looking for me.”
The confusion clearly visible on both of the faces in front of me matches my own.
Max puts a forkful of pasta into his mouth, chewing carefully while watching the other table. “Weird. Because the kind of animosity he’s aiming in your direction is lethal to your start here. No one wants to put themselves on that kind of radar.”
Daphne elbows him. “Except us. He can be a dickhead all he wants. I don’t care. It’s high school, not the real world. Just wait until we graduate.”
I wince. “Well, don’t do anything you don’t want to on my account. I’ll be fine. I just want to know why everyone thinks he’s so freaking special.”
Max chortles. “Well, to start with, he’s hotter than sin.” When he’s done fanning himself, he continues. “Xander’s dad is Joseph Grey, so that automatically makes him important.”
I blink. “I don’t know who that is.”
Daphne picks up her water bottle and takes a quick sip as she sends a pointed side-eye in Max’s direction, and I’m struck with the impression she’s trying to relay some bit of information to him telepathically. “Grey Technologies? He’s the CEO. They’re loaded. Not to mention, like we told you this morning, the Grey family has been royalty around here since the school was built.”
My forehead creases in a mixture of frustration and disbelief. “All the money in the world means nothing if you’re a dick. I just don’t get why he would be super nice and then boom! He just turns around and acts like a total jerk.”
Max grimaces. “I’ve been in school with Xander since we were little. He’s always been a bit standoffish, a little different. I gave up trying to figure him out a long time ago. I think his parents’ divorce when he was younger fucked with his head.”
Daphne looks over my shoulder at the all-important table again. “Beau and Micah are a little more personable, but the three of them have been tight forever. Aria, too. They were in diapers together. Their parents are good friends.” Taking note of the screwed-up expression on my face, she lifts one shoulder, then drops it. “I get it. It’s a lot of weird bullshit to take in at once.”
A shout and a hoot of laughter has me turning to see what’s happening behind me. I’m not sure if it was a wise strategy to turn my back on that crew, but if I’m being honest with myself, I know my eyes would have been drawn back to Xander over and over again if I’d taken a seat facing his table. There’s something about his icy gaze that has me mesmerized when it definitely shouldn’t.
As we watch, I’m rather disappointed in myself to find I’m just as enthralled by their antics as everyone else in the room. Beau slaps the ass of the cheerleader on his lap and she yelps. The whole table is rolling with laughter about something.
I’m annoyed that I kind of want to know what’s so funny.
My gaze lands on Xander, and he shakes his head at his buddies. Aria tugs on his arm, and he leans his head down to hers so she can whisper in his ear. Whatever she says has all traces of amusement leaving his face. He looks up and locks eyes with me. The stare is steady as hell, but I can’t read him.
Fuck. I quickly turn back around. Just what I didn’t want to do—attract his attention.
Daphne blinks a few times. “I’ve never seen him so fixated on someone like this before. Interesting.” She puts a forkful of salad in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
Max mumbles around a bite of pudding. “Me neither.”
I blow out a breath. “So, he and Aria are together?”
“It’s hard to tell what they are to each other, but they’re always together at big events like dances or charity stuff with their parents. If you watch, Xander isn’t really into the PDA. And Aria totally hates that he doesn’t want it.” He snorts and nods at Xander’s buddies, who have their hands all over the girls on their laps. “Unlike the other two. I’m surprised Aria’s never tried to date Micah or Beau instead. Of course, they tend to use girls and toss them away like used tissues, so …”
I frown as I sneak a glance back over my shoulder. “I swear those girls are playing musical football player laps. Am I crazy?”