“Of course. It’s normal for a girl to join her boyfriend for lunch, isn’t it?”
“So, you’re serious?”
I raised my eyes to the ceiling. “As serious as it can be, Colby. I did try to tell you yesterday, and he showed up this morning to give me a ride, and… Well, you were there.”
His head turned away from me, back to his own computer. “Sorry, I thought you were just a hookup to him.”
I pulled my lips into my mouth, biting down on them until they stung. “I’m sure if you ask him yourself, he can rectify that assumption.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary.”
I bet it won’t.
Once class was done, I was out of there, ready to get away from Colby. I didn’t get far, though. No sooner had I got through the door, Colby was at my side again.
Just outside the room, a few feet away, Quinn stood with Josh, leaning against the wall. His gaze landed on me, then flicked to Colby. A shadow crossed his features as he pushed himself away from the wall, Josh stopping mid-sentence, and headed toward me.
“Hey, babe,” he said, approaching me. His hand lifted to my face, then pushed through my hair, stroking down behind my ear. “Ready for lunch?”
“Of course, babe,” I replied, with way too much force.
He leaned toward my ear. “You’re a terrible actress, Kinsley,” he whispered, his warm breath against the sensitive skin, making me shiver. “Just act as though you actually like me, and everything will be fine.”
By the quizzical look on Colby’s face, it was obvious I’d gone over the top...
I smiled like Quinn had said something sweet in my ear, hoping that I didn’t fuck that up, too. “It won’t, baby,” I purred, trying to sound like a sex kitten but sounding more like a wet dog. He pulled back quickly, confusion on his face. “As long as we’re together, I’ll make sure of it.”
His lips twitched, and he moved closer to my ear again. They brushed the shell of my ear, prickles ran down my spine, and my stomach clenched. “The first one to fold, loses,” he whispered.
“Oh, but I won’t.” I giggled, sucking my lower lip between my teeth, trying to look like I was thoroughly enjoying myself.
“We’ll see.” He blew across my skin, and goosebumps spiked all over me, almost painful as they shot up like spears, pricking me all over. I swallowed hard as he dragged his lower lip across my cheek and toward my mouth. “Stubborn,” he breathed.
“You have no idea.” I got that from my dad, but at that moment, my stubbornness was no longer a gift.
He ran his nose toward my temple. “Hmm.”
The hum against my cheek had my mouth pooling with saliva, causing me to swallow over and over. “You’re crossing a fine line.” His torso pressed gently against me, his open jacket either side of my chest with my breasts glancing off of his. My nipples hardened in response to the friction, the laced fabric of my black bra scraping my hard buds.
“If you’re gonna make out in the hallway, do it already. Some of us need to be somewhere,” a short girl said, flicking her red hair back. “God, get a fucking room, why don’t you.”
Quinn chuckled against my cheek, the vibrations of his deep timbre rumbling through me. “Saved by the redhead,” he said, pulling back.
“Who was saved?” I asked, raising my brow, attempting to look like my legs hadn’t just been about to give way. “You or me?”
He mirrored my expression. “I guess we’ll never know.”
It was definitely me, no denying that.
“Well, now that the show’s over, let’s go get some food. I’m fucking starving,” Josh complained.
“Come on, babe,” Quinn said to me, jerking his chin. “My woman needs to eat.”
And just like that, I snapped out of my mini bout of sexual frustration, but the flames in my face had yet to die down. I glanced at Colby, who hadn’t moved and was still studying us.
Quinn didn’t say another word to me as we sat, and the asshole acted like whatever the hell happened in the hallway, hadn’t. He sat staring at his sub, biting chunks, chewing, and repeating the process until he was done. He reached for his bottled juice and took a long swig, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.
“Are you gonna do that the entire time we’re sat here, or are you gonna eat?”
“Excuse me?” I gasped.
“You heard me,” he said, not looking at me. “You’ve stared at the side of my face the whole time I’ve been eating.”
I lowered my voice, not wanting to be overheard. “You know, if you want me to pretend to ‘like you,” I said, holding my fingers up for emphasis, “then you should maybe give me a reason to.”
He stopped then and looked at me out of the side of his eye. “Oh, yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah. How could anybody like you? You’re moody, intolerant, and an all-round general douche canoe.”
His brow lifted. “Tell me how you really feel.” He smirked.
“Oh, I couldn’t—I’d probably hurt your feelings.” I scrunched my nose, my lips lifting a little as I did. “Ya know, let you know that these people who you want to stay away from you don’t actually exist, and you think you’re some fucking hotshot that has people hanging off of his every sparse word. Well, I don’t see any of those people clambering over each other to get a piece of you.” I made a point of looking around, my hands out as though searching. “Yeah. Not-a-one has approached this table.” I grabbed my lunch, stood up, and then leaned down to his ear. “You’re a fucking joke, Quasimodo. A huge fucking liar who thinks he’s all that when, in fact, he isn’t.” I paused, then stooped again. “Oh, look at that. I guess I told you how I feel after all.”
Josh sat poker straight, his expressionless face focused on me before switching to Quinn. “Ouch.”
I walked away from their table, just the two of them sitting there, mumbling to myself about finding somewhere else to eat.
This place was way too small to get even a corner in private. So, figuring the library was the last place that’d be popping with students, I headed upstairs to the first floor. It was as though I was the scared kid hiding from the bullies when I just wanted somewhere to go to be able to calm down.
I found a quiet nook between the shelves of science books, the dusty covers in the shadows from the lack of sunlight in the area. It was the perfect spot.
I ate my lunch in silence, sitting right at the back by myself, just like I had in the last few weeks at Crosshall, déjà vu hitting me square in the face, laughing at the position I’d found myself in.
***
I stopped outside of the door to English and readied myself to face my last class of the day. I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath, slowly exhaling before opening my eyes.
I walked through the door to a half-empty room, more students coming in behind me, chattering away. Their voices lowered when they saw me there; something that had never happened before in my two short months at Broken Hollow.
The two seats near me were empty, giving me the reprieve I needed until they showed up. The terrible two; one worse than the other.