“Really nice use of shadow, Donovan. You have a great eye for detail.”
I look up from my easel and smile. “Thank you.”
He raises an eyebrow before speaking. “But I don’t know how you concentrate with all the incessant cell phone interruptions. Perhaps next class you turn the problematic thing off?”
Shit. My nose wrinkles as I stare at my paper. Busted.
I’m going to kill them. Grey and Liam manage to get me in trouble even when they aren’t with me. But in the last few weeks I’ve been more forgiving, just wanting us to fall back into our rhythm. For the most part, we’ve done just that, but sometimes, they look at me for too long or maybe it’s me looking at them.
Glancing up again, I wince as I mouth, “Sorry,” smiling only when he looks amused and nods.
He passes behind me, taking in other students’ work, and I quickly steal a glance over my shoulder. I make sure I’m being ignored, before dipping my shoulder sideways to reach into my bag. I fumble around as my fingers search for my cell, before grabbing and turning it off. There. Ignored for the rest of class.
Scooting a bit to resituate on my stool, I place a foot on the floor and look at the bowl in the middle of the circle of students when the door flies open, catching everyone’s eyes, including mine. My mouth drops open in surprise as Liam and Grey breeze through the doorway like arrogant gods, straight toward me, much to the teacher’s dismay.
“Excuse me, Mr. Brooks…Mr. McCallister. I’m teaching. Leave.”
Liam shrugs, uncaring, spinning from the teacher to face me and smiling deviously with a damn toothpick between his teeth. He bends to grab my bag and throws it over his shoulder. “Hey, Van.”
What the hell is going on? I don’t answer, opting for a grin because when they’re up to no good, it’s hard to say anything to stop it. Been there, done them.
Grey looks over his shoulder at the teacher. “Don’t worry, we’re leaving. We apologize for the rude interruption.” Hitching his thumb at me, he adds, “But I left something in here I need.”
Grey’s hand finds mine, tugging me up with a blush on my face, as a laugh bursts past my lips. “Oh, and I’m your ‘stuff’ that you left? Classy.”
Grey throws me a wink, and I would keep giggling, but the very unamused teacher looks sternly at the boys and then to me, effectively shutting me up.
“Miss Kennedy, I will write you up for leaving early and without permission.”
Uh-oh. Joke’s over.
“No. I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Grey counters, full of the high-handedness that’s so well practiced.
“And why is that?” the teacher responds, crossing his arms.
But Liam chuckles and points to the ceiling just as the bell sounds. They don’t hesitate, pulling me out of class past an angry teacher and whispers from the watching crowd. We get halfway down the hall before I stop laughing and make them quit basically dragging me.
“What are you two doing? I sense a plot.”
They both turn, full of irreverence. Grey bites that damn bottom lip, and Liam takes the toothpick out and tosses it in the trash before he licks his lips. I’m completely and undeniably overwhelmed. I feel like I have to hold my breath when they stare at me like this—at the same time with matching intentions. It’s too much déjà vu. Like any minute, they’ll pounce, and I’ll let them.
“Spill. What’s going on?”
My voice fades toward the end because Grey starts to circle one way as Liam goes around me the other way, making me switch my head back and forth, stumbling over my feet as I turn around, trying to track them.
“Seriously? What are we doing? You can’t be this excited about lunch.”
They glance at each other and back to me. Grey comes around the right side of me and leans in. “It’s October first.”
I shrug, shaking my head because he says it as though it’s supposed to mean something.
“Uh…I’m going to need a better clue than the date. Are we celebrating surviving the first month of school?”
They just keep circling like vultures while people make their way to classes around us, making me giggle again.
“You’re so dramatic. This better be good.”
I lock eyes with Grey and raise my brows for an answer, but it’s Liam who makes me jump from my left side when he whispers in my ear, “It’s Movie Madness.”
The hall becomes quiet as the bell rings again, and they wag their brows at me.
“What does Movie Madness mean, exactly?”
Standing in front of me, Grey takes my hand as Liam takes the other, pulling me forward as they walk backward.
“Van, we’re ditching. And don’t bother to say no, because we’ll stuff you in the trunk. This is a mandatory outing.”
Grey looks at Liam and nods his approval. “I like where your head’s at. Appropriate for where we’re going and really just ‘in the spirit’ of things.”
“Thank you. I try to stay authentic.”
I dig my feet in, making it harder for them to pull me—well, not really, but I try as I protest. “Unless it’s to become mobsters, I don’t see anything appropriate with being stuffed in a trunk.”
They pivot, each still holding one of my hands, and walk outside, bringing me with them. As we exit, we’re greeted by spirited yells from about ten other people, a mix of guys and girls congregated in the circular drive. The guys let me go as we all walk down the front steps and join the group.
High fives are given out between the boys, and I smile at the few girls hanging together. Grey laughs loudly with his back to me, and my patience runs out. I reach out and push Liam’s shoulder, but he looks down, unmoving, and blows me a kiss.
“Okay. Where are we going? You guys are the worst.”
Grey turns around quickly and holds out a plastic machete, the kind from a Halloween store painted with blood.
“You’re gonna need this.”
“What the fuck?”
The motorcycle I’m planted on kicks up, making me squeeze my arms tighter around Liam’s waist. We speed past Grey’s scowling face as I blow him a kiss into the air. Grey was so pissed when everyone loaded up and I spotted Liam’s sleek black Ducati. There was no way in hell that I wasn’t riding on the back of this beauty.
He revs again, and my thighs squeeze around him in reaction to the delicious vibration buzzing in all the right places. I can feel him laugh at me, but as my body relaxes, his hand leaves one of the handles and presses my thigh back into his strong leg. It’s only for a minute, and then his hand is back on the handle, but it’s enough to get my attention. Everywhere.
Jesus, Donovan. My errant thoughts have me burying my face into his back, slightly embarrassed by the way my body likes this bike and the boy on it.
Everything’s felt raw, like an exposed wire, since the lake house. We agreed to go back to us, no overthinking, but sex ruins the best of intentions. I’ve noticed their interest. It’s deeper than the first week when I thought all the flirtations would end up as background noise to the soundtrack of our friendship. Then I thought our flirtation had morphed into a kind of language we speak, but the more the boys said, the more I now realize how naïve I was being. I like them. And I am wholly unready to fall in love with Grey and Liam, but that’s what I’m scared is happening.