“Can’t I just enjoy the view?” he asks with a knowing look, eyeing me up and down.
“Nothing here for you to look at,” I reply sternly, not one bit pleased with his flirtatious act. “If that’s what you came for, you’re shit out of luck.”
“Good to know,” he says with a thin smile. “But you’re right. I didn’t come all this way to drink or take in the scenery. I came because Finn’s my friend.”
“Is he now?”
“He is. The best one I have,” he adds with such conviction that I almost believe him.
“And what does that have to do with me?” I reply, looking at my nails to avoid his harsh face.
“Don’t act cute, Stone. That shit might work with Finn, but not with me.”
“Is that so?” I mumble, not at all bothered by his dark tone.
He lets out an aggravated sigh, this time picking up the bottle of beer and taking a swig. He keeps the bottle in his hands as he stares at the ring instead of looking back at me.
“I think you know by now that Finn isn’t like you and me. He’s not jaded, and he’s not used to people playing him, either.”
“And you think I’m playing him?”
He lets out a sinister laugh, and this time he does look me dead in the eye.
“I know you are. Now, if it were up to me, I’d keep this so-called friendship of yours low-key, but against my better counsel, Finn has taken a liking to you. He doesn’t have to tell me point-blank for me to know you’re fucking with his head. So I’m here to tell you to stop.”
I bite my inner cheek just so I don’t slam the bottle over his head.
Who the fuck does this jerk think he’s talking to?
“Finn’s a big boy, Easton. He can handle his own shit. He doesn’t need you to come to his aid and scare me off.”
He places the bottle back on the counter, standing back on his feet while taking out a twenty from his wallet to pay his tab.
“You’re not stupid, Stone, so don’t deem to insult my intelligence, either. Unlike us, Finn’s a good guy. Don’t fuck with his sanity. Just have your fun and leave him be. Both of you will be better for it in the end. Trust me.”
He doesn’t even give me time to flip him off, turning his back to exit Big Jim’s in record time, leaving me fuming where I stand. I’m so mad at his insolence, that before I can talk myself out of it, my phone is already in my hands to type away my first text message.
Me: Okay, pretty boy. Let’s see what this dating thing is all about.
Pretty Boy: Say, please.
Me: Fuck off. I don’t beg.
Pretty Boy: We both know that’s a lie.
Me: Take it or leave it.
Pretty Boy: You already know the answer to that. When?
Me: Tomorrow.
Pretty Boy: What about the bar?
Me: What about the bar? Just pick me up at my dorm around seven.
Pretty Boy: I’ll be there.
Pretty Boy: Stone…
Me: What?
Pretty Boy: It’s a good thing you didn’t beg. You know how much I like it when you plead for mercy in person.
Me: *middle finger emoji*
Pretty Boy: I missed you too, brat.
Chapter 16
Finn
When I arrive at Stone’s dorm and have to wait in the lobby for over twenty minutes, I immediately know that something is wrong. The girl at the front desk sits twirling her hair and popping her irritating pink bubble gum, while unashamedly ogling me from head to toe, apparently unable to check on Stone like I asked her to.
“Sorry, but I don’t know any Stone.”
“She’s this high, with big, green eyes and long, jet-black hair with dark blue highlights. She also has too many tattoos and piercings to keep track of, and a rocking body to go with the mean mouth she has on her. How can you not know her?”
“Sorry!” She shrugs. “But if your girl doesn’t show up, maybe we can do something?”
“Not likely,” I grunt.
It’s not like this type of thing doesn’t happen frequently. Being Richfield’s star quarterback—one who is set to break every record this school has ever had—I am bound to get some unwanted female attention. Even from those who don’t enjoy the sport. However Miss Pigtails isn’t who I want checking me out. Not in the slightest.
Every time I look at my phone and see the minutes pass without a word from Stone, a sunken feeling in my gut tells me she’s changed her mind about our date.
I think I’ve fucked this up.
Maybe I should have kept our situation as it was—easy-breezy without the hassle of actually going out. It’s not like The Society is adding any pressure on me, either. They seem just fine with me only hanging around Stone at her workplace. At least I think they do since they haven’t sent me any of those pesky black letters of theirs in weeks.
I still have no idea why they even want Stone in the first place. I wish I knew why she’s so goddamn important to them. Maybe taking this next step in our complicated relationship will help me gain some perspective into why they’ve set their sights on her, to begin with. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. But I know its bullshit because I was the one who was no longer happy with how things were going between us, not The Society.
Watching Stone from a barstool all night was no longer cutting it for me. I wanted more, so I manned up and asked as much from her. Sure, she let me fester in uncertainty for a whole brutal week before she gave in, but that’s just the type of girl Stone is. She’ll make it hurt first before she makes it better. And like a sucker, I’ve begun to crave both—her pain and her sweetness. But I’ve gone without either for a week now, so I’ve hit the limit on how patient I can be.
Tonight was supposed to be a beginning for us. Of what, I’m not sure, but it was still going to happen. I need it to happen. So where the fuck is she?
I begin to pace the ugly, brown carpet in anxiety. I’m two seconds away from running up these stairs, bypassing miss pigtails altogether just so I can knock on Stone’s dorm room and find out what her deal is. She agreed to go out, and she isn’t exactly the type of girl who says yes to anything unless she really means it. I know that for a fact since all her sweet yeses usually include me being a brutish beast with her.
My doubts start to ease when I finally hear feet rushing down the stairs. When my eyes land on the girl I’ve been waiting for an eternity, my heart cracks a little bit.
Fuck, I’ve missed her.
She looks beautiful tonight. So fucking beautiful that I get a little tongue-tied.
Her long, raven hair is curled in loose waves running down her back, so her face is perfectly in view. A dark blue dress that hits her just mid-thigh is painted on her body, revealing only a bit of her stunning ink, yet showcasing all of her curves. The black army boots with skulls on is the final badass touch to the ensemble. Being a girly-girl is just not her style. But damn, if she doesn’t look like a dark angel, regardless if fallen from heaven or risen from the pits of hell. Either way, I’m still the luckiest asshole there is for being her date tonight.