We didn’t get to cover much on the ride. Not knowing what to anticipate being Connor’s puppet is grating on me.
“Don’t want to be seen with your nerdy girlfriend? Too big of a dent to your shiny popular soccer captain image? I thought that was the whole point of this.” The acidic bite in my voice surprises me.
“I, no,” Connor says, furrowing his brow. He drags his fingers through his messy light brown hair. “I just thought—because of yesterday. I didn’t think you’d want to show up with me yet.”
The hot and cold nature of his cruelty and his unexpected consideration is giving me whiplash.
“Okay.” I’m ready to escape the car anyway. I pop the door handle and grab my bag from the floor. “Thanks. Bye, I guess.”
His voice halts me when I turn to join the flow of students making their way into school. “Wait for me after homeroom. We’ll walk together to first period.”
My brows wrinkle in confusion as I spin to face him. “We don’t have first period together.”
“The way to your first class has the most foot traffic. We’ll get the rumor mill going early and by lunch they’ll all have heard about it. You should sit at my table today.”
“Uh, yeah, no. No thank you.”
Did he forget the point he made about my discomfort with his friends? Or do guys just get over stuff that easily and he thinks I’ll be dandy by lunch?
His expression darkens. “Yes.”
“No.” I fold my arms over the open window, lifting on my tiptoes to reach. “I already have standing lunch plans every day with my friends. And yours are very rude, so. That’s that.”
Connor releases an aggravated sound. “Just be in the hall after homeroom.”
He pulls off before I can say anything.
I won’t be waiting around for him. He needs to apologize to me for real to make up for yesterday before I play the perfect doting girlfriend. I only got in the SUV because I didn’t want to be late.
After I part ways with Maisy at the end of lunch, a hand clamps on my arm from behind and a dark voice growls in my ear, making me yelp in the empty covered walkway between the north and south buildings.
“Somewhere you forgot to be?”
I toss an unimpressed look over my shoulder as my stomach clenches. “I told you I wasn’t eating lunch with you.”
He squeezes my arm. “I’m talking about this morning. We’ll have to do it all over again tomorrow morning. Or—” My body collides with his chest as he spins me around to face him “—we take more drastic measures. Hold still.”
Before I register what’s happening, Connor tips my chin up, presses his forehead to mine, and holds his other arm up. He flicks his eyes to the side to check, then I hear the digital click sound of his camera. He keeps his piercing eyes locked on mine and kisses my cheek. I gasp, pushing against his chest. His arm is like an iron band around me as he licks my damn cheek like an animal, snapping away.
“What—are—you—doing?” With each word I struggle against him.
He chuckles against my temple, the deep and raspy sound unfairly making arousal pulse in my core, reminding me of the recorded voice texts where he’d say filthy things to me in the heat of the moment.
I push away from him, tucking my hair behind my ears to give myself a second to gather my wits.
“And,” Connor drawls. “Posted. Hashtag bae. Better follow me back, or that’ll look weird.”
Annoyed, I whip out my phone and sure enough, I have a new follower notification on Instagram, a friend request on Facebook, and a photo tag with @BigBadBishop. Clicking on the post, I find three photos on a carousel. The first one where he kissed my cheek steals my breath for a moment because of how much we look like an actual couple. Then a sigh of relief hisses out of me. He didn’t post the one where he licked my cheek.
“Why didn’t we just do that in the first place?” I ask. “Seems a lot easier.”
“Because my way was more organic. There are algorithms to fight against for visibility. Plus, photos can be doctored.”
“If they can, I’ll just say that it’s not me in the ones you have.” I cross my arms. “Easy peasy, we can go our separate ways.”
Connor’s smile isn’t a genuine one, more like an evil shark’s, marring his handsome face. That angelic face of his is a big fat lie. “Everyone knows I’m better than that. I’d never be so amateur that I’d spread something photoshopped. The secrets I collect are the real deal, baby.”
The second bell rings, signaling that we’re both late to class. He takes my wrist and tugs me into the north building, dragging me back to the same empty science lab.
“Do you ever go to class?” I ask, fighting back the memory of the last time we were in here together.
“You keep begging me to have this chat, so here we are.” He pulls out a stool and perches on it, propping his heel on the bar. “This is your one and only reminder: you agreed, so you have to play along. No more ghosting on me if I tell you to be somewhere.” He ruffles his hair, making it stick up a little, giving him a more boyish look. “What you have to do isn’t even hard, just be seen with me and shit for credibility.”
He makes me so mad. I’m normally level-headed. But around him? I grind my teeth and stalk up to him. Even seated on the stool, he’s taller than me, but I don’t let it stop me. I refuse to let him scare me as I poke my finger into his chest.
“Listen here, Bishop,” I say firmly, using the name everyone calls him, “I might have agreed, but I want a real apology for yesterday before we go any further with this ruse. First you shatter my entire world with the truth, then you blackmail me, then the lunchroom! You hurt my feelings and I don’t think I can stand to be around you whether you force me to or not until you make some kind of effort to treat me like I deserve to be treated.”
In my head, my inner goddess is snapping and clapping at me for getting that out without my voice cracking.
Connor stares at me, his lips working, unsure how to respond. “You are…” He clears his throat, the wonder shrinking back into the shadows behind his mask. His voice hardens. “Something else, huh? I don’t normally apologize to the people I blackmail while I’m doing it, if ever.”
“I’m waiting.”
“It won’t change anything.” His brows draw together. “You’re still on the hook, or I’ll start sending out your photos. I’m serious, Thea. I’m not a nice guy and I will hurt you if you cross me.”
“You can continue as planned. After you give me a good apology. Then I’ll help you.” I hesitate, licking my lips, debating if it helps my case at all to tell him. “I would’ve, you know. Helped you. You didn’t have to use any leverage, just asked and I would’ve.”
It feels good to tell him that. Maybe if he understands who he’s dealing with, he’ll stop acting like a grumpy, controlling ass.
“Is that a trick?” He huffs out a scornful laugh and scratches the back of his head, muttering, “Better not be.”
I lift my brows expectantly. He meets my gaze, unwavering. I’ll wait all day if I have to.