“You really should. Like, everyone’s gonna be there.”
The words fell out of my mouth before I could think. “Will Shane be there?”
Rina snorted, and rolled her eyes. “Probably not. Shane’s not into being social and stuff. But who cares if she comes? She’s a total dud.” My fists clenched tight at the blatant insult of her friend. I didn’t care much for Rina Martin to begin with, but now I was starting to not like her at all. Not sensing the change in me, she skipped a few steps ahead so she could walk backward while giving me another one of those stupid, seductive looks. “If you come, I’ll totally make it worth your while.”
I highly doubted that.
I let my attention drift with an annoyed sigh only to catch sight of Shane standing a few feet from the school’s entrance, her gaze pinned on me and her so-called friend, and I could have sworn I saw hurt in her eyes. She quickly jerked around and hurried inside the building.
Before I could think my actions through, I placed my hands on Rina’s shoulders to move her out of my way and picked up my pace. “Shane, wait!” I called out, practically at a full run by the time I reached the doors. I didn’t give a damn that I’d left Rina behind, ending the conversation right in the middle of it. I didn’t give a shit about her. I only really cared what one person thought, and the idea that she might think I was interested in her friend in any way left a sour, acrid taste in my mouth.
I spotted her down by her locker, quickly shuffling through her books, her motions hurried and frantic. Ever the diligent student, she wanted to escape me, but she wasn’t going to risk not having the right materials for her class.
“Shane,” I called again, slowing to a jog then stopping altogether once I reached her side. “That wasn’t what it looked like, I swear.”
She kept her attention on the contents of her locker, refusing to look at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She was so full of shit. She knew exactly what I was talking about, and it bothered the hell out of her. “Me talking to Rina. It wasn’t what you think it was. She just came up to me in the parking lot and started talking.”
She finally looked at me, but the light and animation were gone from her eyes, leaving them flat and lifeless. I fucking hated that.
“I honestly don’t care who you talk to, Jensen. It’s none of my business. Besides, I already told you Rina has a thing for you, so I’m glad you guys were talking.”
“Bullshit,” I snapped, calling her out. For the life of me, I didn’t understand what it was about her that caused such an intense reaction, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to question it, not when she was the first person to ever make me feel alive. “You saw her making a pass at me and you didn’t like it. You can lie to yourself, but I’m not stupid.”
“Okay, I didn’t like it,” she admitted, slamming the locker door closed. That smile started to pull at my lips again and hope ignited in my blood. I was finally getting in there, digging my way under that wall she had up around her. Or so I thought. But then she switched tactics. “But it doesn’t matter. She’s my friend and she’s into you. I’d be a shitty person if I got between that.”
My top lip curled up in indignation at her defense of Rina. “Hate to break it to you, but you aren’t the one who’s a shitty friend. You’re being loyal to someone who doesn’t deserve it.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. That’s just how I am.”
She tried to step around me, but I got in her space, backing her up until she was pressed against her locker. “It’s never gonna happen between me and Rina. I’m not interested in her.”
She rolled her eyes like she didn’t believe me. “All guys are interested in her.”
“Well I’m not,” I demanded. “And there isn’t a damn thing she can do to change that.” Bracing my hands on the wall of lockers on either side of her head, I leaned in and lowered my voice. “In case you missed it, the only one I’m interested in is you. Rina could blow every dude on the football team, and I wouldn’t give a shit. Hell, I doubt I’d even notice.”
Pink bloomed in her cheeks and she got that same spaced look she had when I had her against the wall back at the ice cream shop, and I felt my dick start to harden behind my fly.
Her mouth opened and closed like she planned on responding but didn’t know how. The moment was broken a second later when the first bell rang, signaling that classes were about to start.
“I-I have to go,” she said in a dazed whisper.
She was the polar opposite of her “friend” in every way. Hardly any makeup, long hair pulled back in a haphazard ponytail, her jeans and tee worn for comfort instead of attention. And still, she was the hottest girl I’d ever seen. Rina had nothing on Shane. I didn’t want to move away. I wanted to press closer. I wanted to fucking finally lean in and see what her lips tasted like. Instead of giving in to the desire licking at my skin, I took a step back, keeping her locked in place with my gaze.
“See you at lunch, sunshine. Be sure to save me a seat, yeah?”
Before she had a chance to reply, I turned and started down the hall. From the corner of my eye I noticed Rina standing a few yards away, arms crossed over her chest, an enraged frown creasing the makeup spackled on her face.
And I didn’t care at all.
Shane
Sixteen years old
I’d been a jumble of nerves all morning long. I felt antsy and on edge through every class, my knees shaking beneath my desk, my hands trembling as I tried to take notes, making my handwriting illegible. I had barely heard a word my teachers said during their lessons, too busy replaying Jensen’s words over and over.
When I’d spotted Rina down the hall after Jensen walked away, I saw how pissed she was, but I couldn’t find it in me to be upset that she was mad. And I’d tried really freaking hard to call up that emotion.
I’d meant what I told him. I was hardcore loyal when it came to the very few people I let it. Rina had once been one of those people, but with each passing day, I felt more and more distance forming between us. That connection I was clinging to was starting to feel more like an albatross than a friendship, and that had nothing to do with Jensen. I’d been feeling that way long before he came into the picture.
Still, I was the type of person who felt the need to apologize to anyone I’d caused pain, indirectly or not. That was why I’d decided to seek her out in the cafeteria come lunchtime. However, before I could find her, she found me, coming up and blocking my path as I stepped out of the lunch line with my tray in hand.
“What the hell was that?” she snapped, looking just as angry as she had in the hallway earlier that morning. “You’re making a move on Jensen Rose after I told you I liked him?”
Any contrition I’d been feeling before that moment died a quick and painless death, annoyance springing to life in its place. “I wasn’t making a move on anybody. And you didn’t say anything about liking him. All you said was that you wanted to sleep with him.”
Her raccoon eyes narrowed into angry slits. “Same damn thing.”