“No it’s not. Not even close,” I told her. “But you’re starting an argument over nothing. I’m not interested in Jensen.”
The anger in her expression deepened, twisting in to a venomous rage. “Could’ve fooled me. From the looks of it, I asked you to talk me up to a guy, and you used it as an opportunity to hit on him yourself. You need to back off. I called him first.”
I’d officially had enough. I was over the drama Rina liked dragging around with her everywhere she went, and I didn’t like that she’d insinuate she had dibs on a guy like he was a toy or the bigger slice of cake.
“You called him first?” I asked on an incredulous laugh. “Seriously?”
“I’m being dead serious,” she said, using a tone she’d never used with me before. It was as if all the years of friendship we had under our belts were forgotten. I was no longer her ally. She was looking at me like I was the enemy.
“You’re being ridiculous. Get over yourself, Rina.” I took a step to the side, ready to pass her, only to freeze solid when the tray I was holding was knocked out of my hands, sending my lunch scattering all over the floor at my feet.
My head swiveled slowly toward Rina, my lips parted and eyes wide with shock as she took a step closer. At the crash of my lunch tray, the cafeteria had gone completely silent, everyone turning to stare at our showdown.
“I said back off,” she repeated, her words coming out in a low, menacing warning.
I’d never been in a fight in my life, and Rina was banking on that. But in that moment, any loyalty I’d felt toward her shriveled up and turned to dust. She’d just sparked to life a part of me that neither of us knew existed. I wasn’t afraid of or intimidated by her, and as my fingers curled in and clenched tight, I suddenly felt the overwhelming desire to drive my fist into her face.
I took a step closer, closing more of the distance between us. “Or what?” I asked, my tone making her eyes go wide. She’d expected me to back down. Well, she had another think coming. I was no one’s doormat or punching bag.
“Walk away.”
At the new voice, Rina’s head turned and her expression instantly changed. Gone was the mean girl looking for a fight. A flirty smile stretched her slimy lips while she batted her overly made up eyes. “Oh, hey Jensen. I was just—”
He cut her off, coming to a stop right beside me, so close his arm brushed mine, causing goosebumps to spring to life. “I said walk away.”
Surprise infused her features. “But—”
“Now,” he said with a snarl so furious it made me jump, pulling my focus from Rina for the first time. When I looked over at him a shiver worked its way down my spine. In that moment, he looked like he would gladly rip someone’s head off with his bare hands, and I imagined that was the same look he had right before he got into a fight.
“Jensen,” I whispered, reaching out to touch his arm even though the look in his eyes scared the crap out of me. “Let’s just go.”
He didn’t move or pull his gaze from Rina. “Since you didn’t get the message, I’ll spell it out for you. There’s not a chance in hell I’d ever fuck you. Even if I wasn’t into Shane, I still wouldn’t fuck you. You’re desperate, and that’s a major turnoff. But none of that matters because I am into Shane, so even if she shoots me down, you’d never have a chance because you’d never compare to her.”
“That’s enough,” I said, my voice stronger and louder. “I’m done with this. I want to go.”
Jensen finally turned to me, and as soon as he did, the storm clouds in his eyes began to break apart. With an indiscernible nod, he grabbed my hand and started toward the cafeteria doors.
I glanced back at Rina one last time to see her chin was wobbling and her eyes had gone glassy with unshed tears. There was a small part of me that wanted to feel bad for her, but the rest of me thought she’d brought it on herself. She’d let a boy who hadn’t shown a single ounce of interest in her come between us, proving she didn’t deserve my friendship. I’d had too many people walk away from me in my life, so I was used to turning those feelings off. It was the only way to prevent pain that came with crushing disappointment. In that moment, I did just that; I turned my feelings for Rina off, making her less than a memory.
Jensen kept my hand firmly wrapped in his as he led me down the hall toward the exit.
“Where are we going?” I asked, pulling on his grip.
“I’m taking you to lunch,” he answered casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I tugged harder to no avail. “Jensen, we can’t leave campus for lunch.”
He turned his head and hit me with that damn smirk that made my knees wobbly. “Seniors can.”
“But I’m not a senior.”
“Relax, sunshine,” he said, giving me a wink that made my lips tremble with the urge to smile. “Live a little. I’ll get you back before your next class.”
Even though warning signals were going off in my head and I remembered all the times I’d told myself I needed to avoid the pull this boy had on me, I found myself doing something unexpected.
I stopped struggling and let him lead me out of the school, finding myself desperately wanting to do what he’d suggested and live a little.
Especially if I was doing it with him.
Chapter Ten
Jensen
Laeth came waltzing into my office, all loose-limbed and casual as he moved to the couch I had pushed up against the wall across from my desk and plopped down. The seconds ticked by as I waited for him to announce why he’d invaded my space.
“Comfortable?” I asked once it became clear he wasn’t going to speak first.
“Extremely,” he said, stretching his long legs out and crossing his ankles, the picture of relaxation. “I don’t have room for a couch in my office. Why the hell did you get the bigger office anyway?”
“Because I kicked your asses at Rock Paper Scissors. Now tell me why you’re here or get out. I’ve got shit to do.”
He lifted his hand like he was examining his nails, taking his time like the asshole he was before saying, “Just thought you’d want to know I did a little digging on that thing you asked me to look into.”
My attention left my computer as soon as the sentence left his mouth. “Way to bury the lead, dickhead. So what did you find?”
“Nothing.”
I blinked, trying to wrap my head around that one word. “You didn’t find anything? I thought you were supposed to be good at this shit, brother.”
“Oh, I found something,” he replied ominously.
“O-kay. How about you stop talking in riddles and get the fuck to your point?”
He uncrossed his legs and pulled them back, leaning forward to brace his elbows on his knees. “What I found was exactly that. Nothing. Since I am good at this shit, I hacked the school’s system and was able to pull the transcripts. Your girl never got her degree. In fact, she dropped out mid-semester two years in and never went back.”
That would have been around the time I left. I could see her delaying in order to have Brantley and be home with him for a while, but I would have thought she’d eventually go back. It didn’t make any sense.