Not going to the cafeteria has nothing to do with him. And what I do or don’t put in my mouth isn’t his concern or his business.
I’m not your concern. I scribbled back onto the folded piece of paper before walking toward him. He straightened as I approached. I shoved the paper into his chest and spun on my heels to leave.
Who the hell did he think he was? Sure, I used to have a massive crush on him, but that crush died when he stopped coming around after he stole my first kiss. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in over a year. He hadn’t come around to be the friend he used to be to my brother. For lack of better words, he was dead to me after that night.
He didn’t get that memo though. No. Sonny wouldn’t stop. The next day, his note had his locker number on it with a reply letting me know that as long as I was here, I was his concern.
Day after day, he shoved notes into my locker. Some were questions, some were quotes, some were just ramblings. And stupidly, day after day, I replied, leaving my responses in his locker.
It had been going on for months. And much to my dismay, I was beginning to like it. I was addicted to seeing what he had left for me each morning.
He kept his distance, never actually talking to me in person. I’d see him watch me from a across the hall or the quad at lunch sometimes, but he never got closer than that. Sometimes I’d wish he would, but he never did.
Until one day his note read: Meet me in the library during lunch.
My heart thundered in my chest as I read his scribbled words. He wanted to actually talk. In person. Face to face. Could I do that? Did I want to do that?
I knew that I should keep away from Sonny Knight. I’d known him all my life. I knew he brought rebellion and broken rules. I knew my brother would kill him if he knew. I knew that I shouldn’t.
But I wanted to.
When the bell rang for lunch, I nervously walked to the library. It was mostly empty with the exception of a few students milling around and the hundred-year-old librarian. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go. I slowly wandered down the center row of shelves lined with books.
I walked from one end to the other and still didn’t see him. Feeling foolish, I moved between two shelves and leaned my head forward. “You are so stupid,” I whispered to myself.
“Are you saying that to a particular book or to someone here?”
Lifting my head, I was met with grey eyes lined with dark lashes staring at me through shelves of books. “Well, I did find Wuthering Heights to be maddening.”
“Not a Heathcliff fan, huh? Let me guess. You’re Team Edward.”
“Coming here to be made fun of isn’t exactly fun for me, so I’m gonna go,” I respond with my thumb pointing over my shoulder.
“I wasn’t trying to make fun of you.”
“Then what is this game you’re playing?”
He stays silent for a few breaths. “I’m not playing a game with you.”
“What do you want then? Are you bored? Slept with every girl in school and I’m the only one left?”
His brows pull together. “Is that what you think of me?”
Nervously, I roll my lips in between my teeth. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Can I come around to your side of the shelf?”
“You can do whatever you want, Sonny.”
I hear his deep chuckle as he rounds the end of the shelf and walks to stand in front of me. He leans back on the shelf across from me, one foot crossed over the other, elbows resting behind him.
“I don’t think that’s true though, Tink. Do you?”
Sex is literally oozing from every part of him as he stands there, relaxed, like he owns not just the library but the entire school. His button-down uniform shirt has a few buttons undone with his tie loosely hung around his neck. The shirt sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showing off his muscular forearms. His chinos are hugging him in all the right places, and untied boots add that bad-boy vibe that his mussed hair starts.
He’s smirking at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief and everything sinful. Rolling my lips between my teeth again, I watch as his tongue peeks out to run along his bottom lip. Moving off the shelf, he takes a step toward me, pushing me against the shelf at my back. He crowds me in with his hands on either side of my head.
“I shouldn’t do whatever I want,” Sonny says, looking down at me.
“Why not?”
Leaning forward, his lips go to the shell of my ear. My eyes close as he whispers, “Because I’m the guy you should stay away from, remember?”
“Well, my brother isn’t here, and for some reason, I trust you more than most,” I admit.
He runs his nose along my neck with a hum. “You smell good.”
He crowds me, my breathing picking up as my body is pushed up against his, the shelf biting into my back. I shift on my feet, rubbing my thighs together. Sonny chuckles, knowing exactly why. Like he’s in on some joke because he’s turning me on. Pushing him away with a shove, he stumbles back with a devious grin.
“Asshole,” I grumble.
He looks amused by me. “I’m not a nice guy. You should know this better than anyone, Rubes.” His face turns serious then, and he steps back into me. “But I also take care of what’s mine.”
“I’m not—” I start, but he puts a finger to my lips.
“You are whether you want to be or not.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I can’t speak anyway as I stand there frozen, looking up at him. His hand goes to the back of my head, and at first, I think he’s going to kiss me like he did on the hood of his car that night.
But he doesn’t.
Instead, he pulls my head forward and his lips land on my forehead. It’s soft and gentle and the complete opposite of what I was expecting and what I’ve known of him up until now.
He leaves me standing there with my eyes still closed, whistling as he goes. When I open my eyes, he’s nowhere to be found, but I can still feel him all around me.
Shit. Was that him marking me as his?
I put my hand over my hammering heart, leaning my head back. I fight the smile trying to break through but finally give in before rolling my eyes at myself. I’m such a freaking girl.
2
Sonny
Shaking my head as I leave the library and Ruby, I see my best friend Dez.
“Oh, shit. You have that happy look on your face again that freaks me the fuck out.”
“Fuck off,” I tell him with a shove.
He laughs as he stumbles back a few steps. “You gonna tell me who has you by the balls yet? I need to know who this chick is because she’s working miracles coming in here, making you whistle like a damn dwarf.”
“You got the wrong princess,” I tell him with a smirk, thinking about my little Tinker Bell.
I don’t even know if Ruby understands why I call her Tink, but she’s been my Tinker Bell since before she was even in school. A time when we were all just kids. Untainted and still innocent. When she’d follow Harry, Dez and me around, just wanting to have someone to play with.
It’s funny; even then, I felt a pull toward Ruby. At the age of six, I felt protective of her. When Harry was annoyed that she’d follow us outside when all he wanted was to toss the ball around, I’d roll her princess ball back and forth with her. Or when she’d trip and fall, I was the first to run in for a Band-Aid for her knee.