I whirl around in my seat, staring daggers at her. Her face is in a full-on smirk.
From the front of the room, Mrs. Harden clears her throat before speaking. “Scarlett. Is something wrong?”
I turn around. “No, ma’am, not at all.Ariawas encouraging me to turn that assignment in as soon as possible. I appreciate her concern.” I grind my teeth together, trying my damnedest not to say anything else.
I can’t say for certain who did it, but I’m fairly sure my homework didn’t just magically disappear from my notebook. And if I had to place bets, all of my money is on Xander’s girlfriend—or whatever the hell she is to him. She’s a nasty piece of work.
At the end of class, as I’m gathering my things, I notice Aria sidle up to Xander. His head is tucked next to her ear and at first glance, it looks like he’s nuzzling her neck. The more I watch, the more it seems like he’s whispering something pretty harshly. He almost seems … mad?Who knows, and who freaking cares.
I wet my lips and get out of my seat.
“You ready? I’ll walk you to class.”
I give Max a grateful nod. “Yeah. Let’s go.” We walk up the aisle and across the room.
Xander holds up a hand. “Could I talk to you a minute?”
I give him my best crazy eyes. “I don’t think so. Thanks, though.”
“I just—”
Max ushers me forward. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. You heard her.”
Xander’s hand shoots out fast, grabbing at my elbow. “Please.” The way his eyes plead with mine seems almost desperate.
I’m no one’s fool. “Xander, I said no.” I shrug my arm away from him. “No.” I spit out a whisper harsh enough to make my point. “You’ve said more than enough today already.”
Chapter 19
“The way he looks at you … I swear, girl.” Daphne shivers. “I can’t tell if that would scare me or excite me.”
Max kicks at her under the table.
“What? I can’t help it. He’s attractive.” She shrugs and picks at her macaroni and cheese. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you since you walked into the cafeteria.”
I shake my head. I have no appetite at all. My stomach has been in a tight ball since English this morning. I can’t keep up with what’s happening, and I feel like I’ve been sent to such extremes in the last twenty-four hours. Embarrassment. Pain. Lust. Torment. Anger. Confusion.
Max grumbles. “I’m still mad I wasn’t there. From what I hear, it was fucking weird. Before class started, she trips into his lap and he’s an absolute asshat about it, laughing along with all of the other D-bags on his team. Then as we’re leaving, he’s almost begging her to let him talk to her. I didn’t even know Xander had puppy dog eyes, but he did for her. Straight. Up. Begging.” He jabs his fork at us to punctuate each of those last three words.
“Sofucking strange.”
My mind wanders from their conversation as I watch Xander from across the room. Today I chose to sit facing the room because I didn’t think I could handle having his eyes on my back. His intensity scares me, but not knowing when it’s aimed at me somehow seems worse.
From this side of the table, I have a great view of Aria perched on his thigh, his hand firmly gripping her hip. I wonder how she’d feel if she knew that her boyfriend made me suck on his thumb yesterday … and he’d liked it. A lot. It had been scorching hot, there’s no doubt about it. I’ve never had someone command me like that before, and I’d fallen so easily under his spell. And oh, the filth that had dropped from his lips …Holy shit.
I don’t think I want to know what might have transpired if Mr. Simmons hadn’t interrupted us.Or worse, what if he’d been a few minutes later and caught us? Regardless, I’m pretty sure Aria wouldn’t be down with any of it if she knew. She glances in my direction, then runs her hand through the hair at the nape of his neck, cuddles closer. Checks to see if I’m still watching. I wave. She frowns.
Oh, yeah. She’d probably lose her fucking mind. And it’s bad that I don’t care, but I don’t. I can’t say I understand his apparent fascination with me, but if it pisses Aria off, more power to me, I guess. She doesn’t like me? Well, I don’t like her or her rude mouth either.
When I realize Max is still talking, I tune back in.
“He’s been off and on with Aria since we were in middle school. His mom is close to hers.” He snorts. “They’ve practically been forced together since they were in diapers. I’d bet they’ve been each other’s first, like,everything.”
Jealousy flows through my veins unbidden, and hot, tingly prickles of displeasure erupt over my skin.
Aria leans in and says something to Xander before she gets up and leaves the room.
Daphne nudges me. “Are you okay?”