“A nice one, too. I still can’t believe you jumped into the hot tub with all your clothes onanddunked your phone.” Daphne’s brow creases for a second before her gaze follows mine and wanders in the general direction where Xander and company sit. Surprise registers on her face. “Hold on a second. He didn’t.”
I pull my lip between my teeth. “Um, he did.” I hold my hand up, suddenly embarrassed. “He insisted I take it. Wouldn’t let me give it back. I tried.”
Daphne straightens in her chair and sets down her bottle of water. “I’m sorry, but can we discuss this for a second? This feels like a lot more thanXander rescued you from rapey Justin.It seems like you two arereallyinto each other. Like, all of a sudden you are on the same page. Finally.”
Heat rushes up over my chest and neck, flaring on my cheeks. They’re so hot, I know they must be beet red.
Daphne’s lips part slowly as she watches my reaction. Her green eyes connect with mine, and she nods. “Oh, wow. I’m right. I wasn’t sure if I was reading you correctly or not. You really like him?” She frowns, pinning her gaze on me.
I cover my face with my hands for a second before pulling them away. “Am I being completely stupid?”
Max shrugs. “Depends. Is he going to stop jerking you around? And is he going to do something about Aria?”
“I asked him to talk to her. And supposedly, he did.”
“Jesus, Scarlett. You’re in way deeper than I thought.” Worry etches his face.
Daphne grabs my hand and squeezes. I don’t miss the look she shoots Max. A warning to behave, if I had to guess. “We’re just concerned, knowing how he’s been treating you up until just recently. Was that text from him?”
I glance down at the glossy new screen, swiping to open.
Unknown Number:Maybe you could sit with me at lunch sometime?
“It’s an unknown number.” And more quietly, I murmur, “Whoever it is wants to have lunch with me.”
Max’s brows lift. “Well, at least this time we know it’s him and not someone pretending to be him.” He juts his chin toward their table. “He’s waiting for you to respond.”
Daphne looks freaked out. “He wants to go public with it? That’ll flip Aria out for sure.”
Me:Not sure. Who is this?
I glance up from the phone at a shout of laughter from the table full of football players and cheerleaders. Sure enough, Xander’s eyes are locked on me. A slow smile spreads across his face, his dimple popping, phone in hand. I drop my gaze again and type out another message.
Me:Sorry. I get messages from lots of Unknown Numbers lately.
I flip into my contacts and add Xander’s number. Daphne nudges me. “Holy shit. Aria totally just tried to sit on Xander’s leg, and he made her sit two chairs down from him instead. She’s not happy about it.”
My eyes meet Daphne’s, then over to the other table to see if it’s true. It is. And Aria’s shrewd eyes flick between Xander and me.
Max clears his throat. “Man, I hope she’s not about to flip her bitch switch.”
“It’s not already flipped?”
“You’d think, right? But no. I hope things aren’t about to go from bad to worse where she’s concerned.”
Sucking in air through my teeth, I glance back down as another message comes in.
Xander:Yeah, that kind of sucks. How’s the phone working for you?
Me:It’s great. Thank you again.
Xander:Good. Meet me out in the garden for a few minutes?
My gaze fixes on his across the room, and he presses his lips together as he tilts his head in question.
“I need some fresh air.”
Daphne’s brow furrows. “You didn’t eat anything. Want my banana?”