Page 31 of Spin the Damn Bottle

“You know I had Nadia moved to Glass,” I say just as we reach my bike. I have to wait for Mel, but I couldn’t have that chat in the control room. “Once she’s out of there, a team of guards follow her at a distance. In school, one of the few friends I trust have their eyes on her at all times. I kept my distances.” To my great annoyance. “Whoever it is, they seem triggered by my paying attention to her and I don’t want to push them.”

Lucas chuckles. “And let me guess, nothing’s happened?”

I sigh. “I can’t use her like bait, Lucas.” It did occur to me that protecting her wasn’t going to make catching whoever’s after her easy.

“I’m not saying you should. By all means, ensure she’s as protected as possible. I’ll put my own guys on her too. But if the psycho after her is triggered by you, it’s you who needs to provoke them.”

That doesn’t sound like the worst idea.

And more importantly, his plan gives me an excuse to get close to my girl again.

Whether she likes it or not.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I barely sleep all night, but at least by morning, I've come to a decision. I stroll to lit class determined. Why would I freak out about what Jason could possibly do with my friend when I can just ask her?

I raced here so fast, I'm one of the first to arrive—mostly because Italian isn't very far from English. I take one of my favorite seats, dead center.

When Melina arrives, she looks exhausted, bags under her eyes, hunched over and dragging her feet. "Damn. Long night?"

She wrinkles her nose. "You have no idea."

Glad for the natural opening, I ask, "You do anything fun?"

"I mean, kinda. I had to go to Midnight Elite with Jason. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it."

There. Being mature and just asking about what's on my mind does pay off. Although I still don't have a straight answer, and I sincerely doubt Jason will tell me anything except "hi."

The man walks in, gorgeous as ever, as if summoned by my thoughts. Cain's not on his heels for once.

I shift my attention to my notebook. We're—blissfully—almost at the end of Wuthering Heights.

When the chair next to me scrapes over the floor, I have to glance up.

I meet Jason's gray eyes and he smiles at me. "Hi, doll."

Oh, he didn't.

Jaw tight, I keep my eyes on the empty blackboard, though Mr. Green isn't even in the room.

He leans back in his chair, and I can feel the heat of his stare. "What, aren't you going to say hi back to me?"

I don't say a single word.

My anger is rather irrational, given the fact that he's done nothing but what I demanded of him, but I didn't ask for him to pretend like we were nothing at all. And all of a sudden, I'mdollagain? Fuck him.

Mr. Green uncharacteristically arrives at the first bell and we dissect this shitty book for an hour and a half. I suppose that's the issue with advanced placement classes: we go deeper. And when the subject sucks, it's not a lot of fun.

Time crawls until the end of the lesson, and I pack my notebook fast so I can make my escape. I smile at Mel, and rush to get to the cafeteria, ignoring Jason as best I can, though I feel his gaze.

* * *

"Congratulations!" Alexander beams.

"That's amazing, Willow," Elisa echoes as I sit at my usual table.

"What's amazing?"