He leans over to collect his phone then turns it over to inspect the screen. “Just sort of badly, huh?” he jokes.
“Basically.” I lower my hand from my mouth. “Please tell me the screen didn’t crack.”
“Nah, it’s good.” He holds it up for me to see. “I have a pretty good cover on it that softens the impact.”
“Mine would’ve broken.” I bend over to retie one of my undone laces.
When I straighten, his gaze is skating up and down my legs, as if he’s checking me out. He’s clearly attracted to me and vice versa. Hopefully, that won’t complicate this fake dating thing.
“Are you ready to get this show on the road?” I ask as he rises to his feet.
“Yep.” He grabs the water bottle.
We start toward the door, silence encasing us.
When he reaches the door, he grabs the doorknob, but then withdraws and faces me.
“The moment we walk out of here together, the rumors will fly.” He tucks the water bottle under his arm. “So, I want to double-check that you’re all in for this?”
No, but I’ve had to do worse to protect myself.
“Are you?” I counter. “Because you can still back out.”
With his gaze locked on mine, he lowers his water bottle to carry it at his side then offers me his free hand. His answer, I guess.
I open and flex my hand before placing it in his. He offers me one of his small, pretty smiles that gets my pulse racing then opens the door and we step out into the wild.
We’ve held hands before, but that was different because it was just him and me. Now, as we walk down the corridor dotted with people here and there, we’re the center of attention. Heads turn. People gape. A few women glare at me.
“Good hell,” I mutter under my breath as River and I approach the exit doors. “I knew there’d be staring, but this is so intense.”
“It’ll get better once we get outside.” He reassures me with a gentle hand squeeze.
I latch on to him, threading our fingers together, which seems even more intimate. I may be holding my breath, and that’s confirmed the instant we step outside and I breathe in the crisp fall air.
“Ah, emptiness,” I state at the sight of the mostly vacant quad.
“Yeah, that was a lot,” River agrees, still grasping my hand as he leads me across the grass, and toward the gate in front of the track, where we always start our running sessions.
My attention roams to the spot of grass in the center of the field where we saw the society running around in cloaks while carrying torches and tormenting some poor pledge.
“You good?” he asks, sketching his thumb along the back of my hand.
I nod, dragging my gaze off the field and to him. “I was just thinking about last night. It was like straight out of a horror movie, and … I just … Are you sure you want to join that? It’s creepy.”
He releases my hand and sets his water bottle down on the grass. “I know what I’m getting into. The society is something I’ve heard about since I was a kid. Because of my name, I should have some power in it, so I can protect myself from having to do things that are …”
“Terrible,” I offer. “Because from everything I’ve heard and seen, it sounds awful. And you’ll be stuck in it, like a cult.”
He’s mildly amused. “It’s not like a cult. I’m not getting brainwashed into their ideologies. I’m joining simply to make sure they leave you alone. Plus, I’ll know what they’re up to, so if they decide to go after, let’s say Lily, I’ll know and can stop it.”
“Finn would already know that since he’s in it.”
“I know, but we’ll be more in the loop with both of us working it.”
He’s reaching, but his mind is set—that much I can tell.
The wind picks up then, blowing strands of his hair away from his forehead. Clouds are rolling in, and thunder is booming in the distance, a warning that a storm is about to come. To add to the eeriness, lightning flashes from the trees …
