Instead of teasing me, William nodded. Our breath almost touched when I heard him whisper, “Where did you come from, June White?”
The same place you did, but luckily, we have different moms.
I didn’t say that part out loud. Fiona Burton’s words echoed in my head.Remember, June. Guys don’t want to hear everything that comes into your head. You’re too impulsive.
I parted my now-dry lips, and William stared at them for a few moments. My heart started racing. It looked like . . . he wanted to kiss me? With my heart going crazy, I moistened my lips, and he did the same. I closed my eyes.
“Will!”
Unfortunately, I recognized that call. James Hunter’s arrogant, meathead voice was unforgettable.
“What the hell are you doing?”
His aggression made my stomach turn.
“I told you to go get the vape, not to rail Snow White against a wall.”
He took two steps in our direction, looking at me disdainfully.
“Nobody’s railing anybody. Maybe you hit your head when you were little,” I retorted, struggling to maintain eye contact.
My response was enough to make James Hunter stop.
Everything about him irritated me, even the blinding-white T-shirt under his leather jacket.
“Come on, James, leave her alone,” William reproached him, not getting an answer back.
“Where the hell are my cartridges? I gave them to you.”
I saw William shake his head, and then he turned to me but spoke to Hunter. “I’ll go get them. I’ll be right back.”
“Huh, what?” I said, worried. “No, don’t leave me here with . . .”
William headed to the house, and I didn’t have enough time to move even an inch when James Hunter cornered me, trapping me between his arms.
“Look, princess, maybe this simple idea is too hard for you to understand.”
I couldn’t let him see me trembling.
“‘Stay away from me’ has a very clear meaning: Don’t get in the middle of shit. Not with me, not with any of my friends. William is one of them. Do you understand?”
I started hyperventilating. All James had to do was look down to see me panting. His glance lasted half a second, but it was just enough time to make my top cling to my chest. An inexplicable warmth took hold of my stomach, and I prayed that he didn’t notice. James pulled back and curled his fingers to turn the vape pen on.
“You’re nobody. You know that?” I said.
His usual arrogant expression faded as the corner of his mouth curled into a scornful smile. He inhaled the smoke without talking.
“You can’t tell anyone who they can and can’t go out with,” I insisted.
“Why do you think I care who you go out with? You could bang half the school, Snow White,” he whispered. I felt a potent, electrical shiver. “So long as they’re not my friends,” he concluded, turning his head behind him as he exhaled a plume of smoke from his lips. Then he brazenly leered at every inch of my body again. The violent backflips in my stomach multiplied.
“Who the hell do you think you are to—”
A moment later, I felt the tip of his nose jab my cheek.
“What do you want from William?”
“Nothing. I didn’t want to . . . I wasn’t referring to—”
