“Great. Right near me. Your house is on the way, Will. What should I do? Go back and forth?”
“No, drop me off first.”
We stopped in front of a town house not too far from school. William hesitated before getting out. “Wait here for a minute. You owe me, James.”
James turned on the vape pen before shooting us a series of dirty looks. “Get a move on.”
“June, can I please talk to you for second?”
I sensed some discomfort in Will’s voice, but his politeness was a stark contrast to the intense chain of events that had just taken place.
I got out of the car and followed him to the front door. His embarrassment was palpable.
“I know, it’s been a disaster,” he apologized, tensing his shoulders.
“The first part wasn’t,” I answered.
“Did you have fun too?” I saw a faint glimmer in his eyes.
“Yeah.”
“I swear there’ll still be a way to . . . I still want to see you, June.”
His fingers brushed my cheek.
“Are you done saying goodbye or are you gonna spend all night whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears?” James’s sullen voice fractured the moment.
“I better go before my parents wake up. See you tomorrow, June,” Will whispered under his breath, then tilted his head, craning his neck toward me. I remained frozen, paralyzed by my anxiety. Should I have kissed him?
William decided for both of us and kissed me on the cheek. Then he walked up the stairs to the porch.
“Are you gonna start moving your ass, or do you want to walk home?”
I braced myself for a nasty joke about the chaste kiss that Will and I had shared, but James didn’t say anything. It looked like William wasn’t the object of his contempt. That was reserved just for me.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea,” I snapped angrily, sitting in the passenger seat.
James stared at me, and I felt a chill that was anything but reassuring. Why the hell had getting in the car with him alone at night even crossed my mind? I had punched him. And now, here I was.
“Look, White, it’s been a long night. I have a lot to think about, and you’re the last thing on my mind,” he said as he turned on the ignition.
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“But you’re gonna pay for it,” he finished.
His words distracted me from his reckless driving. “What?”
“When you least expect it. It’s more fun that way, isn’t it?” he sneered.
“Let me make this clear, Hunter: You’re unbearable.”
“Do you want to know why you have the guts to say something like that to my face?” he asked, putting a vape pen between his front teeth.
“Maybe because I’m not afraid of you?”
“Wrong, princess. It’s because I’m drunk.”
“Oh my god! How . . . why are you driving?” He couldn’t put us in danger like that.
