The teacher chooses that moment to address us, sliding his rimmed glasses higher on his nose and clearing his throat like a croaky frog. “Rain. Jessica. Ladies. You seem hellbent on disrupting my lesson. Anything you’d like to share with the rest of us?”
Rain turns to face him, blowing a bubble bigger than her face and popping it with her nail. “Nothing, sir.” She gives me a pointed look. “Nothing. At. All. And that’s the problem.”
“There’s nothing to share,” I whisper-hiss. Thankfully, the bell rings, and I push my chair back.
Summer is already waiting for us in the hallway, a stack of books held to her chest. She smiles, pleased to see us, but it soon falls when I spin around on Rain.
“What about you? Who were you texting last night on the ride to the cliffs?”
Rain gets that flighty look about her when she’s keeping secrets. “I wasn’t texting anyone.”
U’huh. She’s lying through her teeth.
“You were texting all night,” I point out.
At least until she got too intoxicated and fell asleep on my sister.
“Not all night.” She scoffs.
She fails to realize that we’ve known each other since we were in diapers. I know when she’s hiding something.
The same can be said for you,a voice whispers in my head.
We start walking, turning the corner. “At least I didn’t kiss someone,” she says.
I pull to a sudden stop. What the hell? She knows? I glare at Summer, who turns bright red. She’s the only one I told about that kiss.
“You told her?”
“No,” Rain says. “Megan Martin saw you.”
Of course, she did. Who else?
I start walking again, tasting something bitter on my tongue. That girl never shuts her mouth. If there’s even a whiff of gossip, she’s all over it like a fly to a pile of shit, embellishing the truth until it’s barely recognizable.
Yes, Omari kissed me, but it was over just as fast. Nothing happened. I didn’t kiss him back, and aside from rubbing his neck and saying,‘Tis cool, don’t sweat it, he seemed alright. He wasn’t upset.
But now people will be talking shit, and my brother will have something else to flip out about. Awesome. Just what I need. Another fire to put out before someone gets hurt.
“So what about that kiss?” Rain asks as we head toward the front doors.
I slide my bag’s strap higher onto my shoulder. “It wasn’t a kiss.”
“No? It wasn’t a kiss? I’m confused.”
Pushing open the front door with my shoulder, I tip my head back and let out a slow exhale. “Okay, he kissed me, but I turned him down.”
“Why? He’s hot,” she says as we step out into the sun.
“Who’s hot?” comes a deep voice from the drop-off point.
We look up at the same time to see Kane leaning against his car, the black paintwork gleaming in the sun.
Oh fuck. What’s he doing here?
It should be illegal to look that attractive in a fitted navy blue shirt and pants. He makes it look effortless. The sleeves have been rolled up to reveal his tanned forearms, his blue eyes hidden behind sunglasses. I feel that gaze burn into me.
Rain nudges my shoulder, and we communicate a million silent words in the space of seconds.
