I just shrug, still dazed. “If you say so. Now I’ve gotta write a speech. What the hell am I supposed to say to a bunch of teenage asshats?” I mutter, putting my dick away.
Cullen laughs and kisses my temple. “Hell if I know. Google it. Or I’ll help. You know I’m good with words.” He waggles his brows. I roll my eyes as we walk back toward the school entrance, the AC hitting our flushed skin as we push open the doors.
“I don’t think the school administration would appreciate me comparing life’s tough obstacles to a hard cock,” I deadpan.
He snorts. “But it does sound poetic.”
I shake my head and steer us toward the cafeteria. There’s still about ten minutes left in the lunch period, and I’d love to grab a quick bite before fifth.
“I need to wash my hands, but I’m starving,” Cull grumbles.
“Just use the janitor’s sink in the corner so you don’t waste time trekking all the way to the bathroom.”
“Good idea.”
We walk into the cafeteria, and the room goes dead silent. A hundred eyes swing toward us. One pair, nearly the same ocean blue as mine, burns with fury.
We stop just short of the table where all our friends are gathered, their expressions a mix of surprise and unease. Ella looks checked out, staring blankly at her plate of untouched food.
“What’s going on?” Cull asks cautiously.
Hadley rises. The closer she gets, the more devastation I see etched across her face.
My insides clench. I sense Cullen go rigid beside me, both of us knowing what’s coming.
She lifts her phone and holds it up to our faces.
My heart drops.
“How did you get that?” Cullen’s voice is hard, furious, but I’m just stunned. It’s a candid photo Mom snapped the night of prom, when Cull kissed me on the staircase.
“She’s not the only one, dude,” Archer calls from the table.
My head jerks in his direction hard enough my neck pops. He nudges his phone across the table. Same photo. My eyes scan the table, Matt’s phone lit up with the same image.
Someone’s outed us.
“You said it was just a stupid dare.” The hurt and pain in her voice flays me.
“Hads—” Cullen starts.
“How long?”
We don’t answer. We just stand there, guilty.
“HOW LONG?” she screams, shattering the silence like glass.
“Since the night I broke up with you,” Cullen admits, voice broken.
Hadley gasps like she’s been stabbed, folding in on herself. Her breaths turn shallow and fast, chest heaving like she’s suffocating.
I know these symptoms intimately.
I step forward, hands outstretched. “Hadley, you’re having a panic attack. We need to get you out of here.”
She’s trembling. Tears flood her eyes, clinging to the edges before slipping down in thick streaks. “Don’t act like you care about me,” she spits.
Ella gets up, trying to comfort her, arm sliding across Hadley’s shoulders. She shrugs Ella off like she’s radioactive, then turns on her with venom in her voice.
