The girl gave me a funny look. “Um, yeah?”
“What’s his name?”
“That’s River Whitmore. Senior. Quarterback and captain of the football team.”
“Much obliged.”
I started to go, but the girl touched my arm, her eyes raking me up and down unapologetically. “Hey, hold up. You’re new, right? I’m Leah. Do you want to—”
“Nope, I’m gay, thanks.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“I said, I’m good, thanks. Appreciate the help.”
“Oh. Okay.”
River Whitmore, I told myself, heading to my locker.There. You know his name. Happy now?
Happy wasn’t on my horizon, and knowing River’s name didn’t assuage my curiosity. Just the opposite—my cracked mind seized on it, tasted it, turned it over and over. Whitmore did nothing for me, butRiverwould sound sexy as fuck whispered right before a kiss…
“Nope. We’re done here.”
I deposited my uneaten lunch in my locker and slammed the door. Slammed it on Beatriz’s sack lunch and River’s sad eyes and on the weak flickering spark in my chest that wanted to make something out of both.
Three
River
The new guy sauntered away, releasing me from his piercing gaze.
Good.
I wasn’t supposed to be noticing things like the intensity of his eyes or how they were the purest green. Clear and hard, like peridot.
I wasn’t supposed to notice that under all that expensive clothing, his body was built. Not as big as me but lean muscle on a tall frame.
I wasn’t supposed to be paying attention to how fucking perfect this guy’s face was, angular and sharp, as if he were sculpted out of ice. Icy hair, icy attitude but with a fire burning underneath…
“He’s dressed like it’s winter,” muttered Frankie Dowd, the skater punk who tagged along with my crowd, mostly because we’d all gone to school together since kindergarten. “What a fucking weirdo.”
Inexplicably, my hackles went up; I had to clench my jaw to keep from snapping at him to shut his damn mouth.
“Do you ever stop being a jackass, Frankie?” Violet demanded.
Against my will, my gaze lingered where Holden had gone, the scents of clove cigarettes and expensive cologne trailing after him. I inhaled deep, catching a few remnants. They went straight through me like an illicit drug, making my skin shiver.
What the hell?
Frankie said something dickish to Violet, and I whirled on him.“Get lost, asshole.”
“Touchy, touchy, Whitmore. Later, my dudes,” he said and slunk away.
“You’re coming to the party, right, Vi?” I asked.
Violet looked lost in her own thoughts for a moment before shaking her head. “Uh yes, I’ll be there.”
“Great. I’ll see you then,” I said and turned away without another word.
