“Yes,” Greg shoved me toward the door. “She’s going. Put on that black dress I saw hanging in your closet. It’s gorgeous.” Andre was nodding vigorously.
“Listen to bum boy and the mime here,” Quinn jerked his thumb at Greg and Andre.
I unlocked my door and slid into the room, peering out at Quinn through the gap. “Fine. I’m only going if Greg, Loretta, and Andre can come too.”
“Sorry, Hazy, that’s not a good idea.”
“Bye, then.” I tried to shut the door in his face. But Quinn shoved an expensive boot into the door, jamming it open.
“If it were up to me, we’d bring along your merry men. I literally do not give a shit. I’m sick of partying with the same old boring people, anyway. But Courts has got a price on your head, and she’s going to bring them all down with you. At least while you’re there, you’re under my protection. If your friends come, they’re sticking their own heads above the parapets, because I can’t protect everyone. You got me?”
Greg held his hands up. “My head looks much better on my shoulders. I’ll stay behind.”
Andre hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer to Greg. I glared at them both.Fucking traitors.
Quinn lifted an eyebrow. “C’mon, Hazy. What if I promise nothing bad will happen to you?”
“A promise from Quinn Delacorte doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“Fine, then can I appeal to your curiosity? Just for one night, wouldn’t you like to know how the other half live?”
He got me. I didn’t care about their expensive clothes or fancy alcohol or illegal party drugs, but I was desperate to understand what made Courtney and Trey and Ayaz and even Quinn tick. What had Ayaz been talking about in the library, about the real secrets of this school? What made all these people so much better than me and my friends?
I sighed. “Fine. I have to change. Wait out here.” I kicked the door against his foot.
Quinn didn’t move his boot, although he winced as the door slammed against it. He stuck out his lower lip. “Let me in, Hazy. I’ll help you change.”
“No.”
Please?” Quinn blew out smoke. “It’s cold, and I can hear rats crawling through the walls. I’m too pretty to be mauled to death by rats.”
“I beg to differ.” I yanked the door back and slammed it hard against his boot, which for all its expensive leather tooling didn’t look as though it was very tough. I guessed right. Quinn yelped and jerked away, and I managed to shut and lock the door.
“What’s going on?” Loretta glanced up from the desk, her eyes wide. “Was that Quinn Delacorte?”
“The one and only. He’s invited us to a party tonight.” I riffled through the clothes in my closet. What did I own that I could wear to a Derleth party? I held up the black jersey knit bodycon dress that I’d found in a thrift store back in Philly. For a second, I imagined Quinn’s face when I walked out in this, his lips curling back into that infectious smile as his eyes lingered on my body, devouring me. My skin tingled with the anticipation of it.
Hang on… what am I doing?I don’t want Quinn to look at me like that. I might be his date, but I wasn’t trying to snare him, especially not when Courtney had her claws in him.
Then why are you going to this party?I admonished myself.Why is your heart racing at the thought of him perving at you in a dress?
“Us?” Loretta’s voice held a note of suspicion. “And you’re going? Come on, Hazel, it’s another trick. They’re trying to lure you out so they can do something terrible.”
Probably.Her words stabbed at my chest, like a knife twisting in my heart. The fire Quinn had stoked within me fizzed out.
“Why would you trust Quinn after what they did to your hair?” Loretta added, twisting that knife deeper.
But Loretta was also asking a very good question, one I should have already answered for myself. My fingers folded over the hanger. WhydidI trust Quinn? Why was I going? Just because Quinn said I owed him a favor? What was he going to do to me if I refused? It couldn’t be any worse than the things they’d already done.
Iwantedto go to the party, and I wanted to gowith Quinn. I wanted his eyes on me and his hands on my body and I wanted to see his face light up with that beguiling smile because of something I said. That was fucking ridiculous and impossible because Quinn was a King and I was the nobody, the gutter whore, but there it was.
Well, fuck Quinn and his smile. I might be going to his party but that didn’t mean I’d play by his rules. I shoved the dress back in the closet and settled on a pair of skinny jeans, a white tank, and my leather jacket. I secured the chain holding my room and locker keys around my neck and lifted up the corner of the mattress, where I kept the mirror shard. I shoved it into my pocket. With my new short haircut, I looked more like a Badlands street fighter than a prep school girl.
At least I’m me.
When I opened the door again, Quinn’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Yeah, you looking damn fine, Hazy, but that’s not going to cut it as an outfit.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I left all my cocktail dresses and Louboutin heels at my summer house in the Hamptons.” I pulled up the collar of my leather jacket. “This is what you get. So either deal, or go to the party by yourself. Personally, I couldn’t care less.”
