All this hours after we walked into school. The Stonehurst student body sensed Alec’s blood in the water, and they tore him to shreds.
Thanks to us, Alec LeMarque is done in Emerald Beach.
“Wow, Mac. You know how to bring a man down,” Gabriel whistles as he pulls up a particularly damning article on the large-screen for us all to see. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
We’re back in Gabriel’s apartment, which seems to be ‘neutral territory’ for the guys. I’m not bringing them to Malloy Manor, and Eli and Noah never offer up their houses for reasons I’m sure have to do with Eli’s father being in jail and Noah’s family having their beef with the Malloys.
I’m high on the sheer audacity of what we did. Who knows how many women we might’ve saved from Alec? Every loop of the video sends a thrill down my spine. My veins flush with heat, and I’m itching to do something…momentousto mark my triumph.
George arrives from her shift at the vintage store, and she dumps an armload of clothing and shoes on my lap. “These look about your size,” she tells me. “I know you’ve probably got a whole wing of your house filled with clothes, but I wanted to do something to say thank you for your public service.”
“You didn’t have to… but these are fucking beautiful.” I pull out a red halter top and high-waisted shorts set with rows of silver buttons. I hold them against myself. George digs out a pair of red stilettos with rhinestone straps that match perfectly. I got to the bathroom, toss my uniform on the floor, and pull on the outfit. Everything fits perfectly, including the shoes. George is a miracle. I fish around in my bag for a red lipstick and apply it in the mirror with an expert hand. Those YouTube makeup vloggers know their shit – I’m an expert at applying my armor now. I blot the lipstick and strut out into the room.
Eli makes a choking sound, spitting his drink down the front of his shirt. Noah’s eyes narrow before he looks away. Gabriel wolf-whistles.
“Fuck, Mac. I thought you were hot in that school uniform, but your ass isunrealin those shorts.” Gabriel holds his hands over his heart. I whack him with a pillow.
“Ow, yeah, hurt me, baby,” Gabriel grins as I whack him again. “I’ll do anything you want, as long as you’re wearing that outfit.”
I toss the pillow down on the sofa and glare at them all, hands on hips. I’m running this show. “Let’s go out. We should celebrate properly, with ridiculous cocktails and too-loud music.”
“Not me.” Eli glances at his watch, then glares at Noah. “Someone’smaking me do an early morning training session tomorrow, and I’m currently running on two-hours sleep.”
Noah shakes his head. “I told Grace I’d be home early tonight.”
He turns away so I can’t see his face. I know he cares a lot about his stepmother Grace, but I wonder if he’s declining for another reason.
George looks from Gabriel to me. I suspect she feels the tension crackling in the air between us, because she quickly says, “I have to be home tonight, too, but I’d love to do something this weekend.”
“It’s a date,” I grin. “I’ll text you.”
Her whole face lights up. She leans forward and wraps her arms around me, squeezing me surprisingly hard for such a tiny human. “Thank you, Mackenzie. You don’t know what this means to me.”
I can guess, but it’s George’s story to tell. I hug her back. George – my friend. I never had one of those before, and now that I do, I’m not going to let her forget it.
“That just leaves us two for a night of debauchery.” Gabriel grabs my hand and hauls me to my feet. He fixes me with that devilish grin of his, and a bolt of fire hits me right between the legs. “Allow me to escort you on a night you’ll never forget. I know a place filled with wonders to impress even the Ice Queen herself.”
39
Noah
Iwalk to my car in a daze. Every muscle aches, begging me to turn back around and join Gabe and Mackenzie for their ‘night of debauchery,’ to drive off this guilt and rage and hope with pounding music and the sweet oblivion of alcohol.
But what will that achieve? I know where Gabriel will take her – the only place worthy of Mackenzie fucking Malloy. I can’t sit in that magical grotto drinking absinthe with Mackenzie looking tight as fuck in those shorts and heels of hers and not think about… and not consider…
The more I hang around her, the more the hatred I’d held onto all these years weighs like a noose around my neck, dragging me down. But as soon as I contemplate casting it aside – like in the desert when we were eating our cakes – Felix’s face flashes in front of me, staring up at me from an open casket, and I remember. Iremember.
Every stirring inside me feels like a betrayal of his memory.
I hurry to the car, my veins on fire. My fingers grip the wheel like it’s the only thing holding me upright. My body aches as it recalls the way she felt at the party – wet, naked flesh pressed against me.
I need to get home.
I need to remember.
The drive is a blur. I don’t see the other cars on the road, only faces zooming past me at high speed. Felix with his glassy eyes peering from his coffin, Howard Malloy and my dad facing off across the courtroom, my mom’s serene expression as she floats in our pool, Gabriel with his come-to-bed smile, Mackenzie with her golden halo of hair, looking every bit as fearsome as she had four years ago… And then the two of them, lips locked under the floating lights of the Midnight Grotto.
Why shouldn’t Mackenzie fuck Gabriel? He’s every girl’s wet dream. And it’s not as if you can have her. No matter how much you might…
