“I thought it was so we could fuck,” Zane says, walking around the edge of the screen, buttoning his shirt and fly. “Why else would you climb the deathtrap of those stairs?”
A girl follows him out from behind the screen, cheeks stained with tears. I’m concerned but nobody else in the room appears bothered. Zane pats her rear end as she wipes her face, then gives her another swat to prompt her out of the room and downstairs.
My lips are nearly bitten through as I try not to look, then I have a flash from yesterday. The tears in my eyes while Maddox said he had a friend who’d love me.
A band tightens around my chest, sending my gaze to Zane then bouncing away to Maddox, then seeking the easier refuge of the floor.
“We’ve got try-outs tomorrow,” Wilder says, tossing the envelope of pages back into the main pile. “Who’s coming?”
“For what?” I ask when nobody else seems interested.
“Roller derby.” He tilts his head to the side. “It’s the men’s team so you can’t earn a spot but I’m sure they’d love a new cheerleader.”
“The only cheerleader,” Dahlia scoffs. “Nobody plays the bloody game, and nobody attends the tournaments.”
“You’re out of the loop. It’s gonna be the next big thing.”
She rolls her eyes. “It was big last century, not now. Get with the times.” Then she turns my way. “Word of warning, never fall for his bullshit.”
“And how do you know it’s bullshit?” he demands, faux angry.
“Because your mouth’s moving.”
He rises only long enough to tackle her to the ground, pinning her under him and stealing long kisses as punishment before he rolls onto his back to set her free.
Everyone soon settles down, finding their own groove while Maddox takes me through some of the finer points of the English pages. “Don’t worry,” he says, when my forehead is set in a permanent frown. “We can grab the movie version of everything and that’ll get you up to speed far more quickly.”
Zane throws a pillow his way. “Cheater.”
“Levelling the playing field isn’t cheating.”
Dahlia cackles with laughter. “Especially when you’re trying to impress your new girl. How much time are you going to spend watching the actual movie, hm?”
Maddox leans close to me as he helps sweep the pages together. Wilder has Dahlia up against the wall, showing a keen interest in acquainting his tongue with her tonsils. Zane relaxes near the window, buttons done up but not in the correct holes.
I tilt my face towards Maddox, his hand touching my shoulder and following the curve until it rests lightly against my neck. There’s a gentle pulse in my lips and my stomach pulls tight with anticipation. The light warmth of his breath blows against my cheek.
His hand squeezes a little tighter, my flesh quivering under his touch. My lips part as I ease another centimetre closer.
Then he stands, helping me to my feet. The movement provides an excuse to let my hair fall to cover my face, the embarrassment of misreading the situation lighting a fire in my cheeks.
“Better get to class,” he says, leading the way downstairs.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MADDOX
The next weekfeels like I’m hovering in midair, waiting for the balance to tip until I go plunging to the ground. Each day I survive, my pessimism lowers.
This girl, though.
This girl.
My chest has never hollowed when I stare at someone pretty the way it does when I glance Evie’s way. My stomach has never pulled so tight, or my throat narrowed like when she tilts her head back and laughs. I love when she becomes enthused about some stray fact like she does a dozen times a day, reaching over to grab my hand and squeeze it, like she’s transmitting knowledge through a subliminal morse code of touch.
I’m never physical. Most of the time, I’m barely aware I have a body at all, except as a vehicle to get me from place to place. But when Evie’s near, every cell vibrates with delight. A dozen times a day, my head is dizzy, my mouth full of cotton wool.
She wants more. I see it in her gestures, her movements, the way she sometimes sways towards me, her eyes dancing with ahundred different shades of green, her lips full and pouting and ever so slightly open to reveal the underlying flash of teeth.
