Pushing out an exasperated breath, I stop walking and swing around to look at her. She gasps, bumping into me before she catches herself.
“You want to fix this?” I ask, gesturing between us.
She nods.
“Then stop with the games. Eva and I live under the same roof. She deserves to know you and I aren’t sleeping together.”
Anger flashes. “She deservesnothing.”
“What the hell is your problem with her?”
“Everything. She’s rude ... and tacky, and ...” She grows flustered. “Ugh, just promise me you won’t tell her about us. She’ll spread it through the whole school!”
“Come on. Even you know that’s bullshit.”
She glances away, chewing the inside of her cheek. Her voice is almost a whisper when she responds, like she’s losing the fight, “Easton, you know how bad the pressure got to me at one point. Youknow. No one has said anything to me in so long. Guys leave me alone because I’m taken, and the girls, well ... ever since they thought we were a real couple, people have just”—she shrugs—“let me be. No one asks about my mom, or where I disappear to so often. They assume I’m with you, that I have no worries beyond my boyfriend and school. It’s like ... it’s like I’m okay.”
My lips thin, and I run a hand through my hair. I remember how badly the pressure used to get to her, and the fact her world was already crumbling at the time only made it harder to deal with. I started keeping her company at the hospital well before she ever offered to pay me, and rumors about us being in a relationship took off like wildfire. So, when she said she wanted me to make it look like we were a real couple, when she told me why and how much she’d pay ... I took the deal without a second thought.
“Listen,” I mutter. “We’re good through senior year, all right? I’m keeping my word on that. But I can’t promise I’ll never tell her.”
Her eyes widen. “What about me? What if people find out?”
“They won’t.”
“But what if they do? What will I do?”
“For fuck’s sake, Whitney.” Exhaustion rolls through me, and I start to walk away. “You’ll be an adult next month. Maybe you can learn something from Eva and stop caring so much about what others think.”
I head in the opposite direction to leave the room when a man I don’t know slips in front of me and blocks my path.
“You must be Easton,” he says, thin lips pulling into a slow smile.
I cock a brow and eye him up and down. I thought my dad’s intern was dressed like a tool. This one’s wearing a cashmere scarf over a floral brocade suit. With peppered slicked-back hair and gold jewelry, the man’s pretentious as fuck.
“Do I know you?”
He extends a hand. “Paul. The pleasure is all mine.”
We shake, and it’s only now I notice the slight beads of sweat forming beneath his hairline. A weird contrast to the iciness of the hand against my palm.
“There are racks by the door if you want to take off your coat and scarf,” I offer. “You warm up pretty quickly in here.”
“Sure do.” He runs clean, blunt nails down his tie.
You’re a friend of my father’s?” I ask without any interest. Skimming the room, I hone in on Eva. Isaac’s nowhere to be found, and there’s another guy taking his place. Unfortunately, by the look he’s giving her, he doesn’t appear to be gay.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Paul says. “I just wanted to introduce myself to the young man stealing hearts.”
Okay, that’s fucking weird.
“Uh, I’m not sure what you—”
“No matter.” After looking over his shoulder and following my gaze to Eva, he pats my arm with a bit more force than expected. “I can see you’re distracted. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Easton.”
He steps away, and an uneasy feeling lingers with me as he fades into the crowd. When I resume walking, I realize he never actually answered my question about if he was a friend of my father’s. I pause and look around, finding him again, but he’s already started talking to Whitney. The sight of them together doesn’t sit right with me. Something’s off about him.
I’m contemplating separating them when Eva’s warm, brown gaze connects with mine, and I blow out a breath. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. Something’s different in her expression, curiosity sparking behind her eyes. Isaac must have explained the purity bracelet. I know it’s wrong, that it shouldn’t matter, but I’m relieved she doesn’t think I’m fucking Whitney anymore. I slept with a couple girls before our arrangement started, but it wasn’t worth it. Not when the only girl I wanted was sleeping down the hall.
