“What did you see?” he asked laughing, while I was attacked by cold sweats.
“Nothing. What are you two doing?”
Blaze and Jackson exchanged a quick glance.
“Nothing.”
“We gotta take Will home,” announced Jackson, pointing at his friend, who was still talking to Marvin. “Now, I’d also like to know where James ended up.”
Yeah, I would, too, literally. Under or on top? It wasn’t the time for sarcasm, but I couldn’t help it.
I jumped when I found myself unexpectedly in front of him. I felt my cheeks burn with scorching intensity. And the fire seemed to burst in my chest when I looked at his redder- and fuller-than-usual lips. I shouldn’t have looked; I had definitely jumped to the wrong conclusions. James closed the curtain behind his powerful shoulders.
“Let’s get out of here,” he ordered his friends, completely ignoring me.
“Where . . . ?” I stuttered.
He burned me with a fierce glare.
“Where the fuck do you think I’m going? I’m taking Will home because he can’t stand up straight. Let’s go, Jax.”
Blaze shrugged it off. “Come on, June, I’ll take you home.”
Blaze’s mom had come to pick him up, but I was so deep in thought that I didn’t say a word for the whole ride.
When they finally dropped me off, I got a call from William. I double locked the door and answered the phone, at the mercy of my curiosity.
“June?”
“Are you feeling better, Will?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I couldn’t understand anything he said—he slurred something but he was too drunk to understand.
“Did I tell you things I didn’t mean?”
“You’re asking me? Forget it, Will, focus on getting better.”
“Will you come to my place?”
“What? Now?” My high voice sounded incredulous.
“Will you come to my place, June?”
Don’t even think about it this time.It was a hard no. He was becoming too toxic. This wasn’t what I’d imagined my relationship with Will would be like. Maybe even he wasn’t what I’d imagined he’d be.
“No. My mom’s back. Don’t worry.”
That wasn’t true. I’d just lied to him, but right then it felt like the right thing to do. I needed to be alone and digest everything that had just happened this evening. Taylor’s and Tiffany’s words, the encounter with Austin, and Will’s outburst. What Blaze had told me, and finally . . . James.Maybe they’d decided to live that way, getting into a sports car to drive without brakes, maybe even blindfolded. But I had to get out of this crazy race.
“You’re a little liar, White.” James’s voice intervened on the other end of the line.
“Gimme back my phone,” whined Will.
“Will you let me know when you’re home safe?” I asked.
“No.”
