And after the cold came the warm.
“James, don’t—”
“What?” he whispered, squeezing harder.
“Maybe you were right when you said we should keep our distance.”
His lips curved into a smirk. “Pretend all you want, but you like dangerous roads too,” he whispered. Why? Why did he always have to be like this?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one who started it. Always. You’re always the one who provokes me.” I confronted him.
“Maybe it’s just because it’s fun for me.”
I felt my stomach burning. “But I don’t like being your source of fun. Why don’t you leave me alone?”
“You’re a child.”
“Hunter? White? What’s going on?”
The English teacher came through the doorway, giving us an angry look. He checked his watch then glared at us again.
“Get away from her and leave,” he ordered James, as he put his briefcase on the desk. Instead of obeying, James put his hand on my side to pull me closer to him.
“Any other requests, teach?” James egged him on with his nose in the air. Mr. Beckett shook his head.
“Hunter, you shouldn’t be here. Don’t you have lab?”
“Yeah, we’ll fuck off now. Are you worried we’ll ruin your break?”
“I have to grade homework, I don’t want distractions. Go to class.”
“Grade homework,” sneered James, while he took his hands off me to put them in his pocket.
Amelia and the teacher.
I wondered if what Amelia had told James was true. I furtively scrutinized the teacher’s face. Sharp eyes, full lips, and a straight nose. He really was hot, but an adult.
“White?”
James snapped his fingers in front of my nose, seeing that I was staring vacantly.
“What the fuck is your problem?” he reprimanded me while we walked out of the classroom.
“Language, Hunter,” Mr. Beckett admonished him.
“Go fuck yourself,” spat James when we were already in the hallway.
We headed to the lab without saying anything else. Most of our classmates were already there. Jackson’s eyes followed us like a hawk.
Before he could even say hi to his friends, a girl in the last row called James’s name.
I was right to pull back the night before. And from now on, I always will. Blaze was right. James enjoyed messing with me like he did with all the other girls. Or maybe I should say all the others period.
Jackson was still staring at me, and when I walked in front of him, he shook his head disapprovingly.
“I know you’re not crazy about me,” I said, sitting down at the bench next to him.
“I wonder why that is.”
