She cleared her throat and turned her phone over on the bed.“Nothing.”
“Mmhmm,” Ruby said, arching a brow into the mirror.“Sure you’re not texting with ste?—”
“Can you guys not?!”she hissed quietly.“Calix is still home.”
“Still home?”I asked.“He’s going out tonight?”
“Yeah, to the race tonight too.Probably to eat some girl’s face off.”
My chest tightened with jealousy.When I had passed his bedroom earlier, it had reeked of cologne, but I hadn’t seen him.While I had thought he’d be there tonight, it seemed like Diya knew more about his attendance than I did.
“Ew,” I murmured as Ruby gave a gentle tug on my hair.“Which girl?”
“Wouldn’t you want to know?”Ruby murmured quietly to me.
“I don’t know,” Diya said, rolling onto her back and letting out a sigh.“He has so many.”
I balled my hands into tight fists in my lap, my nails digging into the skin on my palms.So many?Who were they?How did she know?Did he have them over every night?Sleep with a different one every day?
“So many what?”someone asked from the hallway.“You talking about me?”
Diya hurled a pillow through the door, and then a moment later, Calix walked into the room with it in his large hands.His hair was tousled to the side, his stubble tracing his sharp jaw, and the light from the hallway was hitting all his tattoos just right …
Goddamn it!What is he looking so good for?!
Calix tossed the pillow at Diya, shooting me a smirk.“Ruby, Astrid, you girls going tonight?”While he mentioned Ruby’s name, he didn’t spare her a glance.His gaze was locked on to mine, eyes filled with mischief.
He already knew that I was going.
“Yep, we’re going,” Ruby said, tugging on my hair tighter.
Just as quickly as his gaze met mine, he turned back to his sister.“You going too?”
“No.”
“She’s busy studying,” I said, desperate for his attention.
“You should be studying too,” he said, but didn’t look over.“Shouldn’t she, Diya?”
I glared in his direction.
“I told her to,” Diya said, back on her phone.“We have a big test coming up next week.”
Calix looked back over at me, his smirk even wider.“The race isn’t going to be any fun for you, Astrid.You should stay over tonight.I’m sure Diya could use some company.”
Oh, so he could go flirt with every girl there?
“Diya’s good.Busy actually, with more than just books,” I added so she wouldn’t worry about how much Calix was actually talking to me tonight.She could worry about if I was going to hint about her and her stepfather.Obviously, I would never, but she couldn’t know about my crush.“Aren’t you, Diya?”
Diya glared at me and jumped up, shooing her brother to the door.“Yes.Now get out.”
After a moment of pushing him back into the hall, she slammed her door closed.Ruby held her hand out to me for an elastic, and I placed one into her palm.
“Don’t worry, D.We’re not going to tell your brother about your crush.”
“He’s not my crush,” Diya said.
“Sugar daddyis more like it,” I said playfully.
