“Says who?” she challenges.
I don’t hesitate. “Me.”
She folds her arms again, shifting her weight like she’s settling in for a fight. “I don’t know what your problem is, Everest. But that’s just it, it’s yours, so leave me the hell out of it.”
My name from her lips makes my stomach turn. I hate it. Hate that it’s familiar, that it drags up shit I don’t want to think about. Hate that she’s here at all, bringing parts of me I buried long ago back to the surface.
“Don’t call me that. It’s Kane now,” I grind out.
“What?” She rears back her head in confusion. Then she exhales, slow and measured, like she’s trying not to lose her temper. “I don’t know what the hell happened to therealEverest. But, out of all the possibilities, this version of you is the worst one I could’ve imagined.”
The words hit harder than they should, settling in my ribs. It’s a dull ache, persistent and nagging.
I take another step forward. She has to tilt her head back to keep her eyes on me. “And I’m supposed to give a fuck what you expected?”
Her nostrils flare. She doesn’t back down. “No, but you’re acting like you do.”
That gets under my skin, causing my jaw to tighten further. She sees too much. Always has.
I close what little gap is left between us, daring her to challenge me. She doesn’t, though. Instead, she stands there, peering at me, her eyes wide with resentment. My chest brushes against hers, and my muscles twitch as the heat of her frame clashes with mine. Suddenly, I’m violently aware of the feel of her, of theway her eyes say she hates me, but her body softens just a little. Her scent envelops me, and I realize how close my guess was, it might not be cocoa butter that I’m smelling but the vanilla is just as intoxicating.
I roam her features, taking in every little imperfection, tiny dark spots across her forehead, the texture in her skin, the way her lips part ever so slightly. They’re full, heart shaped, two-toned, and worst of all, downright kissable. And without even realizing, I find myself wanting to do just that, my body leaning in all on its own. We’re dangerously close, breaths now synchronized, gazes competing as we stare from our eyes and back to our mouths.
Her nose flares again. She feels it, too, the unwanted chemistry that’s there nevertheless. And just when the tension thickens, Sam shoves past me and throws open the door before I can stop her.
“Fuck off,Kane.”
CHAPTER TEN
SAM
“Asshole,” I mutter as I burst out of the bathroom, flinging the door so hard it slaps against the wall, the sound ringing in my ears like a bell. Every nerve in my body is on edge, my skin still burning from the sting of his words.
You don’t belong here.
Those five little syllables cut deeper than he’ll ever know. Not because he was some angry beast set on antagonizing me. People are mean every day.
They stung because I already know that. Idon’tbelong here, and no amount of miniskirts and hockey parties is going to change that.
I storm forward, not daring to look back. He may be the man around here, and used to getting his way, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s gotten to me. Even if my pulse races a mile a minute and numbness pricks at my flesh.Kanewill not know that he’s won.
Kane?I huff.When did he start going by his last name? Probably around the same time he decided to become a Grade A dick.
I hurry to get as far away from here as possible. At some point he is going to come out of that bathroom, and I don’t want to be here when he does. I definitely don’t want to be standing in thishallway; my nerves will already be all out of whack when Mountain finally joins the party.
How am I supposed to face him now?
Oh, jeesh. Sorry I walked in on you and your monster dick.
He’ll probably just stare at me until I do something stupid to embarrass myself more than I already have. And I’ve had enough humiliation for one night. For the briefest of moments, I regret not following my gut. The moment my courage turned into hesitation, I should have gotten back in that car and went back to my dorm.
Maybe then I wouldn’t be feeling like shit right about now. Maybe then I could’ve held on to the childhood memories of Everest. But that’s gone now, forever tainted, the sweet boy from my past extinct.
The sound of girlish giggles brings me out of my thoughts, and my vision unblurs as two girls reach the top of the landing at the end of the hall. They’re talking among themselves, barely sparing me a glance as they pass. And even though it’s obvious they’re unfazed by my presence, I shrink into myself. From the corner of my eye, I take in the tall, broad silhouette of Kane stepping out of the bathroom.
That nervous numbness returns, the adrenaline building almost instantly, damn near lighting a fire under my ass. But not before I hear the whispers. Not before I feel the very instant the rumor demon got his grubby hands on this moment.
“Was she in there with Kane?” one of the girls says.
