me. “Deal. Who needs college anyway? It’ll be just you and me,
Stella.”
“You and me, Trixie.” After a moment she said, “I’m sorry
you and Cole didn’t work out.”
“Well.” How could I tell her I’d spent the night with her
brother? The brother who seemed to hate every minute of this place? “You know
me. I’ve got more issues than either of us want to deal with in less than two
weeks and it’s not like I can hide from him here when he finds out I won’t let
him touch my breasts.”
She leaned in, touched her forehead to mine. How many
whispered conversations had we had like this in the last two years? If she left
the dorms I didn’t know what I’d do. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,
Jess. You’re beautiful and the first boy who makes you see that will win my
favor forever.”
That sure wouldn’t be Jonah Silver. I wanted very badly to
tell Shannon about him, about everything, but how would she react to that?
Would she make me leave this place? I couldn’t bear it. I did what any
self-respecting coward could. I kept my mouth shut.
Six
Breakfast was a scene of absolute chaos. Everyone over the
drinking age or at least, very close to it, had hangovers. There were twenty
pairs of $400 special order sunglasses, each vying for a seat furthest from the
windows. Someone suggested they move breakfast to the dining room, which caused
Mrs. Silver to have a mild stroke until Jonah ordered Meredith to have all the
curtains pulled. The sheer fabric blocked most of the harshest glares, but most
sunglasses remained in place anyway.
Shannon and Henry were dosing against each other, looking as
sweet as apple pie with her head on his shoulder and his head against her hair.
They both had on their sunglasses and the fresh glow of a morning workout.
I thought I’d avoided Cole until he grabbed me near the
doorway, his fingers not-too-kindly digging into the soft skin inside my elbow.
“Where were you last night? I waited for like a half an hour
freezing my balls off. What the hell, Jessica?”
Maybe it was the sound of my name, but Jonah slammed his
palm on the table with such aggression I thought it would tip and shot to his
feet. Several eyes looked his way but no one was in the mood to question him.
He held my eyes and I shook my head a fraction. It took all my strength to look
away and give Cole my attention. I peeled each of his fingers off me, one at a
time.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. It was embarrassing, being talked
down to like this where any of the people in the room could hear. “I changed my
mind at the last minute. I shouldn’t have stood you up. That was rude.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. Fucking tease.” He shook his head
and walked over to the only seat still available at Shannon and Henry’s table.
I think Shannon might have fallen asleep behind her
sunglasses because she didn’t seem to react. I stood stupidly for a moment, but
none of the cousins seemed to even consider giving a chair to me so I could be
near my friend. At the last minute Eric called my name and I gratefully took a
seat between him and Melissa. I’d met Eric’s friend Nelson who sat across from
me, and Sarah McCallister and her younger sister Lara filled the other two
seats. When I glanced over, Jonah had returned to his seat and was paying close
attention to something Eva McCallister was saying to him.
A pang of jealousy shot through me as I watched him listen
to her with rapt attention. He had never listened to anything I had to say like
that. At most he afforded me clinical curiosity; at worst he downright insulted
me. Why did it matter? What good was he anyway?
What good? My thoughts went immediately to what he’d done to
me last night, how powerful and delicious I’d felt with his face buried between
my thighs. I swallowed, squeezed my legs and didn’t look up again from my
breakfast.
Thankfully, Nelson and Eric together were a riot and kept me
laughing despite the confusion in
Stella.”
“You and me, Trixie.” After a moment she said, “I’m sorry
you and Cole didn’t work out.”
“Well.” How could I tell her I’d spent the night with her
brother? The brother who seemed to hate every minute of this place? “You know
me. I’ve got more issues than either of us want to deal with in less than two
weeks and it’s not like I can hide from him here when he finds out I won’t let
him touch my breasts.”
She leaned in, touched her forehead to mine. How many
whispered conversations had we had like this in the last two years? If she left
the dorms I didn’t know what I’d do. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,
Jess. You’re beautiful and the first boy who makes you see that will win my
favor forever.”
That sure wouldn’t be Jonah Silver. I wanted very badly to
tell Shannon about him, about everything, but how would she react to that?
Would she make me leave this place? I couldn’t bear it. I did what any
self-respecting coward could. I kept my mouth shut.
Six
Breakfast was a scene of absolute chaos. Everyone over the
drinking age or at least, very close to it, had hangovers. There were twenty
pairs of $400 special order sunglasses, each vying for a seat furthest from the
windows. Someone suggested they move breakfast to the dining room, which caused
Mrs. Silver to have a mild stroke until Jonah ordered Meredith to have all the
curtains pulled. The sheer fabric blocked most of the harshest glares, but most
sunglasses remained in place anyway.
Shannon and Henry were dosing against each other, looking as
sweet as apple pie with her head on his shoulder and his head against her hair.
They both had on their sunglasses and the fresh glow of a morning workout.
I thought I’d avoided Cole until he grabbed me near the
doorway, his fingers not-too-kindly digging into the soft skin inside my elbow.
“Where were you last night? I waited for like a half an hour
freezing my balls off. What the hell, Jessica?”
Maybe it was the sound of my name, but Jonah slammed his
palm on the table with such aggression I thought it would tip and shot to his
feet. Several eyes looked his way but no one was in the mood to question him.
He held my eyes and I shook my head a fraction. It took all my strength to look
away and give Cole my attention. I peeled each of his fingers off me, one at a
time.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. It was embarrassing, being talked
down to like this where any of the people in the room could hear. “I changed my
mind at the last minute. I shouldn’t have stood you up. That was rude.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. Fucking tease.” He shook his head
and walked over to the only seat still available at Shannon and Henry’s table.
I think Shannon might have fallen asleep behind her
sunglasses because she didn’t seem to react. I stood stupidly for a moment, but
none of the cousins seemed to even consider giving a chair to me so I could be
near my friend. At the last minute Eric called my name and I gratefully took a
seat between him and Melissa. I’d met Eric’s friend Nelson who sat across from
me, and Sarah McCallister and her younger sister Lara filled the other two
seats. When I glanced over, Jonah had returned to his seat and was paying close
attention to something Eva McCallister was saying to him.
A pang of jealousy shot through me as I watched him listen
to her with rapt attention. He had never listened to anything I had to say like
that. At most he afforded me clinical curiosity; at worst he downright insulted
me. Why did it matter? What good was he anyway?
What good? My thoughts went immediately to what he’d done to
me last night, how powerful and delicious I’d felt with his face buried between
my thighs. I swallowed, squeezed my legs and didn’t look up again from my
breakfast.
Thankfully, Nelson and Eric together were a riot and kept me
laughing despite the confusion in
Similar Books
