dance is just his way of being nice to the new girl his hands slide down my back and graze the top of my butt. Maybe not. I am saved
from having to move his roaming hands by the group of fairies who arrive. They are laughing and talking loudly and one of the guys whoops and calls out Tristan’s name, so he grabs my hand and pulls me over to them. When I spot Kennedy at the center of the group I freeze. She is wearing a tight red
mermaid-style dress with a sweetheart neckline that leaves nothing to the imagination and slides over her every one of her curves like liquid. She fills out the dress well and easily looks closer to twenty-seven than seventeen. That’s
when I notice Luca standing off to the side leaning against one of the tall tables. He is wearing a dark charcoal suit which is perfectly tailored to his body and a black dress shirt underneath that is open at the neck. He looks
sexy, a little dangerous and totally unapproachable. The rest of the fairy group moves past us on to the dance floor but Kennedy stays behind.
“What’s this, Tristan? Are you doing your charity work for the year?” She looks me up and down and smirks and Tristan shoves her
playfully.
“Now I told you to be nice, Kennedy.” He chastises but she ignores him and leans into me.
“Hand-me-downs I see. What, didn’t your parents leave you
any money? Or did they prove to be selfish even in death?” I recoil at her words and it feels like I’ve been slapped in the face. I would’ve preferred it if she’d just hit me. I glance sideways at Luca to see if he’s hearing this but he’s just standing there with his head bowed and brows furrowed. Tristan, who
seems to think everything is a joke, mock-scolds her while I stand there with my mouth agape.
“Why do you hate me so much? I don’t even know you.” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Hate? You are not even worth the emotion. I simply have no use for you and I think that you should go back to wherever you came from.” When she sneers her gums pull back over her teeth making her look like a feral
animal. I’m debating whether to burst into tears or gouge her eyes out with my bare hands when the music switches off and a familiar voice comes over the loud speaker.
“Welcome, Ex Nihilo, to the first dance of the year but certainly not the last! I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a
new student. Are you out there, Lily? Can you please come up to the stage?” Being introduced publicly is almost worse in my mind than taking my chances with Kennedy, but I like Lucinda and I don’t want to disappoint her. I slowly
walk over and climb the stage to stand beside her, noticing that her platinum hair looks almost white in the light of the chandeliers. “Everyone, this is Lily Hughes. She recently relocated from San Diego and I’d like to ask you all
to treat her like family and give her the warm welcome she deserves. Would you like to say a few words?” She hands me the microphone and I am momentarily paralyzed. Public speaking is definitely worse that having my hair pulled out
by Kennedy. I mutter a pathetic ‘hello’ into the microphone and I’m about to slink off stage when I see one of the massive speakers bearing down on me. It’s all happening so fast and it’s too late to jump out of the way so I put my hands up to shield myself. Just as the speaker is about to come crashing down
on top of me my body is thrown to the side. I land off stage with a hard thump and it knocks all of the air out of my lungs. I am gasping and trying to draw in breath but there is a weight on top of me. Luca. I hear yelling all around
me and I see movement in my peripheral vision but everything else is a blur. He is cradling the back of my head and the only thing I can see clearly is him: the flecks of gold in his espresso colored eyes, the curve of his full lower
lip, and the firmness of his chest pressed against mine. He smells clean, like
from having to move his roaming hands by the group of fairies who arrive. They are laughing and talking loudly and one of the guys whoops and calls out Tristan’s name, so he grabs my hand and pulls me over to them. When I spot Kennedy at the center of the group I freeze. She is wearing a tight red
mermaid-style dress with a sweetheart neckline that leaves nothing to the imagination and slides over her every one of her curves like liquid. She fills out the dress well and easily looks closer to twenty-seven than seventeen. That’s
when I notice Luca standing off to the side leaning against one of the tall tables. He is wearing a dark charcoal suit which is perfectly tailored to his body and a black dress shirt underneath that is open at the neck. He looks
sexy, a little dangerous and totally unapproachable. The rest of the fairy group moves past us on to the dance floor but Kennedy stays behind.
“What’s this, Tristan? Are you doing your charity work for the year?” She looks me up and down and smirks and Tristan shoves her
playfully.
“Now I told you to be nice, Kennedy.” He chastises but she ignores him and leans into me.
“Hand-me-downs I see. What, didn’t your parents leave you
any money? Or did they prove to be selfish even in death?” I recoil at her words and it feels like I’ve been slapped in the face. I would’ve preferred it if she’d just hit me. I glance sideways at Luca to see if he’s hearing this but he’s just standing there with his head bowed and brows furrowed. Tristan, who
seems to think everything is a joke, mock-scolds her while I stand there with my mouth agape.
“Why do you hate me so much? I don’t even know you.” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Hate? You are not even worth the emotion. I simply have no use for you and I think that you should go back to wherever you came from.” When she sneers her gums pull back over her teeth making her look like a feral
animal. I’m debating whether to burst into tears or gouge her eyes out with my bare hands when the music switches off and a familiar voice comes over the loud speaker.
“Welcome, Ex Nihilo, to the first dance of the year but certainly not the last! I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a
new student. Are you out there, Lily? Can you please come up to the stage?” Being introduced publicly is almost worse in my mind than taking my chances with Kennedy, but I like Lucinda and I don’t want to disappoint her. I slowly
walk over and climb the stage to stand beside her, noticing that her platinum hair looks almost white in the light of the chandeliers. “Everyone, this is Lily Hughes. She recently relocated from San Diego and I’d like to ask you all
to treat her like family and give her the warm welcome she deserves. Would you like to say a few words?” She hands me the microphone and I am momentarily paralyzed. Public speaking is definitely worse that having my hair pulled out
by Kennedy. I mutter a pathetic ‘hello’ into the microphone and I’m about to slink off stage when I see one of the massive speakers bearing down on me. It’s all happening so fast and it’s too late to jump out of the way so I put my hands up to shield myself. Just as the speaker is about to come crashing down
on top of me my body is thrown to the side. I land off stage with a hard thump and it knocks all of the air out of my lungs. I am gasping and trying to draw in breath but there is a weight on top of me. Luca. I hear yelling all around
me and I see movement in my peripheral vision but everything else is a blur. He is cradling the back of my head and the only thing I can see clearly is him: the flecks of gold in his espresso colored eyes, the curve of his full lower
lip, and the firmness of his chest pressed against mine. He smells clean, like
Similar Books
