by Ruby Vincent
I chuckled softly. “We don’t have to schedule it, do we? It’ll happen when the time is right.”
“The time is feeling plenty right now.” He kissed me again and captured my lips between his teeth, making me gasp. “I want to be with you so badly, and it’s no secret.”
He pressed me tighter against his body, letting me feel the obvious bulge in his pants. I bit back a moan. He was seriously battering my resolve.
Maybe we do need to schedule this thing.
“How about this?” His words penetrated my fog. “Arrange a weekend pass. I have something planned for my second apology. We can spend the weekend together and whatever happens... happens.”
I was nodding before he got all the words out. “Okay. Yes, yes, and yes.”
Jaxson caressed my cheek before pulling me in for one more kiss. “Until then, baby.”
He walked off and I floated back inside. Was there anything that could make this day better?
I hurriedly dumped my stuff, changed, and rushed to the dorm to meet Sofia. Francis Hall where the juniors were housed was smaller than the dorms we were in the year before. Four floors instead of six, reflecting how many people had left after not making the cut. It was smaller, but the rooms were no less nice. Sofia was reclining on her king-sized bed texting Zane when I walked in.
“I like what you’ve done in here,” I admired. She had plastered posters and photos of our summer on the walls. Pops of colors brightened the place between the blue bedspread, purple lamps, and blue and purple rug.
“Thanks.” She bent over the bed and sat back up holding a bag of chips. “Ready for a junk-filled afternoon?”
“More than ready.” I flopped down on her bed. “But I have to tell you something, and you can’t freak out.”
“I’m making no promises.”
“Sofia!” I cried, half-laughing.
“I will freak out if the situation demands it. Now spill.”
Rolling my eyes, I gave into my fate. “Okay, fine. Jaxson is taking me out this weekend, and I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure we’re going to have sex.”
“Ahhhh!”
I knew the scream was coming. What I wasn’t prepared for was her to tackle me into the sheets.
“Whoa!” She collapsed on me, holding me down as I laughed.
“Are you for real?!”
“Yes, I’m for real. What do you think?”
“What do you think?” Sofia lay next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. “This will be your first time, and you and Jaxson have an intense history.”
“I know.” Thoughts of Benjamin Shea tried to force their way into my mind. I took a breath and let it out slowly, breathing past the band forming around my chest. “I’m ready, Sofia. Jaxson has done a lot he needs to make up for, but he knows that. He’s changed and... it feels right.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” She kissed my cheek. “Are you going to tell him about Adam?”
“One day, but not right now.”
“Okay. It’s your decision.”
I twisted around and enfolded her in a hug. I didn’t know where I’d be without her supporting me. “I’m ready for junk now.”
She laughed. “Let’s do it.”
SOFIA AND I HAD SO much fun I almost didn’t want to leave. It was thoughts of Ezra and those glittering obsidian eyes that finally got me out the door. Eight thirty on the dot I burst into my room and hopped in the shower.
What are we going to do tonight? How is he possibly going to give me my request of letting me in?
My heart pounded as I looked for an outfit. I was nervous and it was no wonder why. I shared my first real kiss with Ezra Lennox. I felt the stirrings of attraction as we sat together in the library, fighting to focus while he whispered in my ear. That attraction died a fiery death when the Knights told me I was just a bet.
But now I know that was a lie, so how do I feel now? How does he feel?
The sound of knocking floated up three flights of stairs as I put on my teardrop earrings. I dashed a quick swipe of lipstick across my mouth and grabbed my bag. Ezra turned to face me when I opened the door. His eyes widened slightly.
“Wow. You look amazing.”
I ducked my head. “Thanks.”
He looked great too, but then he always did. He wore a simple pair of jeans and a button-up shirt that didn’t leave his body to the imagination. Ezra wore proper and sexy effortlessly.
“So where are we going?” I asked as I closed the door behind me. “To your dorm? Jaxson says the rules for having girls in and out don’t apply to the Knights.”
“I’m the only one of us that hasn’t tried to break that rule.” We strode side by side across the grass. “We can go there if you want, but I had somewhere else in mind—where we can have more privacy.”
“Privacy is good.” Then I cringed.
That all you have to say? Think of something!
“What are we going to do?”
“You said you wanted to get to know me,” he replied. “I’m going to make that happen.”
We rounded the corner of the main building as I thought of a response. The quad opened before us. It was beautiful at night. The soft glow of the light posts lit up the grass and the couples who gathered on it to see the stars.
Ezra didn’t stop. He led me through the quad and past the junior dorm until we reached the sports complex. It wasn’t until we skirted around the back that I realized where we were going.
I stopped. “You’re taking me to the roof?”
“Yeah. Is that okay? I know you used to come up here.”
That he knew that from when he was following me went unsaid.
“I checked it out once and I’ve... been coming back ever since. It’s a nice spot to think.”
“It is.”
“Can we go up?”
I hesitated for one more moment, then I nodded. “Okay.”
We kept going. Ezra held the door open for me, ever the gentleman. It had been a long time since I climbed these stairs. The last time I had been on this roof was when I was with Ryder. The night I almost fell to my death.
Trepidation slowed my steps. What would it feel like being on this roof again? How would I keep out the memories of what happened between us? The things I had shared.
Ezra walked out in front of me to open the door. My pace had slowed considerably, but a soft glow peeking through the entrance beckoned me forward. I stepped out, and gasped.
It had always been beautiful up here—covered in string lights and made cozy by the rug and couches. In the time since I had been away, it was transformed. More lights had been put up, banishing the shadowed corners. The rug, couch, and coffee table had been replaced. Gone was the old furniture. Two couches now sat looking even more comfortable, and a new coffee table with two glasses and a plate of food in the middle. Above it all was a dark canopy.
“Did you do this?”
Ezra nodded. “I told the headmaster I wanted another space after the Knight room was broken into last year. He gave me this one.”
“Amazing that you can just do that.” I crossed to the couch and sat down, snuggling into the cushions. “Is there no limit to what the Knights can get away with?”
“Nope,” he said, a tad cheekily. Ezra bent and handed me a glass. “Grape juice,” he answered when I peered curiously at the dark liquid. “And peanut butter brownies. I didn’t know how long we would be out here so I got the kitchen staff to make us a snack.”
“He thinks of everything.” I smiled as I kicked off my shoes and pulled my feet onto the couch. “So can I know now what we are doing?”
“It’s simple.” Ezra sat down on my other side. “You want to know more about me, so ask. Twenty questions, and I’ll answer them all honestly.”
“Wait. Are you serious?” I shifted until I was facing him, sitting on my knees. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
“Only twenty?”
He cracked a smile. “Twenty seemed like a ni
ce round number.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. Where did I even start? “Can you ask me questions too? We’ll take turns.”
“Sure.” He leaned in. “And just so you know, that counts as your first question.”
I swatted his shoulder as he laughed. “No, it doesn’t. Don’t try to cheat me, Lennox.”
“First thing you’ll learn about me,” he said between chuckles. “I’m not above cheating to win. Jaxson’s still trying to figure out how I ended up with five wild draw four cards in a pack with only four.”
“So I have to watch you.”
“Definitely.”
A smile tugged at my lips as I leaned back. “Okay, if that was my question, it’s your turn.”
“Fine.” Ezra’s face changed before my eyes. “I saw you two together after class. Are you and Jaxson going out now?”
I blinked. Of all the questions I was expecting, none of them had been this. “Jaxson and I are... figuring things out as we go.”
“So you’re not exclusive?”
“It’s my turn,” I said softly.
“Right. Go ahead.”
I didn’t ask right away, taking my time to think of what I really wanted to know. “Why have I never met you before Evergreen? If you and Ryder and the Knights have been friends for so long? Other kids would come by the house when I was there, but never the three of you.”
“Ryder didn’t want us there.” Ezra leaned over and picked up two brownies. He handed one to me. “He hated that house where his mom hid away and his shit stain of a dad roamed the halls. He preferred coming to our houses, and honestly, we didn’t like going there much either. It’s better now that Mr. Shea is gone... which I guess is an awful thing to say since the guy has been missing and presumed dead for over two years.”
Brownie crumbles littered my skirt as my hand clenched. It was not an awful thing to say. I shoved the food in my mouth rather than reply, and Ezra took his turn.
“Are you and Jaxson exclusive?”
I choked. “No,” I cried in between hacking up brownie. “We’re taking it one step at a time. Why do you want to know about us?”
“Is that your next question?” I swatted him again and he laughed. “I want to know because... he’s not the only one who wants to be with you.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs. I gaped at him as the remainder of my brownie slipped through my fingers. “What?”
“I promised total honesty so here it is. I want to be with you. I’ve always wanted to be with you, and I fucking hated every minute of you being marked.”
My head was spinning. He couldn’t really be saying these things. “But you— You hated me for what I did to get back at you.”
“I hated what you did, and I hate what my mom thinks of me, but... is it crazy that I’m even more attracted to you now.” Ezra’s eyes seemed even darker. Twin endless pools threatening to pull me into the abyss. “You’re hardcore, Moon. Brutal. I’ve never met anyone like you. Willing to do whatever it takes.”
“Most people don’t like that quality.”
“Most people aren’t me.”
I swallowed thickly. “I’m starting to see that.”
At that moment, something passed between us that I would never understand on a conscious level. Something deep, primal... brutal... like I had tipped over into the abyss and found a darkness I knew well.
A shiver went up my spine as he gazed at me. I spoke to take my mind off the conflicting feelings.
“It’s my turn,” I croaked. “Tell me about your family. I don’t know anything about your life outside of this school except your mom is in news.”
Ezra polished off his brownie before answering. “I have an older brother.”
“You do? I didn’t know that.”
“Most people don’t. He’s twenty-six, has his own life and family, and only visits at Christmas. Mom had him while she was in college and he was raised by his dad.”
I picked up on something. “His dad?”
“We have different fathers.” The truth poured so easily from Ezra’s mouth and it amazed me. He said he would be honest, but seeing how committed he was showed how much this meant to him.
He really wants to make it up to me, and maybe... he wants more.
“Mom met my dad while she was on assignment in the Middle East. They loved each other but he didn’t want to leave and she wasn’t willing to stay. It ended before she found out I existed.”
“Do you ever see him?”
Ezra looked away. I half expected him to call me out for skipping his turn. “No,” he finally said. “He calls and sends gifts on my birthday, but we’ve never met in person. He’s married now, and although he never said it, I get the feeling his wife doesn’t want me around.”
I don’t know why I did it. Ezra’s face gave nothing away, but deep down I knew it was right. I crawled closer to him and draped my legs over his lap. My head I rested on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Ezra was still for a second, then his arm wrapped around my waist. I relaxed as he put his chin on my head. “It’s okay. I have Mom.”
We were quiet for a moment. I wanted to get to know him, but I didn’t want this night to be sad.
“How about this for a question?” I asked, abandoning the order. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
A laugh ripped from his throat like it startled him. “Ice cream? Okay. Butter pecan.”
I gagged. “Ick! I would have accepted chocolate, rocky road, even mint chip, but not butter pecan.”
He was full-blown laughing now. “You can’t judge my answers. We’re putting that in the rules.”
“Too late now,” I teased. “I’ll give you another try. Do better this time.”
“Shit. What’s your favorite?”
“Dulce de leche, of course.”
“If I say the same, will that be acceptable?”
“Now you’re getting it.”
We dissolved into laughter. The rest of the night we spent eating brownies, laughing, and talking about everything. The sun was peeking over the horizon by the time Ezra walked me back to my dorm.
I closed the door between us, then slid down it, collapsing into a puddle on the floor. A few hours ago, I thought things couldn’t get better. I was wrong.
KAI PLOPPED DOWN NEXT to me. “I was up all night doing homework. What’s your excuse?”
I peeled my head off the desk and stared blearily at him. “What?”
“You looked wrecked, Moon. What time did you get to bed?”
“Two hours ago.” I scrubbed my eyes. “But it’s okay. It was worth it.”
“What did you do?”
“I hung out with a friend.”
“Sofia,” he stated.
I didn’t bother to correct him. “Why don’t we study together tonight? I still have yesterday’s homework to do and they’ll pile more on today.”
“Nice. Come to my room. It’s—”
I shook my head. “Can’t. Girls can’t go into boys’ rooms and vice versa. That was in the handbook. Did you even crack it open?”
“I used it to kill a spider then threw it out. Does that count?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “You’re going to make me work overtime at this student guide thing. Aren’t you?”
His grin said it all.
Kai and I chatted while the classroom filled up. Sofia and Zane ran in, looking suspiciously disheveled, right before the AV students wheeled the television inside.
“Quiet down,” Markham said. “It’s time for the announcements.”
No sooner had she spoke than Ezra’s face filled the screen. “Good morning, junior class, and welcome to the second day of the year. We have a lot of exciting things happening this semester and I know we’re all looking forward to it.”
Kai snorted. “This guy is a smiley one, isn’t he?”
“On camera he is,” I said under my breath.
Ezra beamed back at us. “The homecoming dance is at th
e end of this month. Next month we have the Halloween dance, and then finally is the winter trip.”
“Whoop!” Cheers went up around the room. Everyone was looking forward to having fun at Evergreen again—me included.
“—or A Night in Paris,” Ezra said. “You will cast your vote for the homecoming theme at the end of the week. Now our headmaster with a few words.”
I tuned out Evergreen and took out my homework. I worked until the bell rang for another day of classes.
“Winter trip sounds fun,” Zane said as we gathered our things. “We never had any of that at our old school.”
“It is fun if the upperclassmen are to be believed,” Sofia replied. “It’s also one big hookup fest so that’s why everyone is excited.”
“I like the sound of that.” Zane threw an arm around a giggling Sofia.
“What? No chaperones?” Kai asked.
Sofia shook her head. “There are. They keep room keys so they can bust in at any time, but there are plenty of places to sneak away.”
“Which you two will be doing, so it’ll just be me and Val.” He draped an arm on my shoulder. “We’ll have fun together. You can teach me how to ski.”
Something made me turn my head. Our eyes connected instantly. Jaxson looked at me, then the arm on my neck, and his eyes narrowed into slits.
“I won’t be much of a teacher.” I bent down to get my bag, making the hand fall off. “I have no idea how to ski. I’ve never even seen snow.”
The four of us set off for the door. Jaxson slipped out of the classroom before I could think to catch up to him.
“There’s also the homecoming dance,” Sofia spoke up. “This will be Val’s first time going.”
“If I go.” We stepped into the hallway. “I’m not sure—”
“Hello, Valentina.”
I froze. I knew that voice. There was no mistaking that voice. “Isabella.” I turned and there she was looking even lovelier than usual. Her hair had grown and fell in soft waves to her waist. The red dress that was our uniform looked like a fashion statement on her. Flanking her was the rest of the Diamonds: Natalie, Airi, Genesis, Cade, and Axel.
She swept her hair back and shot me a smile. “Did you have a nice summer?”
“I did.” I matched her pleasant tone. “And you?”