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Smart girl.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Deny, deny, deny.I will not react. No one can know thatI knowwho Connor is. It’s for his safety as well as mine.

I might have told him to go and brag to Dante about being with me, but I did that knowing full well he wouldn’t. I don’t know how I knew. I just did. I mean, anyone with half a brain wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that. And Connor isn’t stupid. Stupidly good looking, yes. But stupid dumb? I don’t think so.

I just need to avoid him for the foreseeable future. It’s a big school. How hard can it be?

Never in my life have I spent my day looking over my shoulder, or walking through the halls dodging a certain someone whenever I saw theiruglybeautiful face. This isn’t me. I’ve never had to hide from anyone. So why the hell am I hiding from him?

Because I don’t trust that the cocky asshole won’t just walk up and start talking to me. Sure, I can be a bitch and pretend to not know him. I could put him on blast and make him a literal pariah of the school. No one other than his family would talk to him. Because they all listen to me.

I don’t want to do that, though. I just want to avoid him until he forgets I exist. Which really shouldn’t be long. Judging by the way my brothers and cousins fuck and forget girls, I’m sure it’s a matter of time before Connor has moved on to someone else.

“Why are you acting cagey?” Dante closes my locker door on me.

“Cagey? What does that even look like?” I ask him.

The asshole pulls out his phone, snaps a photo of me, and then turns the screen around. “Like this.”

“Funny, it’s a good thing you’re an academic, because a comedy career isn’t in the cards for you.” I pat his chest, hiking my bag higher onto my shoulder.

“You see Orlando around?” Dante questions.

“Have you checked under all the skirts?” I deadpan.

“He’s not that bad.” Dante shakes his head, even though we both know our cousinisthat bad when it comes to his dick. Dante’s different. He has his eyes on one girl. A girl who won’t give him the time of day. Which just makes the whole thing funny.

“Why are you looking for him anyway?” I ask.

“I was going to get him to give me a ride home.”

“Where’s your car?”

“In the shop. Looks like it’s your lucky day. I can just ride with you instead.” Dante wraps an arm around my shoulder as he leads me out of the building.

“You know, I could have better things to do with my time than drive you around,” I tell him.

“But you will anyway because you love me.” He smirks.

I roll my eyes. The hairs on the back of my neck rise with awareness. He’s here. Somewhere.

“That ass is in my AP math class,” Dante says under his breath.

“What ass?” I look around for that exact ass I know nothing about.

“The new Irish fucker,” Dante says while glaring in the direction of Kenny’s red Ferrari.

I make the mistake of glancing over. Connor is there. Staring right at me.Shit. What the hell is he doing? Does he have a death wish?

“What the fuck is he looking at?” Dante grunts. “What fun little torture devices you got on you?”

“Me? Nothing,” I tell him.

“Please, you are always strapped with shit. Give me a toy. I want to play with the new kid, Aurora,” Dante says with a sinister smirk.

“Get in the fucking car, Dante. Or don’t and walk home for all I care.” I open the back door, toss my bag on the floor, and then climb into the driver’s side.

Dante follows and buckles himself into the passenger seat. He then bends down and pulls out a packet of Cheetos from his bag.