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Even Tanner can’t control his laughter, yet Ivy stands solemn among the crowd, her blue eyes locked on Gabe with only the faintest smirk curling her lips at the corners.
“She is so dead for this,” Ava says beside me. “What the hell did Ivy put in his locker?”
“Sex lube,” Kiley Carter says at our back. “That’s why it’s so slippery.”
Most of the time, I don’t even want to know how Ivy manages to pull off the pranks she sets up. What I do know is she spends a fortune on them. But that’s not a problem when she has her own unlimited credit card that her father pays off with no questions asked.
Despite how entertaining it is to watch Gabriel struggle, so much so that the only option is for Tanner to grab his hand and slide him away from the mess, my eyes still dance back to one particular person who smirks in my direction.
There’s an offer and a warning in the way he looks at me now, his head angling toward the bathrooms, just enough that nobody but me will notice it.
Cocking his brow, Ezra grins again before walking off with the silent invitation for me to follow.
I shouldn’t.
He’s trouble with a capital T.
All of the Inferno boys are, but especially the twins. There isn’t a day when one of them shows up clear of the scrapes and bruises they wear, proud markers of the fights they always start andalwayswin.
My fingers tighten over the strap of my bag, indecision cementing my body in place.
I watch with unblinking eyes as Ezra walks down the hall to slam a hand against the bathroom door, his gaze flicking my direction once more before he disappears inside.
Around me, everybody is still focused on Gabriel and Ivy. Not even Shane or Damon noticed that Ezra walked away, and I could simply slip through the crowd and follow without a single person paying attention.
My pulse pounds harder as my teeth chew the inside of my lip.
I shouldn’t.
But I find myself sneaking around all the people gathered around me anyway.
Quiet as a church mouse, I walk down the hall, my head angled down and my red hair covering my face.
When I reach the bathroom door, I have another moment of indecision, just a few seconds when I can rethink what I’m doing and remember every reason it’s a bad idea.
This is stupid.
I can’t do this.
I don’t even make it one step away before the door pulls open and a hand locks over my bicep. I’m dragged sideways with one hard tug, the door closing again as my back hits Ezra’s chest.
“You were going the wrong way.”
Trembling at the whisper against my ear, at the way his fingertips brush my neck when he moves my hair aside, I close my eyes and summon the will to leave.
“Probably because being here with you is the dumbest thing I can do.”
He laughs, the sound soft and dark, mocking me in a way that sets my nerves on edge while setting all the girlish parts inside me on fire.
“That’s not what you said yesterday. Or the day before that.”
There’s always a distinct growl to his voice, a rough quality like someone has taken sandpaper to his words to scrape up the edges.
He turns me around and dips his head to capture my eyes with his. He always does this...traps me before I can regain my senses enough to escape.
Fingers soft against my chin, he tilts my face to his. I stare wide-eyed at the green flecks in his amber gaze.
The problem is, I have no idea who I’m staring at. It could be Ezra. It could be Damon. I could be part of the typical game they play without ever knowing it.