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14

Summer

T he party continues downstairs, but our labored breathing is the only sound in the room. Our shoulders brush as we both try to catch our breath and calm our bodies.

“You know,” Connor pulls me against him, kissing along my jaw, “I was planning something romantic for when I kissed you again.”

I quirk a brow and nuzzle against him. “Romantic?”

He nods. “Yeah. I was planning to have the entire team do a dance, and then I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. It was a whole thing.”

I blink. “Girlfriend? Absolutely not.”

Connor brushes his lips over mine, completely unfazed, as if he expected that exact reply. “Why not?”

I pull back, needing a little distance. “Because I don’t do that.”

“Do what?” he asks, brushing his fingers over my cheek.

“Relationships,” I reply plainly, leaving absolutely no room for misunderstanding.

He glides his thumb along my bottom lip. “Fine. How about we date?”

I laugh and shift a little, putting a bit more space between us. “I don’t think so.”

Connor pulls me back and rolls on top of me. “Hey.”

I look up at him, unsmiling.

“I get it. I like you.” He keeps that penetrating gaze on me, and while I can tell he’s trying to read me, I can also see that he’s not getting anywhere. “Do you like me?”

“No,” I reply, but there’s no bite in my words. Connor’s lips curl into a smirk, and there’s a slight twinkle in his eyes.

He leans down, biting my lower lip. “Do you want to know a little angelic trade secret?”

Connor nuzzles my jaw, and I tilt my head when he presses his lips to my ear. “We can taste lies.”

He trails his lips along my cheek, kissing me deeply when he reaches my mouth. I gently bite his tongue, pulling a pleasing groan from him.

Connor pulls back, rubbing his nose against mine. “So… dating? We can go super slow.”

“So slow that I don’t see you again for months?” I quip.

He smirks. “As in we date?—”

“Summer!” Alice’s shout comes right before she bangs on the door. “We have to go!”

I frown, glancing at the door. I want to tell Alice I’ll be down in twenty minutes or so. Morningstar and I can go another round before I shut this thing down for good, but something in her voice tugs at me. I push Connor off me and climb out of the bed. “Just a sec, Alice,” I call, pulling on the discarded jersey.

She bangs on the door again, and I am not mistaking the urgency in it this time.

Connor sighs and rolls out of bed to pull on his jeans. “What does she want?”

“Summer!” Alice shouts and bangs on the door again, making it rattle dangerously on its hinges.

“I’m coming!” I yell and open the door. Alice looks furious, and she throws a death glare at Connor over my shoulder. What am I missing?

She pulls out her phone and turns the screen toward me. Zach’s Nexus page is already loaded up, and a video is playing. It is focused on a door very similar to the one I’m standing beside. My stomach drops when I hear the moaning that’s coming from within the room beyond. Embarrassment shrouds my skin like a heavy cloak, and my cheeks heat with humiliation as the video continues to play.

Not again. Not again. How could I have been so fucking stupid to let my guard down so quickly?

“Connor is going for the species cup!” someone says off-screen. It sounds vaguely like one of the twins, but between the chaos of the party and the moaning, it’s difficult to decipher voices. I feel Connor come up behind me as I click on the comments. There are hundreds of comments already, and most seem to add to the not-so-secret tally being kept.

Connor tenses against my back, but if he’s about to say something, I don’t give him the chance. I look at Alice. “Let’s go. Now.”

I brush past her, not looking back.

“Summer! Wai—” Connor’s groan of pain replaces his words, and then Alice is at my side, sliding her hand into mine. Every pair of eyes is on me as I do some fucking, messed up walk of shame out of the house. All conversation has died, and the only sound is the booming bass coming from the stereo.

“Summer! Just wait!” Connor calls, running after us. I don’t stop, not even looking back. My stomach twists with anger and something else I’ve never felt before. I’d actually allowed myself to start to like that feather-brained prick. This is why you have your rules, Summer. This is why you don’t allow feelings to get involved. You know better!

Connor grabs my arm, and I whirl on him. Alice snarls. She doesn’t interfere but stays close, ready to step in if needed. Blood is trickling from Connor’s nose, no doubt thanks to my vampiric roommate.

“I didn’t know.” Connor searches my eyes. His expression is soft, apologetic, and beseeching.

The anger builds inside me, the video playing on a loop in my head along with the words about his own personal species cup. I yank my arm free. “Leave me alone. You got your fae. Congratulations, asshole,” I snarl at him.

Connor shakes his head and steps forward. I step back, maintaining the distance between us. “No! That’s not… I didn’t want that. I didn’t even know about that,” he says beseechingly.

“Whatever,” I snarl at him before turning and walking away. Alice is hot on my heels, but I can also hear Connor following. I throw a basic shield up, a skill I learned in my latest combat class.

“Fuck off!” Alice sneers at him over her shoulder.

I barely register the walk home. Not even the lights lining the path can pull my attention from the betrayal of a guy who owed me nothing. What does it even matter? He deserves no more trust than any other stranger. When we get back to the dorm, I go straight to my room and slam my door. I climb into bed, desperately wanting to cry, but there are no tears. There are so rarely tears anymore. I once believed I’d used up all my tears as a child, that I drained my ducts dry, and now they are as barren as the barest of desert plains. It used to be a relief, yet at this moment, I wish I could cry. Maybe it would release some of the fury within me.

Alice keeps her distance for almost an hour but comes to my room when someone, presumably Connor, starts slamming on the dormitory door. She wordlessly climbs into bed with me and just lays there.

I throw up another shield, making the room soundproof and drowning out the noise of Connor’s useless apologies.

“Sum?” Alice eventually says into the darkness of my room.

“Hm?”

“Sorry,” she whispers, then surprises me by cuddling into my side.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Alice nods and throws her arm over me, holding me tight and offering comfort in the only way she knows how.

The anger curdles in my stomach, pain threatening to overwhelm me. I stare up at the ceiling, hoping for sleep to take me.