Page 21 of Bribed by the Billionaire Bad Boy

Our class has shuffled out, leaving just the two of us in the wide open, empty space before she finds me watching her, then her eyes narrow.

Whether it’s a glare that conveys she’ll make me pay for this with more than money or just because she’s blind without her glasses is anyone’s guess.

Calypso

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will never get used to Lex’s car. Probably because it’s not the same one he drove Wednesday.

Toying with one of my braids, I try to keep my attention on how stupid rich this boy is and off absolutelyeverythingthat happened not even thirty minutes ago.

What have I done?

I could have sung a cappella. I could have waited until the “tracks were working again.” But no. I didn’t. Because I couldn’t believe Agatha was happeningagain.

The moment I heard Agatha’s voice call down from the sound booth, a place she shouldn’t have even been, rage flared to life inside me, and I didn’t care about anything else. I just wanted to absolutelycrushher. Any way I knew how.

Years of torment bubbled up inside me, and I hated everything for a long enough moment to act brashly.

“It’s just ice cream, not the end of the world.” Lex’s voice attempts to interrupt my thoughts of regret and fear.

Challenging Agatha, directly or indirectly, never ends well. I know that. I know that so painfully and personally.

What have I done?

“Hey,” Lex tries again, this time getting enough of my attention to garner a look. “I said,it’s just ice cream. Why’s your expression so dire? Are you lactose intolerant? We can get slushies instead.”

I pin him with indifference. “You know dang well my mood has nothing to do with you actually inviting me out for ice cream.”

He lifts a shoulder. “I barely got thirty minutes of my allotted extra time for this week. Celebration ice cream seems more thanreasonable.”

I roll my eyes out the window and prop my head in my palm, watching the quaint city buildings crawl by as Lex navigates the evening rush. “I want you to know I only agreed because I’m in shock, Mom works late, and I don’t trust myself to be alone with my thoughts right now. Technically, I still haven’t quit my part-time job, so since I’m not working right now, you don’t have a right to this time.”

“Now, see, I thought the most incredible thing I’d witness you doing today was that flawless performance, but no. Apparently it’s you makingfree ice creama bad thing that you’re begrudged and reluctant to even be a part of.”

“What can I say?” I drone. “I’m just thatbrilliant.” The word leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but I’d say it complements my sour tone perfectly.

Lex ignores the sarcasm. “That’s just it. You really are. Why in the world are you hiding yourself away?”

“I don’t know. Why in the world are you flaunting yourself and your skills when not an ounce of passion rests behind anything you do?” I blink when the silent hum of the engine is all that greets me. Straightening, I face him and the cold wash of dread that runs down my spine. “Sorry. I did not mean for that to come off as harsh as it did. Or, at least, I never meant to say it out loud.”

Lex’s thumb runs over the wheel, the movement slow and calculated. “I really hope you’re the only one who’s realized I’m just going through the motions. It’d be really awkward otherwise.”

I clear my throat. “Well, if no one’s said anything, then…”

“Maybe they’re just more polite?” He flashes a grin.

I huff, feeling that stupid heat crawl up my neck again. “Yeah. That.” The traffic moves a little, and the car speeds along. Taking a breath, I ask, “What areyouafraid of? Or what’s holding youback?”

“I don’t know that the answer is any of your business, sugar.”

My heart thumps, and I blink, my brows furrowing. “Sugar?”

“Inside joke.”

I stare at him, blurting, “With who?”

“Irrelevant.”