Page 58 of Brutal Little Secrets

“Hey, Hawk.” Mia leans on the desk toward me. She eyes me like she wants to fuck me. Fuck this girl. “Are we working on our history project this week?”

“We can talk with the others in third.” I give her a smile because I need information. If she reads into it, that’s not my problem. “I thought I saw you at the football game with Jackson Riordan. How do you know him?”

She smiles coyly. “I didn’t. He seemed to know Evan and needed a place to sit for the game. After Evan disappeared, he got a call, but he said he’d show at the party.”

“Did he show up?” I don’t remember seeing him at the party, but I was distracted.

“No, he’s as hard to track down as you guys.” She flashes me a smile. “But I did get his number. He put it in my phone.”

“Can I see that number?” I give her a quick smile.

She opens her phone and hands it to me. I glance at the number, memorizing it to write it down when class starts.

“He put his number in?” I hand her back the phone.

She nods and flips her hair back over her shoulder. “It was loud, and he didn’t want to have to scream it.”

Or he just wanted access to Mia’s phone.

“Did he say anything to EvanAnn?” I’m careful not to call her Annie to Mia. I need her to believe what she sees.

“No, he was really focused on me.” Mia leans in and says quietly, “But he’s not the one I’m interested in.”

Fortunately, the bell rings and class begins.

Cam

Evan is already in class when I sit next to her.

“How do you feel?” I ask with a cocky smile.

Her cheeks flush with heat, and she looks at her books. “I’m good.”

I’m glad Damon pushed her last night. Fucking that tight little asshole was perfection.

She smiles shyly. Those blue-gray eyes meet mine. “We should set up a schedule for tutoring.”

“Yeah.” I run my fingers over my lips. “My guess is you have more on your schedule than I do. But if you can come over and meet my parents so they believe you’re real and actually smart, then we’ll be able to meet outside of my house the next time.”

“How about tonight after rehearsal?” She gets her phone out and opens the calendar. “About seven?”

“Got it. I’ll text you my address.” I pick a piece of lint off her shoulder.

She looks at my hand and then meets my gaze. If I asked her to meet me in that classroom during the break, would she? Is she safe here at school? Those messages had an undertone of menace I can’t ignore. If it’s Jackson, he goes to another school, but it’s possible it could be anyone.

Maybe someone who knew about Jackson’s obsession with her.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she says.

The teacher walks in before I can say anything more. It’s probably for the best. I shouldn’t ask her to meet me somewhere that might not be safe. Besides, I wouldn’t want to just fuck her hard against the door again. I’d want to explore every inch of her body. As the teacher begins class, I relax. I’ll have her to myself tonight.

During class, I pull out the paper I ordered. It’s red and while the teacher drones on, I carefully fold it like I learned in the video. The little drawing disappearing into the center of the flower. By the end of class I finish and set it in front of Evan before she can pack up to leave.

Her mouth opens as she lifts the paper flower. “This is beautiful, Cam. When did you learn to do this?”

“The other night.” I lean close to her. “I wanted to bring you flowers but knew they’d wilt before you got home. This kind of flower won’t wilt.”

She looks about ten seconds from lunging in to hug or kiss me, which is not part of the plan. I turn to collect my things.