Page 29 of Die for You

The driver in the yellow car has already parked and climbed out, heading toward us. A girl with brown hair that falls past her shoulders in waves struts toward us with a smug grin. Her long nails are eye-catching, dark liner making her eyes pop even from here.

My stomach twists into a knot. She obviously recognizes the car. She came here for a reason. A puck bunny the Devils must’ve invited here to meet them after practice.

Of course. They’ve probably been hooking up with puck bunnies every night since we met. It shouldn’t matter to me. They’re not my boyfriends, and they don’t owe me anything. I don’t evenwanta boyfriend.

So why does it feel like acid is burning up my throat?

“Shit,” Knox curses under his breath.

“What?” Damien turns to frown at his friend. “Who the hell is that?”

They don’t know her. Not a puck bunny then. An embarrassing gush of relief floods me.

For once, the happy-go-lucky smile is nowhere to be found on Knox’s face. “Monica.”

Chapter 10

Knox

FuckingMonica.

She smirks from where she stops in the middle of the parking lot as I hop out of Damien’s SUV, her lips bright red and nails long enough to scoop an eye from its socket.

I try to keep my shoulders relaxed and head toward her with my hands in my pockets. What does she want this time?

“Hanging out in empty parking lots now?” I call. “Gotta admit: kind of a strange hobby.”

Her cackle makes the acid in my gut curdle. Normally, making someone laugh is a boost to my ego. Her laugh makes me want to set myself on fire. “You should talk. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“Giving driving lessons, actually.” I force a smile and nod at her car. “We were kind of hoping to have an empty parking lot.”

“Driving lessons? Do you have a sixteen-year-old in there?” She snorts.

I follow her gaze, but Rory isn’t in the driver’s seat anymore. She must’ve climbed in back for some reason.

Taking a calming breath, I clench my jaw and bite back all the venom I want to spew at Monica. “So what brings you here?”

“I figured you probably had practice or a game or something. I was in the area, so I decided to stop and say hey.”

You’d think she’d become a better liar the older we get, but it seems like she still expects me to believe the same lies she fed me when we were teenagers. “What a coincidence.”

She doesn’t notice the sarcasm in my voice and nods to the SUV. “Looks like your student has another teacher in the car. Maybe you can take a break.”

A break with her? I’d rather walk on a mile of hot coals. “I’m?—”

Behind me, a door slams and a pair of heels clatters across the pavement.

My heart hits the ground when Aurora prances toward us in a skintight black dress and high heels. Beneath the dress, her tits bounce violently with every step. No bra. Please let there be no panties under that dress too.

Jesus. Did she have those tucked in her backpack? For what—an emergency one-night-stand? And how did she go from sweats to this in thirty seconds?

I drag my gaze from her long enough to spot Damien biting his fist and Finn leaning forward from the backseat to get a good view.

Monica stiffens, jutting her chin out when she spots Aurora rushing toward us with the biggest fake grin I’ve ever seen. The sight nearly pulls a laugh out of me.

I don’t bother adjusting the hard-on in my pants. Let Monica see exactly the kind of effect Rory has on me. An effect Monica never had on me, even on her best days.

“Sorry, baby!” Aurora calls, glomming onto my arm. “I don’t want to rush you, but if we don’t leave now, we’ll miss our reservation!”