Page 62 of Forbidden

R: Ok.

By five pm, I’m in the shower and nervously shaving every inch of my body. Nerves and razors are not a good combination; I nick my legs more than a few times. They’ll probably look like I had a run-in with Freddy Krueger. I dress carefully – a blue and white cotton skater dress, and a light, white jacket. After blow-drying my hair, I add some light makeup and finish my outfit with blue sandals.

At six fifty-five, I get a text telling me that my ride is outside, so I take a deep breath and head out. I step outside and there’s a black Charger in the driveway. The windows are tinted extra dark, keeping prying eyes out. The driver hops out and opens my door. He’s tall but he seems young, around my age.

“Hello.”

“Hi, I’m Ron.”

“Raven.”

He smirks at me as he closes the door. “I know.”

I watch him out of the corner of my eye as he backs out of the driveway. Damn, he’s cute. He’s like a Colton Haynes look-alike but with dark hair and tattoos.

“So, Raven. I’ve seen you around.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. You go with Chris, right?”

Shit. He knows Chris. Are they friends? Is he going to rat me out?

“Don’t worry. Boss Man explained everything to me.”

“And what exactly did Boss Man say?”

“That you’re friends, but because of the situation, you have to keep it quiet.”

“You don’t sound like you believe that.”

“It’s just hard to believe that Gage Hunter can be friends with a woman, especially one as pretty as you.”

“So, you don’t think there’s a woman who can resist the big, bad Reaper?”

“I’ve never met one.”

“Well, friends is the only thing we can be,” I tell him.

“Why is that?”

“One, I’m with Christopher and two, as you probably already know, I’m not legal.”

He waits for me to continue, glancing between me and the road.

“That’s all you got?”

“That’s all I need.”

“You’re not legal, but you will be. Soon. And Chris, well, he’ll get over it.”

“Are you friends?”

“We had a few classes together. Don’t worry; my lips are sealed,” he promises.

“Thanks. He’s already out of his mind with jealousy.”

“No problem.”