Page 27 of I Don't Need Your Romance

She shrugs. “Because you’re not a criminal.”

It throws me off for a second that she’s come to that conclusion. Most kids at this school would claim Iama criminal. But I scoff and say, “You don’t know me.”

“Would a criminal spend that much money on books for some random girl?”

I bend close to whisper, “Maybe I stole that money, too.”

She gives me a serious face. “Why are you trying so hard to convince me you’re not a good guy?”

“Maybe because I’m not?”

She clicks her tongue. “How about the truth this time. What are you doing here?”

At that moment, my traitorous stomach decides to release the loudest sound known to man.

Sophie laughs softly. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s looking for a midnight snack.”

“I skipped dinner, too,” I finally admit.

“Why?”

“Wasn’t in the mood.”

She nods, though I can tell she has tons of questions. I’m glad she’s choosing not to ask them. I don’t want to open up to anyone.

“How exactly do you expect to get in there?” I ask as I tilt my head toward the dining hall. “The place is locked.”

“I figured I’d maybe sneak in through a window?”

I snicker. “Pretty sure all the windows are closed. The place is locked well.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “How exactly doyouexpect to get in?”

“Got an award for breaking and entering. From my many, many, many years of being in juvie.”

She scowls at me.

I hold up the key.

Her eyes widen. “Where did you get that?”

“My mom’s the principal.”

“Oh. Duh.”

I lift a brow at her. “Since when does Miss Goody-Goody break into school buildings, anyway?”

“I’m just so hungry, and my friends told me they had Chinese for dinner. I was kind of hoping the dining hall has some leftover.”

I bend close to her again. There are only a few inches between us and I’m well aware that my lips are very close to hers. My gaze drops to them for a second before I meet her eyes again. “Looks like you’re not such a goody-goody after all.” I wink. “I kind of like that.”

She glances at my lips for a second before mumbling, “I’ll starve if I don’t eat. This is a matter of life and death.”

I hold up my hands. “No judgment here. We both need to get food in our stomachs, so the question is, what do we do about him?” I nod to the guard.

She keeps her eyes on him. “We need a distraction.”

I rub my chin. “Hmm. You go there and call for help. I’ll unlock the door and you’ll quickly rush inside before the guard realizes what happened.”