Page 55 of Poison Touch

Gunner isn’t in class when I arrive. Dammit, I was hoping to get him alone or hear his sarcastic comments or teasing before class got started so that I can set the record straight.

Waiting at my easel is a used condom. Oh, joy. And here I thought my Monday would be boring, with sleuthing on Venom and trying to find their dojo. I guess the joke is on me. My face flushes as anger swells inside me. I lightly touch the scar on the left side of my stomach. It grounds me, reminding me why I’m here at Monarch. Taking a deep breath, I use a pen to remove the disgusting item and toss it in the trash.

Eden pops her head in class as I’m setting up my canvas. “Hey, Kinsley.”

“Hi.”

“Where did you go Saturday night?”

Even my new friend is curious, and I can’t blame her. “Home. I went home.”

I leave out the part about the pitstop in the lifeguard stand and the unfortunate events that I was trapped in. Besides, what happened there is irrelevant to the rumors being spread. They aren’t about me being shacked up with Edge to get out of the storm but straight up fucking him.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. I think there’s something I need to clear up today. Maybe the fact that I fucked Edge isn’t true.”

“So, you’ve heard.”

“It was news to me that I slept with Edge.” My gaze finds its way to the ceiling. “And yeah, it was obvious when the stares and finger-pointing started the second I got off my bike that something was up. Then I was confronted by Brielle.”

She, like Josh, lets her shoulders drop in relief. “Your mornings really suck.”

Her remark pulls a smile from me. “Yeah, since I moved here, you’re right.”

Gunner takes that exact moment to enter the class. His eyes gravitate right to me. The grin on his face widens like the great divide.Seriously?

“I’ll catch you in biology,” Eden says as Gunner passes her on his way into class.

He glances over his shoulder. “You know, tapping the chancellor’s daughter doesn’t seem like it would be too bad. She’s kind of growing on me. She has funky hair like mine and is smart like me. We might have more in common than I thought.”

Eden wouldn’t give him the time of day if someone paid her. But I don’t say this. As selfish as it is, I’m keeping this moment all about me.

He glides onto his stool. “So, you and Edge, huh?”

I act like I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Where’d you hear that?” My innocence is pretty convincing if I’m judging my performance. I shuffle around with the tubes of paint.

“Partying, storming, lightning, thundering, fucking… sound familiar?”

Nonchalance plays in my lies. “The partying, storming, lightning, and thundering all sound very familiar, but about that last thing you listed, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

As I squeeze a few colors onto the palette, he’s across the room and next to me without me realizing it. Reaching into the closet, he grabs his canvas. His breath feathers along my neck. “Oh, come on, just give me one little detail.”

I turn. Our faces are mere inches apart. “There’s nothing to tell. But if there were, I suggest you look elsewhere. I never kiss and tell. Or, in this case, fuck and tell.”

His smile only grows more devious. He backs away. “Well, my boy won’t spill, and you’re tight-lipped, so how am I supposed to get the nasty details?”

“I hate to break it to you, Gunner, but there are no juicy or nasty details to share. I never slept withyour boy, as you call him.” I place my hands on my hips. “What I would like to know is where you heard that little rumor?”

He only winks, then fills one of the cups with water in the sink behind us. “Both of us can play this game.”

So much for Gunner being helpful. I guess I’ll have to go right to the source, my so-called fuck buddy.

On to the next item on my checklist. “So, where do you guys train? What dojo?”

Gunner pauses, the brush hovering above the blob of blue paint as he lifts his eyes to me. Without any of his usual humor, he says, “It’s a private establishment.”

Feeling like I’ve just been dismissed, I drop the subject. I guess I’ll have to find that out another way, too.