Page 33 of Save Me (Maxton Hall #1)

“You didn’t say you’re almost an adult,” says James, standing up. He raises both arms over his head and stretches. “Why aren’t I invited?”

“Because you don’t know how to behave,” I retort.

“I’ll show you exactly how well I can behave,” he says, sounding like the exact opposite.

Suddenly, I’m remembering the party again.

Not the pool and everything that came after that.

The moment on the dance floor when I stumbled into James and felt his body against mine.

He was looking at me exactly like this, with a shameless glitter in his eyes that makes my stomach tingle.

I have to pull myself together and remember where we are before I reply. “You’re not invited, James.”

“OK.” Again, it sounds more like he’s saying We’ll see about that .

Kieran gets up and shoulders his bag. “I’ll call you then, OK?” I nod, and he leaves the room with a hand gesture that’s halfway between a wave and a high five.

I stash my planner in my backpack and shut Lin’s laptop down. I slip it into its case and stand up. “Are you hanging around, or shall I lock up?”

James and Lin shake their heads. “We’re done.”

The two of them pack up their stuff too, and I eye them suspiciously.

I want to know what they were talking about.

I hope Lin didn’t let him in on my birthday plans.

I might have shared an important part of me with James on Friday, but there are things he doesn’t need to know.

And the fact that I’m planning to spend the evening of my eighteenth birthday playing board games with Lin and my family is one of them.

“Rutherford is so into you,” James says once we’ve left the library.

“Rubbish,” I say, shaking my head.

“I think he likes you,” Lin agrees with James, entirely unnecessarily.

I glance at her.

“What? I’ve been telling you for years. He can read your every wish in your eyes, and he’s so nice. It’s really, really obvious.”

“What’s obvious about it? Nothing’s obvious. He’s nice to me because I’m team leader. He has to be nice to me.”

Lin smiles at me and strokes my arm. “OK, let me correct that. It’s obvious to everyone but you.”

James laughs quietly, and I glare at him. I wish I knew what’s made the two of them pal up like this. I can’t remember them ever agreeing about anything before, let alone sending each other amused glances over the top of my head. I’m not sure I approve of this development.

I’m almost relieved when Lin hugs me goodbye and heads off to the car park.

James insists on walking me to the bus. “You’re giving the poor boy hope,” he says out of nowhere.

“What’s your problem, James? Jealous?” It’s the best I can do in the spur of the moment. But he doesn’t answer, and when I glance at him, I see that he’s dug his hands in his trouser pockets and is frowning, staring straight ahead.

“If you need anyone to give you dancing lessons,” he says, after a brief pause, “I’m your man.”

“You can’t be serious,” I exclaim in disbelief. “Are you really jealous of Kieran ?”

“No.” He’s still not looking at me. “But I don’t want that guy getting the wrong idea.”

“What idea?” I ask.

“That sucking up to you is all it takes to make you smile. That’s pathetic.”

I stop abruptly. “Excuse me? I can smile perfectly well without anyone sucking up to me!”

He finally turns to me, but I can’t read the expression in his dark eyes. “Really? You never smiled at me like that.”

“You’ve never given me much reason to smile.”

For a moment, he just stares at me. I don’t get why he’s suddenly being like this. He seems worked up, and I can’t follow his argument. I decide to change the subject before the atmosphere gets any worse. “Thanks for looking out for me today.”

He just nods.

“Honestly. Nobody made any stupid remarks. I know it would have been different if you hadn’t walked into school or assembly with me.”

He still doesn’t reply, so I add: “Your sister sat with us in the dining hall today, and…”

Suddenly, James takes my arm and stands in front of me. I hold my breath and look up at him in surprise. His eyes are deadly serious.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“What for?” I ask quietly.

“For never having given you any reason to look at me the way you just looked at Kieran.”

“James…”

“I’m going to change that,” he goes on, looking me deep in the eyes.

I swallow. My stomach suddenly feels wobbly, my knees weak.

I’m aware of his hand on my arm, can feel his gentle touch through my blazer.

I get goose bumps down my arm. The sudden feeling that I need to touch him too takes me entirely unawares.

I don’t want much. It would be enough to put my hands on his hips, to hold him tight.

But I can’t. It’s not an option. Any more than this horrible breathlessness when he’s this close, or the butterflies in my tummy when he looks at me like that.

“My bus is coming,” I exclaim, pulling back.

The intensity doesn’t fade from his eyes. I turn and sprint away so that I’m no longer entirely at his mercy. I’ve never been so glad in my life to get on the bus.