Page 68 of The Casualty of Us (Philosophies of the Heart Duet #1)

Not that O knows about debate yet.

Fuck. She’s going to make me study with her for real when she finds out.

Her leg goes tense under my hand, and I look around quickly, spotting the fucker in question heading over to our table with a smile that reinforces my gut reaction upon meeting him. Someone needs to punch him in the fucking face.

“Kyler.” Ollie clears his throat on the other side of O, and I barely keep the scoff in at how overjoyed he sounds. “How are you doing?”

“Good, thanks, man.” I watch as he gives a fake-ass chuckle before looking around at everyone and sliding casually into the seat across from O. “Gang’s all here, I guess.”

Who the fuck does this guy think he is?

“Yeah.” Ollie gives a tight laugh as Marley turns her head, staring at Kyler like she’s about to start dissecting him. “They were all around and wanted to come.”

He pauses, gaze moving to stare at my girl with that fucking look before giving her a small nod. “O.”

“Kyler.” She clears her throat the same way Ollie did before looking down to grab one of the bottles of water I got for us off the tray.

It further reinforces my suspicion that his attention is starting to really grate on her as his eyes move over to me with obvious suspicion, and he barely jerks his chin down.

I don’t bother returning the gesture. We probably already would have come to blows if it wasn’t for Ollie regularly running interference between us during football. Not that either of us has mentioned that to O.

Marley tilts her head like she’s imagining removing his spleen or something before popping off cheerily. “So how are you liking Pinecrest, Kyler?”

It makes me feel a tad guilty for the advice I gave Ollie at the end of last year about living his life still, considering that the girl definitely came to lunch swinging for my side.

“It’s not bad.” Kyler gives her an annoyed look before turning himself back to Ollie and O mainly. “I heard that there’s a Halloween party at the Ruins in a couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, there is.” Ollie nods, picking up his burger. “Are you going?”

O’s body leans the barest inch more into mine as she starts to pick the fries off my plate, and I squeeze her thigh, starting to rub small circles on the inside with my thumb.

“Yeah, I’m going with Thomas and some other guys.”

See, that’s my other problem. Out of all the friends he could have made in this school, he went with the guys I would deem the most morally questionable.

I didn’t even know Graham had let Thomas come back to the Ruins.

“What about you O?”

“Uh, yeah.” She picks another fry off my plate, tossing out offhandedly, “I’m helping Graham and Lisette set up beforehand with some of the other girls from cheer.”

“No way.” Marley giggles, losing some of her scariness that O steals with the scowl quickly growing on her face.

“Yes, way,” she snaps quietly. “They’re not bad, okay?” A little huff leaves her that’s adorable enough to have my lips twitching even though she hasn’t mentioned this to me yet either. “They’ve been nice, and they asked, so I said yes.”

“Well, all right then.” Marley’s voice softens, and the two girls stare at each other for a beat as some kind of understanding passes between them. “Guess I’ll meet you there then, Bookish.”

“I’ll have a shot ready with your name on it,” O jokes back with a grin before ordering. “Now everyone leave me alone about it.”

It leaves me fighting another twitch of my lips because it’s cute that she’s trying to make friends. It’s been good for her to be back here actually, I think. Away from all the insanity of stalkers and kidnapping for ransom that’s waiting out there.

Now I just need to get her to accept that there’ll always be some danger lurking around the corner. That no matter how careful we are in life, we’ll never really be safe.

Yeah, that’ll be easy.

“I never would have pegged you for a cheerleader, O.”

Fucking hell, I can’t even stand the way he says her name.

It’s my letter, mine, just like she is. The only member of the male species I’m willing to share her heart with is Ollie, and that’s just because he was there first, but I’m not fucking doing it with anyone else.

“Yeah.” She shrugs like there was never any fit thrown about it. “It’s a new thing this year for me, but I don’t mind it actually.”

I run my thumb a little further up the inside of her leg, smirk slipping free and immediately teasing her under my breath. “Lots of new things to like this year.”

Her gaze flicks to me in horror as Marley chokes on her smoothie and Kyler eyes us suspiciously.

He pauses, and I can see he wants to question it but instead just gives me a fuck off smile before looking back at Ollie. “So are you going to be in town for Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Ollie sighs shortly, apparently already knowing what’s coming next and adding, “And yeah, we’ll be at your parents’ New Year’s Eve party again this year.”

What the actual fuck? They have parties together?

Fucking parties?

It’s bad enough they live in the same town, but now I have to worry—

“Perfect.” Kyler laughs back, gaze moving to Ophelia and the way her leg twitches under my hand lets me know I’m not going to like whatever comes next. “I miss you both, and I know things haven’t been the same since the last time and that stupid game of spin the bottle, but—”

“Dude,” Ollie scoffs, apparently fed up, but I’m still trying to make sense of something that just clicked. “It’s ancient history, but don’t act like you’re all innocent and didn’t rig it.”

“Ollie, I’ve told you a million times—”

“Hold the fuck up,” I snap, bringing them both to a halt as everyone’s eyes move to me, but I ignore them, turning to Ophelia’s surprised face and demanding “It was a game of spin the bottle? Your first kiss with him?”

“Uh—” Her brows fall, gaze darting around nervously before coming back to mine and breathing out with obvious frustration, “Yeah.”

“Ha!” I don’t even try to stop the laugh that escapes, looking back across the table to smirk victoriously at the fucker, only too happy to inform him, “That doesn’t count.”

“What the fuck?” He glares back. “Yes, it does.”

“Setting aside the fact Ollie says you rigged it,” I narrow my eyes at him, fully ready to go to bat on this one now. “It’s a game, not a choice, and therefore it doesn’t count. Not really.”

“Yeah, it does.” A muscle tics in his cheek as he grits out, “Regardless of whether it was a game or not, it happened—”

“Maybe in the physical sense but not the emotional one.”

“She wanted to kiss me too!”

Fuck. That one hurts.

I clench my jaw for a beat, determined not to let him win even though I know that’s true and biting out, “Consent is key, dude.” Turning my head to O, I immediately demand, “Did you ask him to kiss you?”

Ignoring the look she’s shooting me like I’ve lost the plot here, I hold her gaze until she eventually sighs. “I don’t really remember, honestly.”

“Ophelia.” I clench her thigh, calling bullshit, and she snaps.

“I don’t think so!”

Just before digging her fingers into my side in warning, but I continue to ignore the reprimands, just smirking across the table. “See, it doesn’t count.”

“You two are weird.” Kyler’s gaze moves between me and O curiously, setting me on edge again.

“I’d assume you were dating if it weren’t for the fact everyone’s told me about what happened with that Josey girl last year.

” His eyes finally settle on me, flashing with their own brand of victory. “Shitty move, but thanks for that.”

O sucks in a sharp breath next to me, the sound reminding me of someone that’s been hit, as if she’s in physical pain, and I decide that’s it. I’m done.

I don’t care who the motherfucker’s father is, I’ll hire a whole damn army of lawyers.

“Oliver.” Marley’s curious voice cuts through the tension, making me dart my eyes her way and seeing the tiny wrinkle between her brows. “What’s that?”

“What?” He throws a confused look her way while setting his burger down. “What’s what?”

She points at a spot right between her own collarbone and neck before nodding back at him. “That.”

O turns to her brother, and I glance his way to see what the big deal is right before she screeches, “Oliver Fitzroy!”

“Oh shit.” I laugh with my next breath, watching him try to fight her off as she pulls at his shirt to get a better look.

“Is that a hickey?!”

“O! Let me go!”

“Who are you messing around with?!”

The twins devolve into what pretty much amounts to battling five-year-olds as my gaze goes back to Kyler, finding him staring at them and unequivocally labeling himself as a threat in my head.

Because he even looks at Ollie like he’s nothing more than an obstacle when he doesn’t think anyone’s looking.

Growing up with my mom might not have taught me much…

but it did teach me this. How to tell if someone’s dangerous pretty fucking fast, and I think O is underestimating that here.

Because that’s her one blind spot, really—herself.

I jerk my gaze away from him, needing to look at something else, and I find Marley still staring at Ollie with that bewilderment on her face.

Huh. Look at that.

“Marley.” It takes a couple of seconds, but her confused gaze finally moves to mine, and I try to keep the offer casual. “You can come over before the Halloween party and head out with us if you want.”

“Yeah.” She nods absently, sipping at her smoothie and looking back at where O is whispering angrily to Ollie that they will discuss his choice of playmates later. “Yeah, I might do that.”

O turns back to the table and snaps, “I’m going to go find Holden since he never showed up.”

That’s my cue then. “I’ll help you find him.”

Not really sure what I wanted out of this besides to solidify my dislike of the guy…and make that apparent to him.

“Have fun with that,” Ollie snorts. “Try to keep her from taking a book to anyone’s face, yeah?”

“Oliver!”

His name comes out like a battle cry this time, and I move my hand from her thigh to her elbow with a laugh, pulling her up and ready to get out of here.

Even if it means having to trek around the library looking for her other intellectual half.

At least there won’t be any psychopaths there to sniff her out like freaking bears to honey, because she obviously seems to be like the holy grail to them.

Hopefully. You never know about libraries, though.

“Ophelia.” I stop at the sound of Kyler’s voice, hand tensing around her arm as she goes still. “I’ll see you at the Halloween party, okay?”

Motherfucker.

“Sure, yeah,” she tosses back, turning quickly and leaving me with the choice to follow or not as her arm pulls free.

Which isn’t really a choice at all.

I settle for glaring at him one more time before heading out with her, catching the way Marley’s still sitting there and staring in confusion as Ollie steadfastly ignores both of them.

Reminding myself while walking with O to tell him that was done beautifully later when she’s not around because she would have my balls for—

“Tell me something,” she sighs thoughtfully, waiting until we pass through the doors of the mess hall and into the crisp autumn air to snap at me. “Was the whole point of that little excursion for you to practically piss on me?”

“Pretty much,” I grin down at her, not faking repentance that I don’t feel, and shrug with the truth. “I don’t know what you expect here, Freckles. I don’t trust him, and you clearly haven’t handled it.”

“What am I supposed to do!” She narrows her eyes at me with a frustrated sound. “We literally go to the same school as him!”

“Wanna change your name to Ophelia Flynn?”

She snorts. “That’s not funny.”

“It’s funny you think I’m joking,” I scoff, pulling the door open as we get to the library and stepping behind her so that I can sneak in a squeeze of her butt. “I’m not.”

A little squeak leaves her before she moves away quickly, glaring back at me in warning. “You are walking a fine line today, and I’m not sure which side you’re landing on yet.”

“Good.” I give her a wink. “You’d never like someone boring, so say thank you, baby.”

Her mouth pops open, and I take off up the stairs in the library, trying to keep my laughter contained but unable to hide the grin that spreads when she eventually catches up.

Somehow looking torn between scolding me or pulling me behind the nearest bookshelf.

A look that I fully appreciate and consider taking advantage of as we clear the second floor bit by bit.

She turns ahead of me around one of the back corners of the library, and I decide we might as well, only to immediately be pushed back as she pops back around it with her eyes the size of saucers and plants a hand on my chest.

“What the fu—”

Her other hand smacks over my mouth, cutting me off and leaving me staring down into blue eyes that are full of delight and surprise as she whispers, “Let’s go back to the dorm.”

I try to mumble behind her hand and ask what the fuck is going on exactly, but she just keeps pushing me back. Damn near making me miss my next step as she trails her hand down my chest and grins.

“And maybe later I’ll give you a reason to say thank you, baby .”

She steps around me with a hushed laugh, and I turn my head, watching her ass sway with those first few steps.

Getting completely pulled in by the hypnotic rhythm of it until she stops, and my eyes snap back up to find her lifting a brow at me.

Her gaze amused as she moves it around our immediate area before pulling her leggings down just enough to flash me what looks like a red thong.

Killing off about half my brain cells with one shot and leaving me standing there with my mouth open as she winks.

Turning around with another little laugh that has me bringing a fist to my mouth, biting down on it to stifle the groan that’s trying to escape.

Oh, yeah….Ophelia Flynn.

That definitely has a nice ring to it.