Page 141 of The Surprise Play

With a soft growl, I try to take my arm back.

“Shut up,” Jade barks at me. “Growling like a fucking bitch. Don’t think this is over. We’re gonna find out the truth about you two.”

“There’s no truth to find out,” I quietly argue. “We’re dating. Deal with it.”

“You can’t possibly expect us to believe he’s into you.” Kelsey scoffs again, then looks at her friend. “Jade’s been crushing on him since she got here, and you need to back the hell off.”

“He’s not some property you can claim.” Anger starts to bubble and flare within me. “He can date who he likes.”

“Well, he’s fucking delusional if he thinks that person is you.” Jade’s glare is hot and intimidating.

I dip my chin, unable to hold her eye. My insides are burning, and I want nothing more than to disappear, just melt right into the icy concrete beneath my feet.

“Don’t think for a second that I’m backing down on this. I’ll show Wily exactly what he’s missing out on, and he’ll see soon enough that you’re a waste of his time.”

“She must have hexed him or something,” Kelsey mutters. “Wouldn’t surprise me if this weirdo is a full-blown witch.”

“I’m gonna break your little spell, hippo,” Jade hisses, giving my arm one last, super-hard squeeze before finally letting me go and stalking away.

I stay where I am, staring at the concrete and feeling like total shit.

For a second, I wonder if I should save us all the brewing angst and just break up with Wily now.

No way! You’re not doing that just because Jade told you to!

My insides rebel as I rub my aching arm and finally find the strength to shuffle forward.

I should probably warn Wily about her, tell him to watch his back because Jade will be coming on stronger than ever now.

But then I’ll have to admit everything, and… and I can’t!

I just have to trust what Wily said to me. He’s no cheater.

He could still break up with you, though. Jade could win him over so easily. She’s gorgeous and flirty and?—

“A total bitch,” I mutter to myself.

Wily’s not stupid. He’ll be able to pick up on that, right?

Doubts swirl through me as I shuffle off to my next class, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do to keep this amazing, wonderful man who has burst into my life and stolen my heart without any kind of warning.

How am I supposed to compete with Jade Buchanan?

You can’t.

All you can do is try to keep him as far away from her as you can.

Pulling out my phone, I send Wily a text to find out how his class went and ask if he wants to meet up for lunch.

Thankfully, he replies almost immediately, and I spend the next three hours praying Jade doesn’t cross his path before I can hide him in my dorm room for a secret lunch away from prying eyes.

I’ll probably need to come up with some better plays than that, but for now, I’ll just have to keep him close and hope he doesn’t get sick of me.

CHAPTER 43

WILY

Satch can’t seem to get enough of me.