“Yeah. The boys who can do no wrong. Or rather, do everything wrong, but everyone turns a blind eye. Rafe’s surname is Simmons. That’s what gives him membership.”
It only took me a second to catch on. “As in, Principal Simmons?”
Jagger beamed like I was a puppy who’d just learned a new trick. “They’re father and son.”
I blinked. “Oh wow.”
“Kinda hot, huh? Principal Simmons is a fox. And Rafe is just the younger, faster, sleeker version. Though he probably wouldn’t appreciate me calling him fast. Not exactly a complimentary term for most guys. If you know what I mean.”
I’d have to be pretty sheltered not to. I grinned. “So, Rafe is untouchable because his dad is principal. Got it.”
“And because he’s on the football team.”
My heart thudded, and I was suddenly considering Rafe in a whole new light. “Football players are Untouchables, too? Or just him?”
“All of them, really.”
“Who else is on the football team?”
She raised one eyebrow. “You want me to rattle off the entire list? Girl, I ain’t got all day, and we’re hella late for class.”
“Right, of course. Sorry. Where is my class again?”
Jagger pointed to the room across the hall. I nodded and thanked her. I’d taken two steps toward the closed door of my classroom when curiosity got the best of me. “Wait, Jagger?”
She’d already started walking to her own class, but she spun around. “Yeah?”
“Banjo? Is he an Untouchable?”
She nodded. “He’s their star quarterback.”
I rushed on before she tried to leave again. “Colt?”
“You know Colt, too?”
I shook my head. “Sort of. Not really. We met this morning.” If you could call him keeping my phone hostage and sexual innuendo a meeting.
“No, he’s not on the team.”
I frowned. “Oh. Okay.” I wasn’t sure why that bothered me.
“He is an Untouchable, though. I’ve never really been sure why. Maybe because he and Rafe and Banjo have been best friends for a million years?”
“Or maybe because he’s just scary intimidating.” It wouldn’t have surprised me if all the teachers were as wary about Colt’s dark eyes as I was.
She cocked her head to one side. “You think?”
“You don’t?”
She shrugged. “He’s not so bad. He’s actually kind of nice when you get to know him. Sometimes, anyway.”
I’d barely met the guy, but somehow ‘nice guy’ just didn’t fit his vibe. “Are we talking about the same Colt?”
“Tall. Hot. Always has a snarky blond hanging off him?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Definitely an Untouchable.”
I’d apparently run out of questions, so I didn’t stop Jagger when she continued on her way. Instead, I turned to my own class and cringed as the teacher gave me a disapproving glare and told me to stay behind after class.
Seemed I wasn’t an Untouchable. What a pity.
5
Lacey
I managed to find my second class on time, and, to my relief, the teacher didn’t ask me to introduce myself. I supposed it was unnecessary after Principal Simmons had given me such an over-the-top welcome in front of the entire school. My biology teacher, a middle-aged woman with stress lines creasing her forehead, just pointed me to a seat in the front row and started with her lesson. It was work I’d done two years earlier and knew I could do in my sleep. So I tuned out and let my mind wander over the idea of Untouchables.
I was called to see the guidance counselor during lunch, which was a relief since it meant I didn’t have to face the embarrassment of having no one to sit with. The counselor—short, dumpy, and definitely not capable of carrying me out of a burning building—talked me through my class options and asked what I wanted to do with my future. He seemed surprised when I laid out plans centering around music, but he steered me in the right direction, and I was actually looking forward to the classes I’d chosen. Anything had to be better than the boring biology and math classes I’d endured today.
Gym was my last class of the day, where I spent the entire time studying the other students and trying to narrow down my suspect pool. But it seemed like Saint View had an overwhelming amount of big, muscled seniors. There were half a dozen in this class alone that could bench press me if they’d wanted to. I’d slipped out right as the bell rang, hurrying for the school gates, ready to get back on my home ground and relax for the night. I hadn’t anticipated how tiring a new school and playing detective would be. Mentally tiring, that was. I hadn’t exactly exerted myself during gym class.
“Lacey!”
I stopped and waited for Jagger to catch up. She hugged me, and I was a little less stiff this time, managing to hug her back.
“Girl, what happened to you at lunch? I searched for you everywhere!”
“You did?”
“Of course. I wasn’t going to let you eat alone. Meet me out front of the cafeteria tomorrow, okay? I’ll introduce you to everyone.” She slung me a sidelong look. “Everyone you don’t already know, anyway. You already met all the hotties, apparently.”
“I’m sure there’s more than three hotties, but thank you, that would be great.”
“Where’s your ride?”
“Oh, it’s just…” I glanced across the huge parking lot to where my bright-red convertible sat gleaming in the afternoon sun.
A group of kids stood around, admiring it. Or gossiping about the owner maybe. I was uncomfortable at the thought, realizing it was another faux pas. I should have parked a few blocks away and walked. Or caught a bus, not that I knew how. Did buses even run through my neighborhood? I couldn’t recall ever seeing one, now that I thought about it. While the school lot was filled with cars and a handful motorcycles, only a few seemed new. And even those that still shone with all their paint still intact, were cheap models. My convertible had been a gift from my aunt and uncle when I’d turned sixteen. I’d put a few dents and scratches on it while I’d been learning, but all I’d had to do was tell my uncle, and the next day it had magically been fixed. This lot was full of cars with dents and scratches and mismatched panels. Some of these cars were older than I was. A lot older.
Heat flushed my face.
“Did you walk?” Jagger made a beeline for an old green Dodge with rust spots on the bumper. “Jump in, I’ll give you a ride.”
Oh Lord, no. That would be worse. I didn’t want to completely alienate my only new friend by bringing her to my massive house. I doubted the guards on the gates of our community would even let us pass in that car, though it hurt me to think about how downright snobby that was. Reluctantly, I pointed to my car. “No, it’s okay. Mine is down there. The red one.”
Jagger raised an eyebrow as her gaze followed my finger. “Damn, girl. I take that back. You can give me a ride.”
Without bothering to lock her car again, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the convertible, grinning ear to ear.