And I’m in trouble. The initial shock must have worn off because now Jessica’s glaring at me. Her teeth sink into my bottom lip, hard, a warning of sorts.
The message in those dark, bottomless eyes is pretty clear. Back off or else...
Still, I can’t resist. I give her mouth another tender swipe before breaking the kiss and pulling back.
“You should have let me drive you to school,” I say, my tongue swiping over my lower lip. It feels tender from her vampire tendencies.
Jessica puffs out air in frustration and I know she’ll blow up soon, demanding an explanation.
“Gimme those.” I take the books from her hands and throw my free arm over her shoulder, guiding her away from the lockers and down the hallway.
I can feel the girls’ gaping mouths and wide eyes monitoring our every move as I steer Jessica away from them. I give them an extra wide smile as we turn the corner. It’s only then that she explodes.
Ducking out from underneath my arm, Jessica stops in her tracks and turns to face me.
“What the hell was that?” she hisses at me, stabbing a finger in the middle of my chest.
I lift my arms in the air in the universal sign of surrender. “I was just trying to help you.”
“Help me?” she whisper-yells.
The defeated and embarrassed girl from before is long gone. The fire burning in her eyes is so bright I’m surprised she didn’t turn me into ashes.
“Yes, help you. You’re welcome, by the…”
She doesn’t even let me finish. “I don’t remember asking for your help, and especially not that kind of help!”
I cross my arms over my chest defensively. “Well it worked, didn’t it? The kiss shut their mouths pretty quickly. I bet they won’t be talking about you moping after that jackass hockey player anytime soon.”
Her mouth hangs open, but no words come out. Good. Not that it lasts long.
“Ugh, you’re infuriating!” Jessica stomps her feet in irritation. She actually looks quite cute doing it.
“You aren’t any better.”
“Whatever.” She flips her ponytail, turns on the balls of her feet and storms away.
A sharp pain spreads through my temples. “Fuck.” So much for doing something nice. Being nice gets you nowhere.
The bell rings.
Sighing, I hurry down the hallway. I have to run if I don’t want to be late to class.
My long legs cross the distance quickly, and soon I’m just behind Jessy. She must hear my footsteps because she looks over her shoulder, her eyes turning grim when she sees me.
“Why are you following me?”
“You’re one little ray of sunshine, aren’t you?” I ask dully. “I’m not following you, I’m going to class.”
My answer earns me another glare. This time when she returns her gaze forward, her ponytail slaps my chest.
We walk in silence, getting to the last classroom in the hallway, just as the warning bell rings.
The classroom is nearly full as we slip inside. Jessica walks up and takes the first open seat, pointedly ignoring me.
Whatever.
My fingers clench, and only then do I realize, I’m still holding on to her books.
Walking past her, I leave them at the edge of her seat and take the last open desk two rows behind, not once letting my eyes dart toward the dark-haired girl whose kiss just rocked my world.
Chapter Three
JESSICA
“Why is everybody staring at us?” Evie asks, looking around the cafeteria.
So much for trying to convince myself it’s all in my head.
Ducking my head, I play with my salad since I suddenly don’t feel the least bit hungry anymore. “No idea.”
Evie hums, but I can still feel her eyes staring at me; on top of a dozen more probing my back. So much for keeping a low profile. Less than a day back in school and I’m already the center of attention. Again. I’m scared to even pull out my phone to see the extent of the damage Noah Russell caused.
What the hell was he thinking, kissing me like that?
I’ll tell you what—he wasn’t.
Such typical guy behavior. They think they’re swooping in to save the day when in reality, they’re just creating an even bigger mess.
I press my lips together, but I can still feel his mouth on mine. No matter what I did or how much I tried, there was no way to get rid of the soft, tingling sensation that the press of his lips against mine caused.
Seriously, what is wrong with me?
Suddenly the chatter filling the cafeteria dies, the tension filling the room growing. A shiver runs down my spine, making the fine hairs at the nape of my neck stand up.
I don’t even have to lift my head to know who just entered the room. I already know. Yet a part of me can’t resist the pull. I lift my gaze and meet Noah’s crystal, blue eyes straight-on.
He stops in his tracks, a blank expression on his face, as he watches me for a few long seconds.
Evie puffs out a breath. “You’d think people would stop with the staring game. It’s been months.”
Breaking his stare, I turn to my best friend. “Right? They really should find something better to do with their lives.”
“You know, he isn’t such a bad guy. What happened…”
Whatever Evie wanted to say dies with the sound of scraping chairs. In unison, we turn to find our usual table companions Liam, Mike, and fuck I should have known he’d be here. After all, this is his table, his friends, as much as mine. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it has. I thought I’d have more time before being forced to face Jack, but apparently I ran out of luck sometime last summer because since then it’s been one shitshow after another.
Jack’s steps falter when he sees me. He, just like me, seems surprised by the turn of events. At least I’m not the only one, although to be honest there is little solace in that.
I’m not sure what we were expecting really, but this whole thing sucks. I should have never agreed to start dating him. I should have known better, but then I wasn’t thinking. I liked him, and he seemed to like me. He was handsome and popular, and his friend was dating mine. It seemed like the most logical thing to get to know him, kiss him, agree to date him… That is, until I found him making out with one of my cheerleader friends.
The ache in my chest that was born that night returns in full force the longer we look at each other. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that one look at him used to make my heart race and now brings me so much pain and anguish.
He looks disheveled. His dark hair is messy and there are circles beneath his eyes that weren’t there before. A part of me feels happy that I’m not the only one feeling crappy about it all, but the girl who was falling for him feels his pain like it’s my own.
It’s confusing as hell.
It’s been two and a half months. I want to say I got over what happened, that I don’t feel anything for him any longer, but the sad truth is… Jackson Morgan was my first love. Just because he acted like a jackass doesn’t change that.
“Jack, what the hell…” Liam starts, but then he sees me. I can feel his unease as he looks between the two of us, muttering a silent curse.
Forcing myself to breathe, I plaster a smile on my lips. Not that it’s fooling anybody since it’s as fake as they come. “It’s okay.” No it’s not, but it’s my fault for not thinking this whole thing through before I agreed to meet Evie for lunch. I nod at the empty chair. “Jack, sit down.”