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“Whatever,” Bishop sneers and walks out. Billy, the quarterback and the son of the chief of police, looks at him with interest. Despite the fight being real, I guess it did what was necessary.
Billy stands up. “Ah, hey, can I get a pass? I need to speak to the coach about the game next weekend,” he asks Max as we try to right some of the tables the guys knocked over.
“Fine, go.” Max seems distracted, which works in Billy’s favor, but I can guarantee he’s not. They are just playing into our hands.
I planted a camera in the guys’ locker room this morning, so hopefully that’s where they are both headed and I can catch some of the conversation on it. If Bishop is still doing his job, he will steer the conversation in the right direction.
Billy leaves, and Max returns to teaching, but everyone keeps throwing side glances at Miller and Ryland. Sophie and her minions, Lucy and Michelle, whisper back and forth to each other, wearing frowns of disappointment on their faces, before they all turn and look at me. Fuck, that’s not good. They think Ry and Miller are no longer options, so they are turning their attention to me. I do not want that. I glance at Ry who just shrugs.
“I could kiss you, too, if you want so they lose interest,” he offers with a smirk, and I shake my head.
“No thanks,” I reply quickly. “I’m not sure I’m that desperate yet.” He flips me off, still smirking, before leaning closer to whisper to me.
“I’m pretty sure I know a pretty goth girl who would help you out if you asked nicely.”
I’m momentarily confused before it occurs to me that he’s talking about Kenzie. “Ah, um, but…” I stutter, and he just keeps grinning that stupid grin that makes me want to hit him.
“Don’t deny it, dude. You like her. We all do. She’s hot, feisty, smart, and fucking good at her job. Percy has no idea how right she is for our team, or maybe he does and that’s why he forced the issue. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to let her go after this, and I’m pretty sure my brother feels the same way if his pissy mood has anything to do with her.”
He looks at Max who has continued with class now that the disturbance is over.
I frown at my friend. “You like her too? But what about Miller?” I ask, unsure where he’s going with this.
He shrugs. “You know we like girls too, we just haven’t found one that fits in with our team yet—one who would be interested in sharing with all of us and wouldn’t be upset sharing me with Miller—but I think that search is over now.”
“Miller hates her,” I argue, and he scoffs.
“He does not. He just thinks he has to so he doesn’t upset me. I will set him straight eventually, but it’s amusing to watch the two of them dance around one another.”
Ryland chuckles, and I just roll my eyes when I consider what he just said. He’s right, Kenzie is all of those things, and I am incredibly attracted to her, but I hadn’t hoped to start anything because I know she wants to return to her ghost status once we’re done here. Maybe we just need to persuade her that Team Basilisk, minus Bishop, really is a better choice in the long run, and it would be fun trying to convince her of this.
“Okay, I’m in,” I whisper to my friend, who just nods.
“Good. There’s a party tomorrow night at the shack. I want you to convince Mac that you need her to keep the other girls off your back. Ask her to make out with you.”
“Isn’t that a little dishonest?” I ask him, and he just raises an unimpressed eyebrow at me.
“Would you rather have to put out to one of them?” He nods in the girls’ direction, and when I look at the three of them, they giggle and wave flirtishly.
“Fuck no,” I grumble, turning back to him.
“There you go. Mac will be fine with it, and I saw her looking at you last night. Trust me, she wants you.”
Just then, Miller nudges him on his other side, so he turns his back to me, leaving me to ponder what he just said. Okay, I can get on board with the plan—anything that will keep those high school leeches away from me and help convince Max we’re the team for her.
I scribble down a couple of notes, so it looks like I actually care about what Max is saying, but mostly I think about the party tomorrow night and feel a sense of anticipation. I’d been dreading it because I spent the last one fighting off teenage girls, and let me tell you, these kids are not backward in coming forward. There was practically an orgy going on in one of the back rooms, and more drugs and alcohol than I’ve ever seen at a high school party. Knowing Mac is going to be there is a huge relief, and it has me looking forward to it immensely.
* * *
School seemed to drag, and I didn’t see Bishop again. Apparently, he was training with the football team who had been given leave for an extra practice to help integrate the new team member.
We didn’t get a chance to speak to Max either, because he had a staff meeting at lunchtime. When the bell rings at the end of the day, I get Ryland to drop me off at home so I can go through the footage from school. I make myself a coffee, and I’m just sitting down on the sofa when Max slams through the back glass door, throwing his briefcase onto the floor and himself down on the couch, and puts his arm over his eyes with a groan.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, and he remains silent. I start to worry, but he finally answers without removing his arm from his face.
“No, not really. I feel fucking dirty. This assignment is eating away at me. I’m not sure how Mac does it all the time.”
“What happened?” I inquire, and he finally drops his arm and sits up, resting his head back to look at the ceiling.
