My lips shut tight when I realize that those words indeed left my mouth. “Well,ifI ever ride on his bike again,” I clarify.
“So you want to do it again?” Addie pokes my ribs again.
“Addie, you’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
“Soph, I think you should be careful,” Raven says. “We don’t know anything about Damian. I’m not saying he’s bad news, but I did overhear kids talking in the hallway…”
I lean closer to her. “What did they say?”
“They said he got into a lot of fights in elementary school. Maybe he’s a violent person.”
“I think the big question is, why is he at our school all of a sudden?” Carly asks. “We didn’t even know Harrington had a son. And now he’s living with her?”
“It’s not our business,” Raven points out.
“True. But it’s curious, isn’t it? Especially because he doesn’t dress or act like all the other rich kids here. He seems like he’d fit in more with…”
“Us?” I ask.
“Yeah. Kind of.”
We’re quiet as we think.
“Look, it doesn’t matter,” I say. “I don’t have the time or patience to try to figure him out. All that matters is that I canhelp him learn the material and catch him up in all his classes. That’s it.”
Raven and Carly nod while Addie frowns again. She might have been right about Carly and Ryder, but she’s totally wrong about Damian. It doesn’t matter how nice he was to me today—he’s not even remotely close to anything that I look for in a guy. Except for the fact that he was kind to offer me a ride to the bookstore. And that he didn’t give up searching for the mystery book. And that he saved me from a humiliating situation—
Geez, there are more examples than I thought.
But still, he’s a bad boy. And why am I even thinking like this when all he did was give me a freakin’ ride? It’s not like he confessed his undying love for me.
“Your mind is on overdrive, Sophie,” Raven observes.
I blink. “Hmm? Oh, sorry. Just thinking about this precious.” I hug the book to my chest again. “I bet I’ll stay up all night reading it.”
“Until I force you to go to bed,” Raven warns.
“Please do. I’ll need a good kick in the butt. You know I hate being tired in class.”
“We know,” they say.
Carly glances at the clock. “It’s almost time for dinner. I heard we’re having Chinese.”
“Yum!” Raven says. “I hope it’s from a local place and not from one of the chefs here. I want therealstuff.”
“Same,” Addie says.
They get up and head to the door.
“Soph, are you coming?” Carly asks.
“Nah, I’m not hungry,” I say as I open my book. “Ineedto know what happens next.”
They don’t bother to argue because they know they’ll never win. When I’m absorbed this much in a book, there’s no tearing me away.
Chapter Ten
Damian
