“No.” I’m already backing away. “Stay away from me, Mason.” I turn and walk away, moving through the cafeteria as fast as I can without running. My vision blurs. I don’t know if it’s tears or panic or both.
Brothers and sisters don’t get hot for each other.
That wasn’t keys in his pocket.
“Reagan, wait up!”
Mason’s voice echoes behind me in the parking lot. I walk faster.
“Please, just hear me out.”
“Leave me alone!” I spin around to face him. “I don’t want your ride. I don’t want to talk to you. Just... Just go away.”
“Listen, if I’m wrong, that’s good. I hope I am, but if it’s true, I can’t just watch this happen and do nothing. I’m risking a lot of heat talking to you like this. If Shane finds out—”
“As he should.”
“What? No, Reagan, please. I don’t wanna stir shit. Just wanna open your eyes.”
I scoff. “You think I’m stupid?”
“I think you’re a kid who’s been through hell. Shane knows that, and he’s using it.”
“Well, he’s not the one who is into innocent schoolgirls.”
“The fuck, what?”
“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to split us up, me and Shane, so I wouldn’t have him to protect me from the likes of you.”
Mason flinches. “Yo fucking crazy?”
“Stay away from me, Mason. I mean it.”
“Reagan—”
“I said get away from me!”
He raises his hands in the space between us in surrender, defeat marring his face. “Kay, but if you ever need help, if you ever need someone to talk to who isn’t… Fuck this shit. Just...be careful.”
He turns and walks back toward the school, leaving me alone in the parking lot. I stand there for a long moment, my mind spinning.
That wasn’t keys in his pocket.
Brothers and sisters don't get hot for each other.
I walk home, understanding crashing over me. My cheeks burn at the memory. The way Shane held me. The way his breath hitched when I shifted. The way he told me not to move, his voice rough and desperate. The way he scolded me with his stare when I stupidly blurted out about something poking me. How they laughed at how naive I was. How Mason looked at Shane in the rearview mirror.
I crouch on the sidewalk. Suddenly, I can’t breathe.
Shane wants me. Not like a sister. Not like a little girl he’s protecting. He wants me the way a man wants a woman. My skin flushes hot and cold at the same time. My mind races with the implications.
The phone Shane gave me buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out with trembling hands.
Shane:Howz my birthday girl doin 2day?
I stare at the screen, my heart pounding so hard it thumps in my ears.
He wants me. Shane Fletcher wants me. Not Brittany Johanson with her perfect hair and perfect body. Not the girls at the clubhouse who throw themselves at him. Not any of the women who look at him like he’s a god.
