“Or do you just use them to get out of tight squeezes with the law too?”
“Oh, come off it, Shipley. That kiss was probably the best thing that ever happened to you.”
My jaw drops. How freaking egotistical is he?
“Says the guy who just kissed the girl Everett likes,” I shoot back. “Right, Chase? Because you’re the one who’s been going on all this time aboutmebeing untrustworthy. And you kissed your best friend’s girl. What does that make you?”
Those silver eyes flash in the darkness, his nostrils flaring. “I did that to save our asses.”
“Right, sure you did. Don’t give me that. Youlikedit.”
He shakes his head. I wait for him to say the words. To deny it. But he doesn’t. Instead, his scowl deepens.
“Fuck,”he mutters, and then he kick-starts the bike and lets the rumble of the engine drown out my answering laughter.
thirty
Partner in Crime
I pause outside the door to homeroom the next morning, my pulse racing because I have no idea what to expect. Whether Chase will bring up the kiss. Whether he’ll mock me about it. I’m ready for anything, but when I walk in, he doesn’t say a word to me.
He’s already in his seat in the back, wearing a gray hoodie and jeans. Arms crossed, watching me with that unreadable look as I make my way to the row ahead of his. His gaze follows me, and when I don’t greet him with so much as a nod, I can’t tell if he’s annoyed or amused, or if he even cares.
I sit down and fumble with my notebook. The silence between us is louder than any words. I chance a glance back at him, and he doesn’t look away. It’s like he’s daring me to break first. And I do. I turn, pretending to ignore the prickling tension in the air.
As I wait for Mr.Morrison to get homeroom going, I absently tap my pen on my notebook, but I’m so distracted that it ends up slipping from my fingers and clattering to the floor.
I lean down to grab it, but Chase’s hand is already there,curling around it. My fingers brush his, and I feel a jolt at the warmth of his skin.
I snatch my hand back, my cheeks flushing. This time when our gazes collide, he’s sporting a tiny smirk.
Homeroom has never felt this long. I almost melt into a puddle of relief when Mr.Morrison finally claps his hands and says, “Let’s get started, everyone.”
My next class doesn’t go any better. It’s Government and Politics with Everett, and even though we’re not together, I feel so guilty about kissing Chase that I avoid him the entire time. This pleases Sofia, of course.
By calculus, I want to hide in a closet and never come out. Chase walks in, and I swear he looks even better than he did this morning. He’s removed his hoodie and now wears a snug black T-shirt. I find myself gawking at his broad shoulders and defined arms, unable to look away. Until he catches me staring, and then I have no choice but to wrestle my gaze off him.
The rest of the week is more of the same. Ignoring Chase. Avoiding Everett. I eat lunch in the cafeteria with Mar and Ty, despite Jasmine trying to drag me out into the quad with her and her cheerleading friends. Even if I wanted to hang out with girls I have nothing in common with, I don’t know how they can stand sitting out there. Tennessee isn’t as frigid as Allentown, but we’re nearing Thanksgiving and it’s getting colder. Jasmine loves it, though. She’s a fall person. All about the cozy flannels and pumpkin spice lattes. Personally, I think she just wants to ogle Bo as he and Everett throw the football around on the lawn. She and Bo have been texting up a storm since the night of Everett’s party.
As the week nears its end, there’s a chill in the air, and even the lattes aren’t enough to keep everyone warm. On Thursday, Jasmine, Connor, and their friends shuffle into the cafeteria for lunch, claiming it’s too cold to eat outside. I’m at a corner table with my friends, trying to focus on what Mar is saying, but it’s hard to concentrate with the sense of impending doom hanging over my head.
Agent Foster is picking me up after school today for my session with the psychiatrist, and my stomach has been in knots all morning.
Hypnosis.
God. What has my life come to?
I know I need to do this, though. After what happened at the lumberyard, I can’t have Jasmine running around half-cocked looking for dead bodies.
Catching sight of my cousins across the cafeteria, I expect them to find their own spot with the jock crowd, but to my surprise they amble over and join us instead.
Connor pulls out a chair while Kab drops his backpack onto the floor and drags a chair closer to Ty.
“Partner in crime!” he chirps, bumping fists with my friend.
I hide a grin as Ty returns the fist bump. He and Kab are still searching for the bodies too, as far as I know. The last time I asked Ty about it, he said he was “working on a couple of theories.” I assumed that meant they had exactly what the cops have had for the past decade: nothing.
So I’m startled when Kab says, “We still on for tomorrow?”
