The sea of girls parted as they posed next to the board. Immediately my throat constricted, and my stomach plunged to the bottom of the Hudson.
Jupiter.
Though not Jupiter as I knew him.
Gone was the perfect smile, the mischievous glint, the fun. Instead, those sensuous lips were schooled into a hard line.
I’d never seen him look so… menacing. Thick forearms crossed over his chest, almost covering The Lions logo embroidered on the left of his shirt. Huge biceps bulged and strained under the fabric; biceps covered in tattoos. So many tattoos you could barely see his bronzed skin.
My mouth dropped open, and I couldn’t have stopped it with a gun to my head.
He’d been wearing a hoodie when I’d seen him on Saturday, so I never imagined underneath…
On Saturday he’d been beautiful, but this version… I couldn’t look away.
I wanted to… but I couldn’t.
He was staring down the lens of the camera, eyes bluer than I’d remembered. Pools of aquamarine, like Yellowstone hot springs, but not warm and lit with amusement like they used to be.
These were cold, and a little dangerous.
The shiver returned a hundred-fold, along with thousands of knots tying themselves in my belly.
The chatter going on around me cut through my thoughts like a hunting knife through fresh prey.
“He’s so fucking hot...”
“God, I want his babies....”
“…I just want his dick.”
Someone let out a groan so lascivious I could almost see the saliva dribbling out of her mouth.
“Could you imagine...”
Another groan was followed by a loud screech.
“Bet he’s an animal in bed…”
“Yeah, and I’d let him…”
That comment elicited a cackle, and I couldn’t help but stare in the direction it came from. My jaw popped and my teeth ground together until they squeaked.
“Those tattoos...”
“We need to find out where he lives now he’s in the city.”
Beulah pulled me away from the spot I’d become frozen to, my jaw wide open in shock while my eyes bulged in horror at what I was hearing.
“Are you okay?”
I blinked, and then refocused on Jupiter.
Stars.
Even from this distance, I could make out dozens of stars running up and down his heavily muscled arms, all different sizes, before disappearing under the fabric. Stars in between – I squinted – were they planets? Words? Squiggles?
Why wouldn’t everyone shut up?! Why were those girls even here?
