“Harper,” he said through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to.”
“I know.” I moved lower. “I want to.” I stopped and cocked my head. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t.”
“I never saidthat.”
***
The following Monday at school, Tessa Carlyle fell into step beside me in the hallway, a Starbucks in hand. “Now that is a ring.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, and covered my fingers self-consciously.
“You donothave to hide that beauty from me,” she said, grabbing my hand and admiring it. “From Orion, right?”
“Yes. Christmas.”
“Oh my God. I’m so jealous. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t keep saying that, but he issohot and, according to you, the world’s best pianist,andyou get to have sex with him on a semi-regular basis.”
I laughed. “He spoils me, honestly. The other night we went to abeautiful restaurant, and then after, he played the Nocturne for me.”
“Kinky.”
“Indeed. He was rewarded generously.”
“Oh? Do tell. Like I said, I’m surrounded by gay boys and have zero prospects. I need to live vicariously through you.”
I don’t know what possessed me; usually I never kiss and tell, but once upon a time, back in Pittsburgh, I’d been a bold, give-no-fucks kind of gal.
I shrugged and said coyly, “I may or may not have gone down on him until he came so hard, he forgot his own name.”
“Jesus, Harper!” Tessa had been lifting her Starbucks to her mouth. “I nearly spit out my coffee.”
“Huh. I don’t really have that problem.”
“Ohmy God.” She laughed harder and shoved me in the arm. “You are terrible. I love it.”
We rounded a corner, and there was Orion standing with a bunch of his Richie friends.
“There he is,” Tessa said. “Girl, look at him.”
Orion shot me a wink as we passed, and Tessa just about fainted.
“He’s so charming,” she said. “He’sPrinceCharming, surrounded by Tucker the meathead, Rhett the serial killer, and Blake, Blake, and Blake.”
“That’s a lot of Blakes.”
“Those guys are all the same. So boring. Orion is the only good one,” Tessa declared. “You lucked out.”
“Yeah,” I said, my smile fading.
“Oh no.” She peered up at me; she was a petite little thing. “What just happened?”
“Nothing. Things have been great. My home life is a complete shit show, I’m stressed to the max, but he’s the best. But the end of the year is racing toward us, and we haven’t talked about what happens after.”
“Oh,” she said. “What’s the plan?”
“He’s supposed to go back to the UK and go to Cambridge, andI’m hoping the NoSci will get me into MIT or NYU with a bunch of scholarship help and some prize money.”
“Are you going to NYU?” Tessa bounced up and down. “That’s my dream school. Did you apply?”
