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I nod along. “My ex-roommate won’t even look at me now. He couldn’t believe I’d accuse him like that, so now he acts as if I don’t exist and goes right past me like I’m a ghost. And I can’t pull him aside and say, hey, actually it was the college’s secret society that broke into our room and did it. He’d think I’ve lost my mind and the society would... Well.”

She lets out a soft laugh. “Yeah. There’s literally no version of it that doesn’t sound completely insane.”

“None, so you just have to let everyone think the worst of you.”

“Right.” She looks down at her hands. “It’s the worst part. Not even being able to defend yourself.”

“Yep.”

“Do you know who in your family was in the society?” She meets my gaze.

I let out a breath. “A friend of mine, and my aunt and uncle. I only found out after I got my invitation.”

Of course, the part about my aunt and uncle isn’t true. The whole legacy thing was something Supreme apparently suggested, probably because he thought it would keep Veronica interested and guessing. Sure, legacy members exist, and it’s very likely they’ll get an invitation instead of someone else who has no one, but it has never been one of the conditions for joining.

She frowns. “At least you know. As for my family... No one’s ever gone here.”

“Are you sure about that?” It’s super unusual because being a legacy would explain Supreme’s interest in her, but it’s still very useful to me because Veronica has a reason to stay.

“I’m not.” She lets out a frustrated breath. “I actually went to the library and searched through all the old yearbooks, like, every single one they had in the archive. I was looking for anyone with my last name, or anyone who even looked like a relative. And I found nothing.”

Huh. I furrow my brow. “Weird. So there’s no record of anyone at all?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head.

“Maybe it was a really distant relative or something,” I say. “Or maybe they went here under a different name, like a maiden name you don’t know. I mean, I don’t know the last names of all of my distant relatives.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. What if they made a mistake and think I’m someone I’m not? Or if they lied so I’d be curious?”

Careful there, V. Don’t figure it all out.

“Could be.” I shrug. “But you won’t know unless you join.”

She glances at me, and I gently bump my shoulder against hers. “So... when they call us again, will you go?”

“I guess.” She wraps her arms around herself. “I mean, what else am I going to do? Somehow, them leaving us alone if we decided not to join seems like a lie since they keep messing with us anyway.”

There are a few strands of hair across her cheek that I want to push back so bad my fingers itch. Her mouth, her neck... I want to press my lips to her earlobe and drag her somewhere so we can forget about all this and just... Fuck. I cover my lap with my hands because I’m getting hard, and if she sees, things will get really complicated.

I lean a little closer to her. “Last meeting ended in a really... fun way.”

She pulls away and tucks the strands behind her ear herself, her lips pressed together. “Um, about that... It was just... I got kind of carried away. It was a weird night, I was stressed, and it just sort of happened. But it was a one-time thing. Fun and all, but, like, definitely a one-time thing.”

What the fuck?! I keep my face expressionless and give her a shrug, but I’m gritting my teeth so hard they might crack. I don’t get it. I remember how she pressed herself against me, scratched my back, and moaned. There’s no way it meant nothing to her, or at least that she doesn’t want to do it again.

She should be lying awake at night, thinking about me and wanting me to fuck her again so bad she can’t focus on anything else, which is exactly what she’s done to me. Is she in denial? Lying to me for some reason?

“Of course,” I say, forcing my lips into a smile.

But this is far from over. I’ll get so far under her skin that she won’t be able to look at anyone else, think straight in a lecture, or get through the night without me in her head. And I’m not going to chase her, because that’s something she might expect. Actually, I’ll do the opposite. I’ll be a good friend, and basically the guy who’s kind and around while asking for nothing in return. She’ll come to me all on her own. She’ll beg me to take her.

“Come on,” I say, getting up off the bench and holding out a hand to pull her up. “You look like you could use a coffee, and I’m buying. We can’t let those people win, can we?”

She looks at my hand for a moment, and then she takes it and lets me pull her to her feet.

Yeah, she’s mine. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Chapter 18