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But before I could pick it up, the skin at the back of my neck prickled like it had in US History. Four shadows loomed over me, and when I glanced back, my heart leapt into my throat.
The boys from the car.
All four of them were gathered in a straight line, almost shoulder to shoulder, like a wall of unreasonably sexy maleness. I only knew two of their names, but I’d had a chance to get a better look at three of them, and they were all even hotter on close inspection than they had been through the window of my grandmother’s car.
The fourth boy had light brown hair and elegant features, and something about the way his uniform fit made him look like he’d been born in it. The others, Cole especially, seemed stuffed into their uniforms, as if the blazer and tie were uncomfortable and constricting, but this guy looked perfectly at home in his.
I was staring again.
It seemed to be a problem I had around these guys, one I couldn’t quite understand. I’d seen attractive men before, although I had to admit, I’d never seen any that’d taken my breath away quite like these four.
But as I blinked, trying to regain my composure, I realized something else. None of them were smiling. Not even the blond one, who I could’ve sworn was flirting with me in class earlier. Their features couldn’t have been more different, but at the moment, they all wore identical scowls.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the guy from the stairwell asked. Mason.
I blinked at him. “I’m eating lunch.”
He tilted his head. “Here? You can’t sit here.”
“Oh.” Something hot and unpleasant twisted in my stomach, but I squashed it down, grabbing my tray and standing up. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was your table.”
My face burned, but I tried to keep my expression even. Fuck. This was why I’d been hoping to find Leah. I’d never eaten lunch here before, how was I supposed to know which tables were whose? Not that anybody’s name was stamped on it. But I didn’t want to start trouble, so I shifted to another empty table and set my things down.
“Did I say you could sit there?” he snapped.
I jolted, my eyebrows shooting up as my heart rate jumped. “This… is your table too?”
“Yeah, it is. So move.”
The four of them hadn’t followed me. They’d simply turned in place to watch me, still shoulder to shoulder in a wall of muscle that was looking a lot less attractive by the second.
What the actual fuck?
With a jerky motion, I snatched up my things and pressed my lips into a straight line. My eyes darted around the room, searching for a place to sit, as conversations died around the dining hall. Even those who hadn’t heard the initial confrontation were watching now, drawn to my embarrassment like moths to flame. I heard whispers and a few titters, and my body went cold.
What the fuck did I do to him? To any of them? Why are they acting like this?
Mason was the only one who’d spoken, but none of his friends were stopping him. They stood right next to him, watching me with cool gazes.
I saw another empty table across the room and moved toward it. But as I reached it, several other students stood up and blocked my path. My tray wobbled as I pulled up short, the sick feeling in my stomach growing. I spun around, blood rushing in my ears, but there were no other tables to try. A few people met my gaze and purposefully closed ranks, adjusting their seats to make it clear there were no open spots available.
“I don’t think you get it,” Mason drawled. “There isn’t a single table in this cafeteria that’s meant for Idaho trash. Why don’t you turn around and go back to where you came from?”
The blond one snickered, his dimples popping out.
He was smiling at me now, just like he had in class, but there was a cruel twist to his lips that hadn’t been there before.
For several long beats, the five of us just stared at each other. I’d crossed halfway across the room in my attempt to reach the new table, and now a large space separated us. But that almost made it worse. If we’d had this confrontation up close, nose to nose like we’d been in the stairwell, there might’ve been some chance of keeping it private.
But here? Like this?
Everyone in the dining hall was a part of this.
Everyone was watching.
These four guys, these four smug, rich assholes, had asked the entire room to pick a side—theirs or mine.
And nobody had picked mine.
