AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leo cracked a grin.
“Well, cool,” I said, pretending to have missed that comment as I turned to leave. “Thanks, guys. I’m justgonna—”
“You need a ride?” Leo asked, taking a step closer to me. “’Cause I could bring you back.”
“She has a ride,” Elliot said, almost a little too harshly. He must’ve realized how he sounded because he cleared his throat and wiped his palms on his shorts—as if sounding possessive himself made him sweat. “It’s fine. Come on, Kat.”
I raised my eyebrows at Leo as Elliot held the door open for me. If I were to be honest, I wasn’t used to the whole sudden bout of chivalry. Didn’t think they were capable of it to be honest. But hey, I wasn’t complaining.
I nodded to Felix as a goodbye, but he’d reclined back on his bed and was scrolling through his phone, as if I’d never invaded their space to begin with. It was obvious he wasn’t thrilled about all of this.
Couldn’t blame him.
We ducked back out into the hall. This time, Elliot kept a fast pace, and before I could register just how queasy I felt about all this, we’d crammed into the elevator and were gusting down to the garage level. We made the awkward journey without a word.
When the elevator doors parted, I decided to break the silence.
“So, what happened to you guys?” I said, deciding to be a little cocky. “Puberty?”
He shot me a look. “What’re you talking about?”
“The whole nice-guy thing,” I said. “Deciding to go along with this plan. A couple months ago you guys were kind of, like, total dicks, to put it lightly. Is this a facade?”
Elliot tossed me a goofy grin, and I felt those butterflies knowing at my lungs.
“Whatever it is,” he replied, “enjoy while it lasts.”
What a fucking jerk. Cute, too.
No. Stop.
Taking in a deep breath, I picked up the pace after him as we approached his car, and slid into the passenger seat without managing to look at him. The problem was, I could already feel my cheeks flush. Sure, I was done with Eric. I was done with Elliot. I was done with my past—but my feelings said otherwise.
And… so did Elliot.
“What’s this bitch’s name, anyway?” he said, turning on the engine.
“Vivian,” I replied. “Russo.”
“Hm.”
Elliot stretched his arm out over my headrest, twisting around as he backed the car out of the parking spot. I tried to ignore the fact that his face was so close tomine, thathis fingers brushed past my hair as held onto the back of my seat. It just lasted a moment—thank God—before he shifted back into his seat.
“So,” I said, drawing in a shaky breath as we pulled out of the garage and into the bright light of day. “What are you going to do with her?”
Elliot smirked at me through the rearview.
“You don’t need to worry about that, sweetheart,” he replied, nonchalantly draping his arm back over my seat as he turned onto the street, steering with one hand. “The question you should be asking is, what am I going to do withyou?”
I looked at him. He was still grinning that close-lipped grin of his, mischievous, hot, and so damn punch-able. Maybe, after all these years, I’d been wrong. He didn’t hate me. None of them hated me. They liked me for who I was—which would be their source of entertainment. Iwas Elliot’s drug, his love-hate relationship, and he pushed and pulled at me to stave off his boredom.
My quest for sanity was his joy ride.
“Yeah,” I said, after a silence that was longer than it should’ve been. Like I cared. My heartbeat was throwing sparks. “Do something about my new bully, then I’ll consider the possibilities.”
“Deal.”
5
