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“Aw, look at you. Missing your boyfriend and what not.”
“Shut up.”
The two of us walk across the street, ignoring the looks we get from our fellow students. They should be used to this by now. I’ve been doing it for over a month now, and Tessa has been doing it all year. This stupid rivalry between the two schools is a little out of hand.
As we walk up to the guys, Knox and Zayn are noticeably absent. Easton, Gage, and Stone all seem to be in some intense conversation. Tessa and I glance at each other before approaching them.
“Okay, what’s got you three gossiping like teenage girls?”
Easton pulls Tessa close and kisses her. “Knox is at school.”
Tess’s brows furrow. “Babe, Knox is always at school.”
He shakes his head. “No, like he’s actually participating in school. He’s been going to class and doing his homework. Stone asked him to skip first this morning, and he said no. He never says no.”
I can’t help but smile as I drop my gaze to the ground. Still, I can feel my sister’s eyes on me.
“Is that so? Well, good for him. Maybe he’s not such a lost cause after all.”
They change the subject, but my mind stays on Knox. After our conversation, the night he woke up screaming, it hasn’t been brought up again. I thought he had just brushed it from his mind, but apparently, I was wrong. Very wrong.
The warning bell rings, making Tessa and I say goodbye and head back to Haven Grace Prep. As we’re crossing the street, she nudges me with her elbow.
“Look at you, taming the monster.”
21
KNOX
They say getting anything distinctive about a significant other is bad luck. A name. A portrait. A date. It’s all practically a guarantee that your relationship is fucking doomed. And still, when Delaney came to me with an idea, I couldn’t resist. Permanently branding this girl has become my new favorite hobby.
I push the hair away from behind her ear, tracing over the K stencil in white ink. It’s small, and with the lightness of her skin tone, you can hardly notice it, but we’ll know it’s there.
“You know this is a horrible omen, right?” I tell her. “Like it’s pretty much telling the universe to make us fail.”
She rolls her eyes. “Says the guy choosing to put it on his ring finger.”
I chuckle. As soon as she mentioned getting each other’s initials in white ink, I immediately knew where I wanted mine. I may not be able to exchange the sentiment she did the other night, but there’s one thing I’m sure of, and that’s her. Her initial will be the first claim she has on that finger, but certainly not the last.
“And, done.” Holding up my phone, I take a picture so she can see it.
A bright smile spreads across her face. “It’s perfect.”
I switch out the needle and hand her a pair of gloves. She watches carefully as I explain to her how to use the machine. I place the stencil of the D she wrote in her handwriting on the inside of my finger. As she brings the tattoo gun toward me, I see it again—that fire in her eyes. I can’t look away as I watch her brand me for life.
TUXEDOS HAVE NEVER BEEN my favorite thing. To be honest, I’d rather wear literally anything else. How it clings to my body. The way the tie feels like a noose around my neck. They didn’t get the name “penguin suit” for nothing. However, if this is what it takes to make Delaney happy, so be it.
“Okay, hold still,” Grayson says, adjusting my tie.
I stand in the middle of his bedroom, noticing it’s about half the size of my whole house. When I was trying to figure out what I’m supposed to wear to something like this, I figured what better person to ask than his rich boy ass? He told me anything less than a tuxedo wouldn’t even be allowed in the door. Thankfully for me, him and I are about the same size so he was able to lend me his.
“Thanks again for this,” I tell him.
“Don’t worry about it. What are friends for?”
I snort. “I told you, Pretty Boy, w—”
He waves me off dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. I know. We’re not friends. I have to be at least somewhat winning you over, though.”
