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“Bitch.”
I stared at her. “Excuse me?”
Chloe sniggered. “She’s jealous.”
I shot her a blank look. “What?”
“Your hair,” Emma said. “It’s almost white. It’s disgusting that it’s natural.” She lifted up a few strands of her hair and pouted. “No amount of toner will get mine that light and even. It’s so perfect. I hate you.”
I gaped. Nobody had ever wanted something of mine before. It was a weird backhanded kind of compliment, but I was pretty sure it was a compliment all the same.
Somebody shouted something derogative from the other side of the bonfire.
“What the hell is Adam even doing?” Chloe said wearily. “I told him not to start any trouble.”
“I bet he gets beaten up,” Emma said with a snort. “Let’s go see what happens.”
They both hurried over to see what was going on elsewhere, but I sat there, basking in the glow of Emma words. I’d always heard things about changing my hair, but nobody had ever wanted theirs like mine before.
Dorian slipped into the space next to me, his thigh pressing against mine. “You’re looking a bit confused there.”
“Emma likes my hair,” I said with a grin. “That’s so weird.”
“What’s weird about it?” He relaxed, letting his arm lounge on the back of the seat behind me. “It’s pretty.”
“Is this some kind of elaborate joke?”
He frowned, looking a little confused himself. He picked up my plait and dragged his forefinger and thumb downward, sending a delicious tingle across my scalp. “You do know thatyou’repretty, right?”
I had no idea what to say. Life had not prepared me for compliments.
He grinned, and his face transformed. I wanted to keep looking. “I’ve never seen anybody look so horrified that somebody else thinks they’re pretty.”
“I think I might be in shock or something,” I managed to say. “I’m not used to boys like you. You just say things right to people’s faces, and you don’t seem to care what anyone will think of you.”
“Says you. Anyway, Iama coward,” he said. “But I’m not shy.” His hand moved to cup my cheek, and he leaned in closer. I held my breath. “I’m going to kiss you in, like, ten seconds, so if you don’t want me to, now’s the time to say no.”
He wouldn’t. He wasn’t going to kiss me.Me. I was the ugly friend, the one boys only chatted to so their friends could get closer to my best friend.
But Dorian Evans kept leaning in, his gaze drifting from my eyes to my lips and back again, his body shifting closer to mine. He kissed me before I could even decide if I wanted to kiss him back. And it wasn’t anything like my past kisses, not a hurried, lets-get-this-over-with unpleasant kind of sloppy disaster. He kissed me softly, gently, testing the waters before the kiss deepened and I realised I was already kissing him back.
His hands burned through my clothes, and I could swear he heard my heart racing. I decided I liked kissing Dorian Evans a whole lot and sank my fingers into his hair to somehow draw him closer to me. All of the stress and tension I’d been feeling simply melted away, leaving only a delicious warmth that spread across my skin and expelled the chill of the cold night.
He broke away suddenly as raised voices from nearby broke through the haze. I’d forgotten all about the party.
He looked at me with regret, mere inches from my face, his eyes bright and shining, and his cheeks flooded with colour. “I have to deal with that before a fight breaks out.”
“Why?” I couldn’t have kept the disappointment out of my voice even if I tried.
He kissed me once more, his hands cupping my face. “I don’t want any trouble to ruin tonight. But I’ll be back.” He got up, but he had only made it a few steps away before he turned back, a huge grin on his face. “I like how you taste, new girl.”
He did not just say that.The flush was still rising in my cheeks when Emma found me, looking irritable. “Adam’s being really annoying, and I have to pee. Come with?”
I pointed behind her. “Somebody said we can use that house.”
“Come with me,” she pleaded. “I’m too scared to go in there alone.”
The last thing I wanted to do was leave my spot on the bench instead of waiting for Dorian. “What do you think is going to happen?”
