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And once again, for the second time today, I’m left crossing my fingers that this decision doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
9
Hunter
Pickingup the forms for basketball ends up not taking as long as I thought, since the coach ended up having to run home for something. He likes to chitchat a lot so, without his commentary as the team members are filling out forms, it goes by quicker. Like, a hell of a lot quicker.
In fact, if I hurry my ass up, I might be able to grab a bite to eat instead of going to the cafeteria like I’d plan. Of course, since I let Harlow borrow my car, I’ll have to walk to someplace close by.
Dammit, I really didn’t think this through very well.
Still, walking somewhere is better than eating cafeteria food, even if I have to do it alone since Zay and Jax got in-school suspension for getting caught ditching third period.
“Hunter!” someone shouts behind me as I head for the exit doors.
When I peer over my shoulder, I spot this girl, Katy, that I hooked up with at a party jogging after me down the hallway.
“Shit,” I mutter, quickening my pace. The last thing I need is to waste my lunchtime dealing with drama, something that always comes by talking to Katy.
I hate that I put myself in these situations, and sadly, I kind of have a habit of it. It’s why Jax was so harsh with me when he caught me wanting to talk to Ravenlee. I have a knack for hooking up then the girl getting pissed when I don’t want to be in a relationship. And I feel bad, but at the same time, I’m way too messed up to be able to be a decent boyfriend. Not to mention even the idea of getting close to anyone scares the hell out of me.
“Hunter!” she shouts again. “I need to talk to you!”
My phone buzzes from inside my pocket, but I ignore it as I burst out the door and quicken my pace to a jog, heading for the sidewalk that lines the front of the school. When I spot my car still parked in the parking lot, I veer right and rush over to it, wondering if Harlow changed her mind about leaving for lunch.
As I near it, though, I see Harlow standing by the trunk with her phone in her hand. And she’s not alone. A girl is standing beside her with her back turned toward me—a girl with hair like raven feathers and legs that go on for miles.
Raven.
I hesitate for a fleeting moment, remembering what happened between her and Zay this morning. Not that I blame Raven—Zay can be a dick sometimes—but I also know he’d get pissed at me if he knew I was hanging out with her.
“Hunter!” Katy yells from across the parking lot, causing everyone in the vicinity to look at me, including Harlow and Raven, who appear confused at first, but then Harlow’s gaze zeroes in on Katy running after me.
“Oh my God.” She busts up laughing.
“Just shut it,” I hiss as I reach her. “And get me out of here, please.” When she doesn’t budge, I grow impatient. “Harlow,” I warn.
“Oh, fine.” She hurries to the driver’s side. “But I’m driving. And you owe me a favor.” She gives Raven this weird smile from over the roof, to which Raven looks at her like she’s crazy, something that’s a pretty common occurrence around Harlow and has made it difficult for her to make friends. So that leaves me wondering how her and Raven ended up together. Not that I’m going to take the time to ask right now. Nope. I just slip my fingers through Raven’s and tug her toward the passenger side of the car.
She gapes at me as she stumbles after me. “What’re you doing?”
I yank open the door. “Making a quick exit.” Then I slide into the front bench seat and drag her in with me, maybe with a little too much force because she ends up falling on top of me. I don’t bother trying to help her sit up; I just yank the door shut and yell at Harlow to, “Drive!”
Laughing her ass off, Harlow revs up the engine and peels out of the parking space, right as Katy reaches the back end of my car. She puts her hands on her hips and glares at us as we speed away.
Deep down, I know this little ditching attempt is only temporary and that she’ll find me at school sometime soon and probably be more pissed off than she was to begin with. But what can I say? I like to procrastinate when it comes to this type of stuff.
I let out a breath of relief. “Man, that was close.”
Raven sits up, her fingers still tangled with mine. “Did you really have to pull me in so hard?”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I apologize. “I kind of panicked.”
“Really?” she mocks. “Because you seemed so collected to me.”
Harlow busts up laughing while I crack a small smile. Damn, I forgot how amusing this girl’s mouth is. Of course, if she’s friends with Harlow, there’s definitely no way I can try to hook up with her now. I’m not about to be responsible for ruining the first potential friendship my sister has had in a while. Plus, I’d feel like an asshole if I added more sadness to Raven’s beautiful big eyes, and that sort of stuff is my MO.
“Hey, I think I handled being chased by a total lunatic really well,” I insist through a bit of laughter.
