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Which, I don’t know, maybe I am.
The thought of that is enough to make my stomach clench and uncertainty pound through me. I can’t trust them. Everything in me is telling me I can, but my brain is sending out images of all the shit I went through in the last six months, and I can’t just forgive them.
I flick my gaze to Gideon, then look pointedly at the arm she’s feeling up, the way her breasts are pressed against him.
His smug grin grows.
Oh, this fucker.
I turn on my heel and plop onto the stool at the table in front of him, then pull out my notebook and a textbook. Gideon lets out a growl. I ignore it. So does the blond. She keeps chattering until the warning bell rings.
When she’s hurried away, I spin on the stool and lean my elbows on the table behind me, so I can glare at Gideon. I’m not surprised that he’s scowling right back at me.
He wanted me to intervene. I wanted him to do it himself.
We’re still glaring at each other when Fielder drops onto the stool next to me, his lips brushing over my temple. I shiver at the touch, but don’t divert attention from my stare down with Gideon. “What’s going on?” he asks slowly. I can feel him glancing between us.
I give the smallest of smiles. “Gideon’s new lab partner was getting a little handsy.”
“If you had a problem with it, you should have said something,” Gideon growls at me.
“If you’re serious about being with me, I shouldn’t have to say anything, Gideon,” I shoot back. “If some random dude was feeling me up like that, I would tell him to stop. And I’m not even sold on the idea of dating you.”
He ignores that last comment. “If some guy was feeling you up like that, I would break his hands,” he says darkly.
“Whoa,” Ezra says, dropping into the seat next to Gideon. “Let’s talk about this, Brightwater.”
Gideon doesn’t look away from me. “Not you, Carmichael, but anyone else beyond us. I would break their fucking hands.”
It’s ridiculous that I get a warm spot in my chest from that. Really very ridiculous. And even more so that I blush. When Gideon sees that, his expression softens and he blinks. “We’ve staked our claim on you, Ro. It wouldn’t hurt if you did the same thing.”
Gideon was giving me a test, and I’d apparently failed. I’ve never failed at a test in my entire life. I take a deep breath and puff out my cheeks as I release it.
“Look, I’ve been very honest with you about how I feel about this whole situation. I’m not comfortable with just trusting you and throwing myself into a relationship with you. But if it’ll make you happy, next time, I’ll break her hands.”
Gideon laughs and shakes his head. “Maybe you don’t need to go that far. But something would be nice.”
I bite my lower lip and nod. “Okay, I can do that.”
“How about you both do better? Gideon, you really shouldn’t just let girls feel you up, anyway. Sweeney’s right that our behavior towards the females in this school gives a certain impression, and if we mean to be with Rosalind, then we need to be withher.” Fielder sounds like a middle-aged man sometimes. Really.
Knees appear on either side of me and I glance up to see Hardin perched on the table, his hands come to a rest on my shoulders, pulling me back against him. “What are we talking about?”
“Breaking hands,” Ezra replies.
Hardin grins wickedly, delighted with the prospect. “Who’s hands are we breaking?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No one.”
Ezra points at me. “Anyone who touches, Ro.”
The grin immediately falls, and Hardin’s blue eyes meet mine. “Did someone touch you after our announcement this morning, love?”
I shake my head and explain what had happened, and Hardin scowls at Gideon from over my head. “Rosalind is right, you shouldn’t just let girls feel you up. If it would make you upset, it will make her upset.”
Oh, geez. This is too much. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. Not too long ago, I was in a feud with these boys. They were making my life hell. Now they’re still making my life hell, but in an entirely different way.
“I think we should talk,” I say hesitantly. “About how this would work.”
