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My heart sank because I did see them. I saw them very well.
“Gorgeous, blond gods,” Gem narrated. “Triplets. All jocks too, by the way, but interestingly, different sports. And again, can I say triplets? That’s Trenton talking to the dark-haired guy. The dark-haired guy who isn’t a triplet is Cohen Rodriguez. The middle triplet is Clint, and he’s the troublemaker of the three. The last triplet is Alex, and—”
Her hand clamped on my arm, and I winced as she whisper-shrieked in my ear, “OMG! Alex is looking right at us.” A pause. “At you. He’s looking at you! OMG!”
Her voice gave me a nails-on-the-chalkboard vibe. I gave Alex a dirty look and turned my back to my locker because Trenton and Clint hadn’t seen me. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said Clint was the troublemaker of the three. I didn’t want to start the first five minutes of my new high school career by getting into a fight with him, but I would if I had to because those triplets were my cousins.
She sucked in her breath. I could hear her hyperventilating next to me as another presence appeared on my other side.
I waited.
He didn’t go away.
After a little bit, I said, “Go away.”
Alex started laughing, falling against the locker next to me and facing the hallway. He rested one foot on the wall behind him, doing the jock-cool-lounge thing, like he didn’t give a rat’s ass who was watching. The nice thing about Alex? He truly didn’t care.
Or he didn’t pay attention.
He poked me on the arm. “Come on. This is ridiculous. It’s going to come out. Some guy is going to hit on you or talk dirty about you, and we all know how that’ll go over. Embrace the cousin love, Rams. We’re here, and we’re not the ones embarrassed to tell people who we care about.” He leaned around me, and I could hear his smile. “Hey, Gem.” His arm fell around my shoulders and he turned me around, pulling me back against him, and resting his chin on my shoulder. “Have you met my cousin, Ramsay? She’s pretty awesome, if you want a cool friend.”
I groaned, closing my eyes.
I could feel the attention from the girls in the hallway watching us.
Gem looked as if she were about to fall over. “You know my name.”
Alex laughed again, shifting to stand beside me with his arm still around my shoulders. “Our school isn’t that big.” He nudged me. “What’s your first class?”
I held up my schedule.
He smirked. “Yeah, that whole plan of yours would’ve died a quick death anyway.” He gave me a look. “Clint’s in your first class.”
I groaned again. “Seriously?”
“What class do you have?” Gem asked, her cheeks flushed.
“AP chem.”
I showed her my schedule, and her eyes got big. “These are mostly AP classes. Fourth-year Spanish?”
“Si. I moved from Texas. Knowing Spanish down there is just smart.”
“We have sixth period together, though.”
Alex reached over and took my schedule. “Uh . . . I’m in your third period and your fifth period. Trent’s in your fourth. Clint will show you where your second class is.”
I took it back. “When’s lunch?”
“Between fourth and fifth. You have study hall seventh period?” He shot me a grin. “You do that on purpose?”
I was smiling on the inside, but only shrugged. “Maybe.”
He gave me a knowing look. “They take attendance here for study hall. It’s not a skip class.”
Well, fuck. “I’m new. Maybe if I don’t show up the first week, I don’t ever have to show up.”
Alex burst out laughing. “Yeah, that right there tells me there’s no way you can blend in here.” He shook his head, his eyes amused. “I’m excited to have you here.”
The first bell rang, and Alex took off, telling me to find him for lunch.
Gem faced me, her eyes back to bulging. “I cannot believe you know Alex Maroney. That means you know Clint and Trenton too, and I claimed you first as a friend.” She pivoted on her heels, her hands shooting up in the air. “Go me!” She rounded right back, dropping her arms. “I’m just kidding. Not really. I’m excited, that’s all, but please remember I wanted to be your friend before I knew you were related to Pine River royalty.”
“Royalty?”
A second bell rang.
She groaned. “Okay. We have to go. I’ll show you your first class.”
We took off, and she dropped me at a classroom down the hall.
She gave another wave. “See you at lunch!”
3
RAMSAY
I walked into the class and saw two empty seats. One was in the front, and another was in the back next to the cool guy in the group, my cousin. He was laughing at what two guys in front of him were saying, but once he saw me, his laughter died down and he straightened in his seat.
