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Xander and I both groaned, and all three of us pretended not to notice how we each crossed our legs or grasped at throw pillows to cover our laps. Jade Wells had to be a fucking witch or something to have this much sexual magnetism for the three of us. It’s not like we’d been struggling to get laid before she showed up.
“We’re not going to fight over this girl, are we?” Xander asked, striving for a detached, disinterested tone. But I could hear the vulnerability underneath the question. Bryce and I were probably the only people who saw the chinks in Xander’s shiny armor, and I knew his friends were more important to him, even, than his pristine image, his money, or his dream of going to Harvard. His worry was the same one I had deep down, too. That somehow, Jade Wells and her black magic pussy were going to tear the three of us apart.
“Nah,” Bryce piped up. “No way, dude. I mean, you were in the locker room. I had no problem sharing.”
“And I see no reason she can’t fuck all three of us if she wants,” I spoke up reasonably. A dark thought struck me, though, so I hurried to add, “as long as she’s not fucking anyone else.”
“Agreed,” my friends said in unison.
“Not necessarily all together, though,” Xander hurried to add.
“No! No, duh,” I sputtered.
“Yeah, that was fun, but I’m good with flying solo.” Bryce half-laughed. It was almost weird how not weird he and Xander were being about sharing the same girl. “You good on your own, Great Dane?”
I stuck up my middle finger, earning another signature Bryce guffaw.
Now that our agreement—agentleman’s agreement,Xander jokingly called it—about sharing Jade Wells was settled, the strangeness had left the basement, leaving the three of us to our normal afternoons. Xander and Bryce worked on homework while I blew mine off, scrolling social media on my phone for lack of anything better to do. At least Jade Wells couldn’t plague me online. I’d already confirmed she didn’t have a social media presence over the weekend.
But as I scrolled through people’s shared astrology posts, selfies, and posts about the upcoming homecoming dance, the universe decided to throw another Jade-Wells-shaped curveball my way. Bryce was the sporty one, so I almost didn’t catch it, scrolling past a photo on my feed at first before the quick glance I’d caught registered in my brain. Turning away from Xander and Bryce as they worked on Bryce’s math homework together, I dragged my thumb frantically over my screen, willing the photo I’d just glimpsed to come back.
And there it was. A poorly-lit selfie of three friends, two girls and a guy, their faces shoved close together and smiling. The photo was shared by someone I didn’t know, but it came up on my feed because Owen was tagged in it. It was an older photo of him, but that was his face in the center. The girl on the left was the one who’d posted it, giving it aThrowback!caption that would have told me it was from over a year ago even if the date at the top didn’t. I didn’t recognize her. But to Owen’s right was a blonde girl with a familiar smile. Hovering over the photo showed me her name.Hannah Wells.
It was like I’d been hit by a train, the way all of the truths and mysteries of Jade Wells slammed into me in a wave of realization.Hannah.That was her real name—that was why I couldn’t findJadeanywhere online.She wastheHannah,Owen’s long-time girlfriend he always complained about to Xander, Bryce, and me until they broke up a while back. The same Hannah whom he’d laughed at because she’d switched schools after they broke up. I’d never met Hannah when they were together, since she was such a “killjoy”, according to Owen, and always avoided our parties. I had never even wanted to meet her, having no interest in getting to know Owen further as we’d drifted apart over the years. But now I knew that I had met some version of her, after all.
Did this mean Jade Wells, the temptress who’d already tangled herself into a knot with me and my friends, wasn’t real? That the pleasure we’d all shared with her was somehow false, too? A box of red hair dye, a new name—it couldn't erase the fact that she was Owen Prescott’s ex. She’d come to Coldwater all anonymous, pretending like she knew nothing about any of us, and it couldn't be a coincidence. Now I could see how she’d weaseled her way into my head just as easily as she had Xander’s and Bryce’s. There was no way it was by accident that we happened to be long-time friends of her ex.
I made an excuse to Xander and Bryce about needing to get home to check on my grandma. She didn’t give a shit how late I got in, but now that I had this knowledge in my head, I had to figure out what to do with it. Maybe I should have told the guys right away, but it felt like hanging onto this juicy secret about Hannah-not-Jade gave me back some power again.
There was a better way to use this knowledge than to just tell my friends. No, I was hatching a plan, beating her at her own sneaky little game. Jade Wells wouldn’t know what hit her.
15
XANDER
The next time I walked into AP Physics class, Jade Wells was already in her usual seat, looking delectable in a low-cut black top and a flirty floral skirt that bared her smooth thighs. She noticed my arrival, and for some reason it stung a little when her expression went from relaxed to tense, angry. Remembering the way I left her all a mess in the locker room, I guess. Guilt shot through me even as I relished the mental image of her bare breasts streaked with my cum. Damn, but this girl confused me.
I abandoned my own usual spot at the front of the class to approach Jade toward the back of the room. I hovered over her desk, emphasizing my height in a satisfying show of power.
“Hi again, new girl,” I greeted her as if we were strangers. “Mind if I sit?”
Immediately, her posture stiffened, and other than the brief glare she shot me that told me I wasnotwelcome to sit beside her, she tried not to react. Not a word left her pretty, full lips, and it made me want to laugh. She wasn’t as good at playing it cool as I was. From my seat beside her, I watched her jaw work with tension and noticed the edgy way she tapped her pencil onher desk. Satisfaction shot through me. I liked how easily I could affect her.
It wasn’t easy to see her sitting there and not remember how she looked when she sucked my cock, her green eyes watering as she took me deep into her throat, but I managed to hold it together. It was what I did best. I slid into my usual haughty arrogance like a second skin, but as class got started, I found myself returning to that locker room in my mind instead of listening to our teacher setting up today’s lab.
No matter the cold exterior I presented to the world—to myself, even, since the Townsends were all cold people and detached snootiness was in my blood—Idid,unfortunately, have a conscience. And knowing that Jade was still pissed about my lack of aftercare actually bothered me. I wasn’t one for cuddling or other such mushiness after sex. I’d hardly ever had any affection from my family, since my business-minded parents always made it clear they cared more about money than me. My older sister and I were more like accessories to them than family—just another status symbol. But no matter my reputation at this school, I’d never been so careless with any of my partners before Jade. At the very least, I’d never left a girl so pissed at me that she wouldn’t acknowledge my existence after we’d fucked.
“We’ll be assigning lab partners today,” Mrs. Parsons announced to the class, breaking me out of my uncharacteristic thoughts. “These will be your partners for the rest of the semester, so the two of you will have lots of opportunities to get to know each other. For the assignments, everyone please turn to the person next to you.”
Jade and I looked at each other. Her eyes grew wide. I resisted the urge to smile at her, knowing it would be unwelcome.
“Now, if anybody has a major issue with their lab partner, please come see meafterclass,” Mrs. Parsons continued in herchipper voice. “But for today, this is who you’ll be working with on our experiment.”
“Don’t worry, new girl,” I told Jade, unable to resist the urge to poke the bear. “I’m a straight-A student, so you’re in good hands with me.”
She rolled her eyes at my subtle innuendo. I could tell she was annoyed at herself for acknowledging me when she spat out, “I have a four-point-oh, asshole. I don’t need your help.”
Well, at least I knew my GPA was in good hands.
