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Finally, I take a deep breath, then let it out. I start to rub in the squeeze of lotion she gave me so my hands have something to do, then I blurt, “Landon and I kissed.”
Her eyes widen and her jaw falls open. “Consensually?”
“It wasn’t—I mean, I didn’twantto kiss him, but he was being exceptionally rapey and I was trying to negotiate the release of my body.”
“That is the most Parker way of putting that I could possibly imagine.”
“We made a deal, but then he reneged on it.”
“Typical.”
“He said all this crazy stuff about how he wants to bang me, even though he doesn’t even like me. I think he said more to me last night than he has in all the years we’ve known each other. It was lunacy.”
“Everyone knows he wants to bang you, Parker.”
“That’s not true.”
She raises her eyebrows. “He won’t let you date. There aren’t a lot of reasons for that beyond wanting you for himself.”
“There are other possible reasons.”
Ignoring my attempt to deflect, she asks, “So, how was it? Did you enjoy it, or…?”
“I…” I would really like to say no here, but I don’t want to lie to her. “It was surprising. When he cornered me at the party before, I felt no stirring of interest, and I actuallylikedhim back then. This time, I definitely…” I rub the lotion once more, but it may just be an excuse to wring my hands. “I don’t know. It was intense.”
She smiles mischievously. “Do you think you’ll kiss him again?”
“What? No, of course not. We still don’t like each other, just our mouths seemed to.”
“Stupid mouths.”
“They have no sense of judgment whatsoever,” I agree. “Speaking of poor judgment, talking to Anae about Dare?” Now it’s my turn to hike upmyeyebrows. “Maybe something you should avoid doing at all costs.”
Hannah sighs. “I know. I didn’t mean to, she just caught me off guard. I’ve made a concerted effort not to look at pictures of Dare and Aubrey. I don’t creep on his profile, of course, but I follow Aubrey and she posts pictures of him a lot. I never even paid attention to his tattoos, though.”
“Well, yeah, because you’re not obsessed with him. But Anae is, and you don’t want her linking you to him that way. It’s dangerous. Besides, that clock tattoo could mean a million things that have nothing to do with you.”
She nods, but appears troubled. “Yeah. You’re right, it could.”
I watch her and my face pulls into a frown. “But you think itisfor you?”
“I think… he made a point to call me Cinderella on prom night, and in that text to Anae. And she’s right about him not blocking her. That’s weird. Why wouldn’t he block her? Even if only to keep Aubrey safe, I would think he wouldn’t want her to be able to keep such close tabs on him. I hate to agree with her, but it does seem like he wanted Anae to see his tattoos.”
“Maybe he just forgot to block her.”
She shakes her head. “No way. Dare is meticulous. He wouldn’t forget something like that.”
“I thought you and Dare hated each other.”
“We do.”
“Then why would he get a tattoo for you? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Hannah shrugs uneasily, but I can’t help feeling she’s not as puzzled by the notion as I am. “Dare is methodical. I don’t know what it is, but he has a reason. Itwasoriginally Anae’s nickname for me, so he knew that tattoo would make her think of me.”
“You seriously think he got a tattoo permanently inked into his skin just to incite Anae’s wrath against you?”
“It wouldn’t be the craziest thing he’s ever done.”
