“Yeah.” My gaze flicks onto his. “This whole lost puppy thing is kind of sad. You must be really lonely.”
I pretend I don’t know he’s the most popular boy in school, his smile capable of melting even the coldest of panties. Except for mine. Of course.
Following Thane to his locker so he can grab his bag, I compose a quick text and send it to Bree, hearts and all:
DON’T WAIT FOR ME. GETTING A RIDE WITH THANE BENNETT!!! <3 <3 <3
Fuck that bitch.
Chapter 23
Ford
“Principal Hawthorne?” Bree stands in my doorway after school on Wednesday.
“Yes?” I try to hide my disdain for this girl, but I’m sure my face has given away all my cards.
“You have a second?”
The coy, coquettish act doesn’t fool me. This girl would still be throwing herself at me had I not nipped it in the bud a few weeks back.
I motion for her to come in, and she takes the chair across from me.
“As senior class president, we’re going to be working closely together this school year. I chair a lot of committees, and my goal is to implement at least ten new policies this year, which you will have to sign off on.”
“All right.” I fold my hands across my desk, my bored gaze drifting out the window to my right where throngs of students make their way to the parking lot like a herd of sheep, only the moment I see Halston standing next to another student, I can’t pay attention to a word Bree is saying.
The other student, a tall, athletic type with sandy hair and the kind of smug smirk that tells me he’s used to getting whatever he wants, puts his arm around her, pulling her against him.
She laughs, pushing him away before pretending to hit his arm.
I know his type.
I know his tricks.
Hell, back in high school, I was him.
“Principal, are you listening?” Bree asks, frowning.
“Yes,” I lie.
“Then what did I just say?”
For fuck’s sake.
Bree whips around, staring out the window just in time to see Halston walk off with the boy.
“Oh, yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “Thane Bennett asked my cousin on a date. He just wants to use her for sex.”
“Excuse me?”
Turning to face me, Bree shrugs. “He uses everyone for sex. Everyone knows that. He’s already slept with half the school.”
My jaw tenses. “You should warn her.”
She scoffs. “Not going to waste my breath. Halston doesn’t listen to anyone. And she’s probably only hanging out with him to get back at me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Why are you so interested in our girl drama?” Her face is pinched, confused. “Can we get back to talking about committees? Specifically, the homecoming committee? Since the dance is in three weeks?”
“Right. Continue.”
“Okay, so I’m going to have a sign-up sheet posted on the …”
I tune her out again, watching as Halston and Thane disappear behind a row of waxy, shiny imports.
God help him if he so much as thinks about using her.
She’s been used her whole life.
I refuse to sit back and let it happen again.
Chapter 24
Halston
He’s a good kisser.
Too good, if I’m being honest.
I try not to think about how many girls his tongue has tasted before, how many Victoria’s Secret-covered tits and asses he’s groped and grabbed because the girls at our school seem to sacrifice themselves to him willingly and without question.
I try not to think about anything at all.
Crammed in the backseat of Thane’s BMW on a Friday night, my legs straddle his lap and my shirt is somewhere in the front seat. We’re in the middle of some barren cornfield outside of town, the moon gleaming through the sunroof above us as some California punk pop band plays from his speakers.
Aunt Tab and Uncle Vic think I’m staying the night with Emily, who just so happens to be out of town this weekend and is none the wiser. Thane’s parents think he’s staying the night with one of his friends. We were going to camp out here tonight, under the stars, talking and listening to music.
It was supposed to be innocent. Just “hanging out” as he kept calling it. But flirting at dinner turned into handholding at the movies and when he started kissing me out here twenty minutes ago, I found myself actually enjoying it, enjoying the distraction from my everyday life, and somehow, we’ve migrated to the backseat.
My hips grind against his, his hardness straining against his jeans.
I’m wet and aching, but I’m not going to fuck him.
Yet, at least.
If he wants this, he’s going to have to work for it.
I may be a lot of things, but easy isn’t one of them.
Thane’s hands are in my hair, his soft lips working mine. If I grind hard enough, fast enough, I might be able to make myself cum.
“You’re so fucking hot,” he whispers, his mouth grazing mine before traveling lower. He presses hot kisses into my neck, his hands traveling to my breasts, untucking them from the silky cups of my satin bra. Thane takes a nipple in his mouth, gently dragging his teeth across the swollen bud. “I can’t wait to fuck you, Halston.”
“You’re going to have to,” I whisper, smirking in the dark, my hands draped over his broad shoulders. If he’s this big and built for an eighteen-year-old, I can only imagine what he’s packing below.
“I don’t know if I can,” he moans. “You’re so sexy I can hardly stand it.” He kisses me, running his thumb across my bottom lip, our eyes meeting. “Your mouth. This bangin’ body.”
“A week ago, you didn’t know I existed,” I say, my words breathy and playful. “I think you can wait a little while longer.”
His hands grip my hips, pressing me against him as he rocks our bodies, teasing me with the promise of a rock-hard cock.
“You keep putting up walls, and I keep tearing them down. I’ll tear this one down, too. Just watch,” he says, smirking. “You like me. And you don’t want to wait any more than I do.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Thane Bennett.” I bury my face in his shoulder so he can’t see me smile. We’ve spent the better part of the week doing more flirting than chemistry assignments, and when he takes me home after school, he takes the long way so we can talk.
Every part of me has no intentions of liking him.
Yet it’s happening anyway.
And there’s not a damn thing I can do to stop it.
“I like when you say that,” he moans, gripping my ass.
“Say what?”
“My whole name,” he says, “like you just did.”
I laugh. “Thane Bennett?”
“Yeah.” He cups my chin, kissing me again. “You should practice. You’re going to be saying it a lot.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “I don’t say anyone’s name during sex, and if I did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be their full name.”
I ponder, for a second, the possibility that Thane gets off on girls going gaga for him, on his name being synonymous with popularity and good looks. Thane Bennett is practically a household name at Rosefield. A brand with an air of exclusivity.
He’s completely lost touch with reality.
“I think you’ve let your popularity go to your head,” I say, leaning back as much as I can. His lips are still parted, his eyes half open.
“What are you talking about?”
“I couldn’t give two shits about how many girls want to date you or how many passes you caught at the last game,” I say. “If I let you fuck me, it’ll be because I like you. And I mean you. Not Thane Bennett, you.”
I expect his face to light. I expect to see some kind of sign, an acknowledgement that this is a good thing, a realization that I’m not like most girls.
Instead, he exhales, running his palms up and down his face and groaning.
“Well, shit.” Thane sighs, turning his head toward one of the back windows and refusing to look at me. His hands rest useless at his sides, like he’s done touching me.
“I’m more work than you thought I was going to be, huh?”