“How is that possible since we’d be four people instead of two?”
He shrugged. “I’ll let you work that out. My point is, I’m not a threat.”
I mumbled under my breath, ‘macaroons and bonbons,’ but I climbed in the door he opened for me.
After the ride to the hospital I fell out of the car, eager to get away, but when Drake offered his arm, I stared at it for a moment, knowing what that gesture meant, comfort from my irrational fear of cars. That was sweet. Was there an ulterior motive that I didn’t understand? I stared at him for a long time until Viney bumped me.
“Are we going to do something or what?”
We were beautiful princesses by the time the sweet little cancer patients were all done with us. Viney looked at me kind of thoughtfully as I pulled the last of a dozen hair bands out of her hair. She’d looked pretty horrible, and looked like a vampire clown with spots of rouge on her cheeks and red lipstick with black clothing.
“That wasn’t too bad,” she said softly.
I smiled at her. “I love it.”
“That doesn’t mean I want to go next week or anything, but I can kind of understand the appeal for someone like you, someone so sweet and innocent she actually believes it when a subterranean like Wit tells her something.”
“Subterranean? I knew she was a secret alligator shape shifter. It’s in the eyes.”
She nudged me kind of hard. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“That’s good because who wants to talk about Wit? Not me. Come on, let’s see if Zach fainted.”
Zach was laughing with Drake about something by the front desk when we came up.
He smiled at me, and I beamed back, specifically not looking at Drake, the way he leaned so casually against the desk like he was too cool to be there when he was the one who started this whole thing. I forgot that I wasn’t looking at him and smiled instead.
He raised an eyebrow which was close enough to a leer that I had to run away, meaning I grabbed Viney’s arm and hustled out of there with her.
“Do you want to sit with me or Drake? Or you could get a separate table with Zach, or a separate table without Zach. So many options.”
She didn’t understand no matter how many times I explained it until we were actually at the restaurant and the waiter greeted us with bright smiles, two menus, and two tables.
Viney leaned over the table at me. “You sit at separate tables? Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t remember, it just sort of started and now we can’t stop. Wait until you’ve tried the Szechuan chicken. It’s incredible. Are you sure you don’t want to sit at your own table?"
“I’m sure.”
We ordered and then she fixed me with her most steely dark glare. “Drake never did anything with a girl in public as graphic and shocking as you and him with the shake.”
I choked on my water, spitting it out all over her. She sighed and rolled her heavily lined eyes and dabbed herself with a napkin.
“Not dinner table conversation, Viney! You’re going to kill me. I spend most of my life trying to forget about that moment.”
She put her hands on the table, leaning closer. “Wit cursed you so that you wouldn’t be able to be with him, but it didn’t work, just like all the other curses never stick to you.
That’s why girls hate you so much. Drake’s acting really weird where you’re concerned. I know that you came here and Drake’s always, ‘Penny, let me suck on your fingers, and Penny, let’s sing horribly in the bell tower, and Penny, let’s go to a dance after you eat this gingerbread house I made from scratch,’ but the truth is, he’s actually a misogynist who completely hates women. I would suspect him of trying to get close to you just so that he can crush you, but he’s exerting way too much effort. His attention span is notoriously short. Why would he go out with you every week and sit in separate booths?
What could he possibly get out of that? No one understands. It makes it look as though he actually likes you.”
She stared at me while I gazed back blankly.
“Um, fortune cookies?”
She snorted. “You know that’s a euphemism, right?” At my blank stare she added helpfully. “You, Drake, a bed...”
I cringed and shook my head which made me dizzy, or the idea of Drake and a bed made me dizzy which was possible. I had way too many issues to keep straight.
“In that case, it’s definitely not for the fortune cookies.” My cheeks were very hot as I stared at my sesame chicken. It was almost as good as the Szechuan.
She snorted. “When Drake asked us to come with you today so you’d feel pressured to come, I thought he’d corner you somewhere. Do you guys honestly do service, eat separately and then go home? Every week?”
I shrugged and poked my food around. All this talk was making me lose my appetite.
“We talk.”
“Talk? About what?”
I stabbed a cabbage roll. She sounded a little too interested. “I don’t know. Business, Telenovelas, whatever.”
She made a disgusted face. “Are you telling me that Drake licking malt off you is the most that you guys have ever done?”
I stuffed the whole cabbage roll in my mouth and shrugged helplessly.
“What’s wrong with you? He’s willing, isn’t he? Is he really just using you to make other girls jealous? That’s really cruel of him. But last night, he made it very clear to Wit that her hurting you isn’t going to work because the more she pushes you away, the more you want him, whatever curses she uses.”
I chewed slowly, but she stared at me until my mouth was empty and I had to answer. “Well, Wit does affect me in horrible ways. I never know what I’m going to say to her.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Did Drake really blackmail you into going to the dance with him?”
I frowned at her. “I’m not sure. I probably shouldn’t try to deal with him when I’m sick. I don’t understand him at the best of times.”
She shook her head and looked around the room. “You are so strange. You go out with Drake and don’t sit and stare at him when you get the chance. I should have sat
with him so I could stare at him and he’d try not to notice me staring. This is crazy. I can’t stare at him if I want to. Seriously, why would you get a table and not be able to look at Drake? He’s perfect, those lips and cheekbones and jaw and hair and eyes and eyebrows and ears and…”
I covered my ears. “Bonbons and macaroons you’re as bad as Zach. I’m trying to eat.”
She shrugged and then filled her mouth enough that I lowered my hands and ate my own food, but gave her a lot of suspicious glances. After we were finished and left the restaurant, the waiter waved at us enthusiastically, telling us he would see us next week and that my man had paid.
“Your man?” Viney glanced at me while I shrugged.
“He’s kind of funny. Did you get your fortune cookie?”
I winced after I’d said it while she gave me an arch look. I hurried away from her and towards Zach and Drake where they sat on the hood, leaning on the windshield, talking about something I couldn’t hear. When I got closer I could make out the words, music levels, changing up the rotation, Chemiss stuff.
“I’m going to ride in the back with Zach,” Viney announced.
“No,” both Drake and I said at the same time then exchanged looks, his amused, mine something a little more terrified.
“No? Fine. I will drive and Zach will ride up front with me while you two ride in the back.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me while I stood there feeling like I’d been hit by a truck.
“We haven’t gotten malts yet.”
“I will buy malts since your man paid for my dinner.” Viney held out her hand to Drake until he pulled out his keys and dropped them into her hand, his expression unreadable.
I should have refused, but Drake had already given Viney his keys and was looking at me like he expected me to be afraid of him. “Okay?” I climbed past Drake while
he held the back door open for me and slid over when he followed. I stared at him in the dim interior. “I feel like I just got played. I think she’s going to crash your car.”
He took my hand in his, turning it over and brushing the skin with his thumb. “It’s reinforced. I think we’d be fine unless she managed to plummet off a cliff. Even then…”
I slid my fingers in his and squeezed tight. “Not the best conversation. Not the worst, either. That title has to go to Viney.”
“I heard that.” Viney glanced over at me before she finished adjusting the rearview mirror and the seat to her height.
Drake cleared his throat. “What did you guys talk about?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Stuff. How about you and Zach?”
“Choreography.”
“Nice.”
He leaned closer, his lips brushing my cheek as he whispered. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to tell anyone about your secret mailman lover whether or not you go to the dance with me. I shouldn’t use you to keep other girls from going insane. I apologize.”
I stared at his hand, strong and firm around mine. “Are you serious?”
He flashed a sharp smile at me. “Yes. I withdraw my offer.”
I smoothed my fingertips over his hand. “I don’t mind if you tell people you’re going with me, and then I can get sick or something at the last minute.”
“You’d do that?”
I nodded before I glanced up at him. “Viney was telling me that you’re acting really weird about me, that you don’t usually hang out with a girl unless there’s some kind of fortune cookie involved.”
He raised an eyebrow with a slight smile. “I knew I forgot something.” He was so close to me, his voice a low murmur that went deliciously with the slight scent of black cherry.
“Fortune cookie is a euphemism for…”
He slid his hand over my mouth, his head still close to mine. “Don’t say it.
Euphemisms are ruined if you say what they mean.”
I giggled and pulled his hand down. “Fair enough.”
“Are we okay?”
I stared at him, his smile disconcerting in its softness. What did ‘okay’ mean when it came to the impossibly irresistible Drake Huntsman? “Of course. Friends?”
“Friends.” He tightened his grip while my heart pounded hard in my chest.
Chapter 32
Days passed and I fell into the rhythm of life at Rosewood school for crazy rich kids.
The air grew sharper, colder in the mornings, still warm in the afternoons, but dustier, the sun fading down behind the woods in their russet glory.
I leaned against a pillar in front of the library staring at the distant trees, breathing deeply and letting my mind wander. The leaves reminded me of Drake’s hair, glistening with sweat, dusty from wrestling with Zach. My fingers twitched, aching to slide through his strands, to bring order to the mess or just enjoy the chaos.
I licked my lips and unwrapped a lollipop. I didn’t feel anxious, so it was raspberry, sweet and slightly tart that reminded me of Zach. I walked up the steps slowly, delighted when Oscar glared at me and assigned me to Lars. Oscar shot a dirty look at my lollipop, but didn’t tell me that they weren’t allowed.
“Have you ever thought about asking Viney out? I think she likes you.”
I stuck my lollipop back in my mouth and watched Oscar’s face turn interesting colors.
Finally he sputtered, shooing me away from the desk, “Don’t get any books sticky.”
I sighed and swished my skirt as I headed over to Lars. “Lars, do you have a crush on Pitch?”
His eyes went kind of glassy. “Her ribbon curl is…”
“I take that as a yes. So disappointing. Will you help me pick a topic for my English paper?”
Afterwards, I gave him a lollipop and headed out, aware that Oscar’s eyes followed me with a dangerous and deadly glare.
“I only dripped lollipop spit on the five-hundred-year-old book, not the six-hundred-year-old one.” I beamed at him. “Just kidding! See you later, Oscar!”
I headed down the hall then at the top of the large marble stairs saw Drake running up. I hesitated before I continued down, determined to act cool and not like seeing him move, so fast, so powerfully didn’t get me all stupid and flustered.
He looked up and had wide eyes, like he didn’t like what he saw. I paused, but my feet didn’t pause, they kept sliding over the marble step while my hand slid off the railing until I was airborn.
I hit Drake, then the edge of a marble step with my thigh, then Drake again, tumbling down the stairs until we stopped, braced by Drake, jamming his foot in a banister and gripping the edge of a step with one hand, his other one behind my head.
I stared at him breathing heavily, my chest pressed against his, and in that moment I wanted to fall down the stairs for the rest of my life, hanging onto Drake and taking all the painful bumps and bruises as long as I got to crash with him.
His eyes burned into mine as I shifted on top of him and then gasped as his leg slid over my bare one. I lost focus of everything while I tightened my grip on the lapel of his suit coat, hanging on for more than dear life.
His lips were so close to mine, slightly parted, soft and supple. I leaned closer to that mouth, inhaling black cherry and something else, something pungent.
“Is that neem oil?”
He raised his eyebrows, his breath cool on my parted lips. “I hope not. Neem will be a nightmare to get out of clothes.”
I nodded and my chin bumped his while his leg shifted. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe through the ache in my chest. I needed to touch him, to taste him, to feel his skin against mine.
“Um, Penny? I think my grip is about to fail. I’d love to continue this conversation, maybe in my room?”
I opened my eyes wide and saw his eyes so close, I could make out all the swirls and specks of green and black. His lips were so close to mine. Too close. I rolled off him, hitting my thigh on the marble step beneath. I smoothed down my skirt and winced as I stood up.
“Are you okay?” I bent over to help him, but he stayed there lying on the step in that awkward position.
“I changed my mind. I can hang onto the lip of this step indefinitely. Climb back on top of me.”
I sighed and pulled his feet out of the railing and put them down so he could sit up.
He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me onto his lap.
“Drake, haven’t you learned your lesson about grabbing girls? I’m going to have to bring Señor Mort to keep you in line.”
“Are you okay, Penny? I don’t think you hit your head, but what about the rest of you? Did you sprain anything?” He ran his hands over my arms and my legs before I could stop him. I inhaled sharply when he got to my thigh, and he actually pushed my skirt up so he could look at my leg.
“Drake!”
I slapped his hands away while he leaned back against the steps to frown at me where I perched on his knees.
“That is going to be an ugly bruise.”
“That’s what makeup is for.”
His scowl deepened. “Someone warned me about the steps being oiled. I almost wasn’t here in time.”
I shrugged but I felt cold and grabbed his hand. “You could have texted me.”
He tangled his fingers in mine and sat up, sliding his other hand over my waist, drawing me closer. “It’s probably my fault for telling the world that you’re my date for the dance. I think we should call it off.”
I bit my lip then lifted my chin. “And I think we should make a big scene where you present me with some seriously adorable dance outfit and make whoever did this sick with jealousy. There it is, that vengeance coming out. Because it’s probably all your fault, the fall I mean, would you help me do my laundry tonight?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I will help you do your laundry every night. You know there’s nothing I like more than helping a weak, incapable woman who can’t load a washi
ng machine.” He tightened his grip on me and leaned closer so he was only a breath apart from me.
“What are you doing?”
He smiled slightly before he pulled away. “I thought it looked like you wanted to kiss me before, but it was probably the awkward position you found attractive, not me.”
I licked my lips. “Probably. It would be like death by weasel.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Kissing me would be like death by weasel?”
I nodded. “Attractive in the unlikelihood. Are you going to help me with my laundry or were you teasing?”
Soon enough, we were once again alone in the laundry room, and every time I glanced at him, he seemed to be looking at me, which was ridiculous, but my whole body buzzed with an awareness of him, every movement he made seemed to be part of me.
Finally, I had a clean and folded basket of laundry, and so did he, and somehow he’d managed to get the nasty Neem oil out of everything.
He caught my fingers outside of the door. “Let me walk you to your room.”
I shook my head. “I may not be able to handle a washing machine, but I can walk all by myself.”
“Fine.” He tightened his grip on my fingers. “Walk me to my room.”
I stared at him and in spite of the two laundry baskets between us, I felt like I could feel his chest against mine, his heart pounding rapidly while his pupils dilated. I glanced away and nodded. “I’ve never been to your room.”
We walked slowly, two buildings away from Lilac Stories, but instead of having commons, it was just a wide and elegant hall with a few doors far apart, which made
sense when Drake opened his door and let me into his room. It was a suite with a living room area with kitchenette on one side, and then a few steps up was a bedroom and a bath.
“Your bathroom is in your bedroom.”
He nodded and passed me to walk up the steps with his laundry. I stood there in his doorway watching him put away his laundry, hanging his suits in a closet with a sliding mirror door. He had a lot of glass along with the black that dripped like oil over everything.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said, coming down the steps to me. He took the laundry basket out of my hands and led me over to the couch.
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