by Payton Reed
Everyone thought Lex had broken up with her, which he had, and nobody knew there was anyone else was in the picture. The gossip about her and Dalton had died when she managed to evade being seen with him too much, and she suspected Malone had put a stop to it as well, because she’d seen the furious anger on Malone’s face when she first heard the rumor. Her stepsister clearly didn’t like the thought of Dalton and Willow linked, even through gossip. That was almost a point in the “pro” column for pursuing a relationship with Dalton.
After dinner, she headed to the swim complex, but as she started to enter the swimming area after leaving the locker room, she paused. Lex was there, which surprised her. He’d admitted to her a while back that he didn’t really care for chlorinated water, but there he was, tearing up the pool with gigantic laps that seemed full of anger.
She hung back, watching him until he got out a few minutes later. He slung a towel over his hips and padded into the men’s locker room. She held her breath for a few moments, wondering what she should do. She could try to meet him outside the locker room, and maybe he’d finally talk to her. Or maybe she could catch him where it would be harder for him to walk away.
Biting her lip, she slipped into the men’s locker room, hoping the place was as deserted as it seemed. She held her breath as she walked past the showers, thankful that he didn’t look her direction. He hadn’t been kidding when he said the guys only had one multi-spigot communal shower with no curtains, and she got a nice glimpse of his butt as she slipped past.
She found his locker and removed his clothes, hastily stuffing them in another locker that didn’t have a lock on it. Then she sat down on the bench and waited for him.
He came out a few moments later, wearing another towel around his hips. He was still slightly damp, and the water drops glistening on his body made her long to lick them away. She knew they were a long way from that point though.
He stumbled to a stop when he saw her. “What are you doing in here? Are you out of your mind?”
“It’s the only way I could talk to you.” Willow crossed her arms over her chest.
His hands were on his hips, and his anger was evident. “Can’t you get the message that I don’t want to talk to you?”
That hurt, and Willow gasped softly, but she persisted. “I can accept that if you have one last conversation with me. We need to settle things. I care about you, Lex. These last couple of weeks without you have been awful. Can you please try to find a way to forgive me?”
He glared at her as he walked over to his locker. When he opened the door, he hissed in anger before looking back at her. “Where are my clothes?”
“Somewhere safe, but I’m not giving them back to you for a few minutes. Will you actually talk to me? Please?” She patted the bench beside her, hating the feeling she was blackmailing him into conversation, but she accepted there was no other way he was going to be alone with her long enough to talk.
With a heavy sigh, full of anger, he threw himself on the bench beside her, leaving several inches of space. “What do you want?”
“I want to know if you still care about me. Did you really manage to just completely turn it off?” She clenched her hands together as she asked, knowing so much hinged on his answer. Even if he gave her an obviously fake yes, she’d have to accept that. What she most dreaded was hearing a sincere affirmation.
The silence lengthened for several seconds before he sighed. “Of course, I can’t just turn it off. I still care about you, and I’m so attracted to you, but Dalton? I just can’t—”
“I understand. I’ve been trying to avoid him, because I know it’s the commonsense thing to do. I don’t know how it’ll turn out, but I promise I care about you, Lex. I don’t know how to explain how I can care about you as much as I do anyone else, but it’s true. When I’m with you, I’m thinking only of you. I know you don’t like Dalton, and he doesn’t like you, but can we make this about us and not Dalton?”
His shoulders stiffened. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
Tears came to her eyes, and she bent her head. He seemed resolute, and he’d given her the conversation she’d requested. She struggled to hold back tears as she nodded. “Okay. Your clothes are in locker one-fourteen.” She stood up, not looking at him as tears streamed down her face. She had to honor her promise, which meant leaving him alone. It was time to find a way to get over Lex, though the thought was as painful as if someone had physically crushed her heart.
He moved over to the locker to retrieve his clothes, and she started walking to the exit of the locker room, intent on returning to the ladies’ locker room. She thought she heard the door to the men’s locker room open, so she started to increase her pace.
She stopped when a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up, not trying to hide her tears, and saw Lex’s concern. “Yes?” There was a ray of hope in her voice she couldn’t mask.
He flinched slightly, but then he sighed heavily. “Don’t walk away. I hate the idea of you with Dalton, but I can’t stand the idea of being without you. Let’s try this again, okay?”
She nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.” She leaned against him, though he stiffened for a moment at the embrace. Thinking she’d moved too quickly, she started to pull away, but then his arms wrapped tightly around her, holding her against him.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, and though his hair was damp, she didn’t let it bother her. She wrapped her arms around him, holding tight, and when he brought his mouth to hers, she responded instinctively. It was like a thousand fireworks shot off from their lips, and the flames consumed her. She’d missed kissing him so much, and she was tempted to keep going.
Lex was the one who pulled away. “This isn’t really the time or place. You should get back to the girls’ locker room before someone sees you here.”
She nodded. “Will you meet me in the library tomorrow after dinner?”
Lex hesitated for only a second before nodding. “Yeah, I will.” He kissed her on the tip of the nose before sending her on her way.
She slipped back into the girls’ locker room, not seeing anyone, though she thought she heard a door close. If someone was there, they weren’t in sight, and she didn’t give it another thought as she decided to skip her swim and get dressed to return to her dorm. There was new hope in her heart, and even the snow couldn’t dampen the warmth inside her that came from knowing Lex was ready to forgive her and try again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Willow
Willow knew there was trouble the moment she walked into the dining hall the next morning for breakfast. Everyone fell silent for a long second, and then they resumed talking, but with furtive looks in her direction and a variety of responses, from giggles to looks of disapproval. She felt like someone had painted a target on her, but she didn’t understand what had happened.
Forcing herself to get in line, she tried to ignore the people looking her way, but it was difficult. She moved forward until it was finally her turn, and Beth, who was serving, gave her a concerned look. She leaned a little closer, trying to be discreet through the sneeze guard. “What’s going on? Do you know why they’re looking at me like this?”
Beth nodded. “There’s a rumor that you and Lex were… you know… in the locker room.”
She flinched, recalling the certainty she’d heard the door close in the men’s locker room and then later in the women’s locker room. Someone must’ve seen them, but all they’d done was kiss. She shook her head. “We didn’t do that in there.”
Beth had to serve the next person which meant Willow had to move on, but Beth had a chance to say, “You know how rumors are. Nobody cares if there’s any truth.”
“Yeah.” Feeling discouraged, Willow abruptly left the line and took her tray to the busing station. She left the food uneaten and departed the dining room, not having it in her to face all the gossip and pretend like she didn’t notice while she tried to swallow through the lump in her throat. That woul
d probably choke her to death if she even attempted it.
She headed toward her first class, groaning when she heard someone call her name behind her. It was Malone. Of course it was. She thought about continuing to walk on, but what was the point? Malone would just follow and harass her until she said whatever it was, she wanted to say.
With a deep breath for courage, she turned to face her stepsister. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to make sure you know who started the rumor.” Malone grinned with smug pleasure. “Mari’s boyfriend saw you in the locker room and ran to tell her. They decided to skip their swim and come tell me instead.” She practically giggled in delight. “How perfect is that?”
“All we did was kiss, but I’m sure you’re not interested in the truth.” Willow shrugged, trying to appear as though she didn’t care about being the object of gossip yet again. “This will die down. I hope you have your fun in the meantime.”
“Oh, I certainly will. I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t ‘die down’ either. Every time anybody looks at you, I’m going to remind them that you were the slut fucking Lex in the locker room.”
With a sigh of exasperation, she said, “I’d hardly be a slut for fucking my boyfriend, as you put it, but it doesn’t matter. Do your worst.” Without giving Malone the satisfaction of further sparring, she turned away from her and resumed heading to her first class.
The next few periods were misery as people kept staring and pointing, whispering when the professors weren’t talking. In literature, she could tell Kip had heard about the situation, because the first person who whispered got two demerits, and then he imposed an embargo on all conversation unless one was directly asked a question, or if they were reading aloud.
That was the only class to provide any sort of relief for her, but it brought its own share of bad news. A student from the office appeared toward the end of the hour, saying, “Headmaster Hastings would like to speak with Willow Munroe please, Professor Stuart.”
Kip looked like he wanted to refuse, clearly driven by protective instincts, but she didn’t want him in trouble. The last thing she needed were more rumors circulating, so she got to her feet and grabbed her backpack, shoving her books in it as she followed behind the office attendant.
The girl was at least a year behind her, and though Willow had never spoken to her before, the girl seemed to expect all the salacious details. “Were you really screwing Lex Sperry in the locker room?”
Willow rolled her eyes and huffed, letting that be her answer.
“That’s really brave, and also really stupid. You’re probably getting expelled.”
“We all know that would be a shame. Then the gossip would die almost immediately, since no one would have anything else to talk about.” When the girl flinched, she regretted the angry tone she’d taken, so she moderated it slightly. “You know how rumors are. All it takes is one hint of reality to suddenly become something completely different. One kiss becomes screwing in the locker room.”
The girl looked almost disappointed at the truth. “So, you weren’t…?”
Willow snorted. “Only an idiot would do something so intimate in such a public place.” Clearly, she’d been an idiot for following Lex into the locker room to start with, but she couldn’t regret it. It had brought them back together, and he was willing to give her another chance. She could weather the storm to have gained that.
They reached the office then, curtailing further chance of conversation, much to Willow’s relief, and the student aid returned to her position behind the front desk, in an alcove near the Dragon Lady receptionist’s.
Nellie glared at her. “He’ll see you right away, Munroe.”
Willow wondered where her obvious rancor came from, since she doubted Nellie had attended Dunwich, and surely, she wasn’t in the higher echelons of society if she worked as a receptionist/assistant here. She should have more sympathy for the scholarship kids, and the kids who weren’t part of the usual status quo.
Dismissing thoughts of the receptionist/headmaster’s assistant, she went to Hastings’s office and knocked. When he called her in, she had to take a deep breath for courage before crossing the threshold. She closed the door behind her, instinctively knowing she wouldn’t want everybody to hear this conversation.
He didn’t invite her to take a seat, but she didn’t wait for an invitation. She sat down as though she had nothing to worry about, because she didn’t think she did. Unless the piranha’s boyfriend had thought to take pictures, or the school illegally had cameras in the locker room, there was no visual proof she’d been there with Lex. Even if there was, surely being in the opposite gender locker room to kiss someone wasn’t an expulsion-worthy violation.
“I’ve heard disturbing rumors about you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, what are they, Headmaster Hastings?” She was impressed with her own acting ability. She sounded like she had not a care in the world, and she was completely befuddled why she was there.
He scowled. “You… you’ve heard them, I’m sure.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “There’re always rumor circulating about everyone on different days. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be explicitly clear what we’re talking about, sir.”
His cheeks flushed slightly, and he looked on the verge of having a heart attack for a moment. She wasn’t certain if it was his anger or the prospect of discussing the rumors with her that left him so close to the verge of losing control. Finally, with a deep breath, he said, “There are disturbing rumors that you were in the locker room with one of our students.”
“Which student, sir?”
“Alexander Sperry.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Lex is my boyfriend, and we did swim last night, but Lex was never in the girls’ locker room.”
“The rumor is you were in the boys’ locker room, and you certainly weren’t swimming.” He added that part with his lips pinched in disapproval. The old prude was about to explode.
She managed not to grin, surprised at how easy this was for her. She’d been shaking with anxiety before facing him, but now she felt completely calm. “That didn’t happen, sir. It’s just a lie—unless you have some sort of proof that it did? Which would be difficult to produce, since it didn’t happen.”
His mouth gaped open for a moment, and he looked a bit like a guppy gulping water as he gathered his thoughts. “You see here—”
“I’m just saying, sir, that if you tried to discipline me for something without any proof, I’m pretty sure my mom would have a slew of lawyers in touch in no time.” She arched a brow at him.
“They were just rumors,” he muttered after long hesitation. He cleared his throat. “I’m satisfied there’s no substance to them. You may return to class.”
She kept her expression neutral. “Thank you, Headmaster Hastings.” Without another word, she gathered her backpack and left his office.
Nellie gave her smug look as she walked past. “Expelled, are we?”
Willow allowed a hint of smugness to show. “For what? The headmaster had no proof of anything, and it’s amazing how effectively the mention of lawyers can rein in his impulses.” She enjoyed Nellie’s sour expression, but she didn’t say anything further as she departed the office.
Third period was over, and the fourth had only begun a few minutes ago, so she stopped by the restroom for a leisurely few minutes to gather her composure. She was shaking with the aftermath now, shocked she had gone up against Hastings and managed to thwart him once again.
Clearly, he’d planned to expel her, based on Nellie’s comments. He hadn’t been able to without proof, and the sharp reminder that her mom had lawyers available forced him to back down. It was still a strange concept, that she could actually defend herself with the mention of attorneys, and they really existed.
Not that she was certain her mom would fight for her if she heard the rumors. If Hannah thought she was having sex in the locker room with
her boyfriend, she’d likely pull Willow from school and make her finish the rest of her senior year at home. She knew her mother didn’t want her to end up a teenager with a baby like Hannah had been, so she could well imagine how her mom would lose it if she found out she was dating four guys. Three guys, she quickly corrected. There was no dating with Dalton.
Or maybe not. Her mom obviously understood how passion could sweep over you. She doubted Hannah had been looking the fall in love when she’d met Ashton, who was fifteen years older than her mom and had three kids of his own. It had still happened, so maybe she should give her mom more credit for understanding passion and love.
Either way, she knew her mother wouldn’t approve if she was having sex on campus, no matter how safe she was being. Since she hadn’t done that, Willow embraced her outrage at being falsely accused and used that as a buffer between herself and everyone else when she went to the fourth period. That meant dealing with Manion, and he was giving her looks that were creepier than ever.
It was a relief when the bell rang. She was among the first out of class and fled to the dining hall. She struggled to ignore the attention directed her way as she got in line, which seemed to be moving slower than ever.
Lex got in line in front of her, winking when he said, “You don’t mind cutsies?”
She shrugged. “I don’t mind, but the people behind me might.”
Lex didn’t pay any attention to that. Instead, he moved to her side and put his arm around her waist. For a moment, she held herself stiffly. This was just feeding the gossip, and she thought maybe she should step away.
Feeling him stiffen slightly, and seeing the hesitation in his expression, she doubled down and moved closer. After having him ignore her for the last couple of weeks, she wasn’t going to do anything that might put distance between them again, even if it made her existence more miserable for a few days.
