Fake Skating(47)

“So soft,” he said, shaking his head like I was ridiculous.

“What’s so soft?” I heard as Vinny and Richie came out of nowhere.

Alec slowed and turned in their direction, which meant I slowed too.

“She is,” he said, bumping his shoulder against mine and smiling. “Dani dresses like it’s fifty below all the time and runs for the doors whenever she’s outside. Soft as hell.” He whispered the last words, slowly, teasingly, his breath tickling my ear.

Jesus.

“You’ll get used to it,” Vinny said to me, his eyebrow lifting as Richie bit his lip to keep from smirking at this obvious display of flirtation.

Alec gave me a look that was so laced with… somethingthat I felt my cheeks get hot. Even as I knew this was all for show, butterflies went wild in my stomach because of the way he was watching me.

Holy God, Alec at full power is a lot to handle.

“Listen,” I said abruptly (and a little too loudly), “I need to go to my locker because I don’t want to be late, so I’ll see you later.” I wasn’t sure if I was talking to Alec or all three of them.

“Lunch in the library?” he asked, his eyes on mine as he reached out a big hand and grabbed the end of my scarf. Our gazes stayed locked as he slowly unlooped the yarn, his knuckles grazing my skin as he casually unwrapped my neck.

What is he doing?

A shiver slid down my spine, a shiver that was either from the cool air suddenly touching my throat or from the way he was audaciously peeling away one of my layers while looking at me thatway; I couldn’t be sure which.

But he was daring me with his eyes, wordlessly challenging me to respond; I’d have recognized that expression anywhere. He might be Zeusnow, but my little friend Alec had given me that look a hundred times.

Usually in the context of you won’twhile waiting to see if I would.

So I raised my chin, snatched the scarf from his fingers, and said, “It’s a date, Zeus.”





CHAPTER TWENTY Alec




Me: I heard that cool chicks hang out in the library. True or false?

I watched Dani grab the phone out of her pocket and look down at the message, and then—dear Jesus—her shiny mouth curved up into a smile as she texted me back.

Dani: I heard the same thing so I’m going to say TRUE

I shouldn’t like her grin as much as I did—after all, she wasmy shitty ex-friend—but today I was all in on convincing her to help me, so that was my only focus.

Until graduation.

I still couldn’t believe she’d suggested that, although her reasoning was sound.

And fucking sad.

If I were in her situation, it’d never have occurred to me that people might turn on me post-fake-breakup. I wouldn’t have thought that far ahead, because in my experience—for the most part—people didn’t act like assholes.

But she’d obviously had a different experience.

I replied: Rumor has it hot guys like to swing by sometimes…

She was still smiling when she texted: Only douches call themselves hot guys

There she is, the old Dani.

I sent: WHOA. COLLINS. I’m simply telling you the rumors that travel within these halls. I would never think to call myself that. Also… totally unrelated… I just walked into the library.

Her head came up and she was grinning when she looked at me.

And whoa—her full-throttle smile was still exactly the same.

It made me feel kind of… off-kilteras I walked over to her table.

“Did you already eat?” she asked, pushing up her glasses as I sat down in the seat across from her.

I don’t know, what is eat?“I’m good.”

Her eyebrows scrunched together, probably because that wasn’t an answer. “And you wantto hang out in the library instead of the cafeteria?”

I think I do.“Yes. I’m in need of a good book.”

“A good book.” That made her set down Invisible Man. “You didn’t like the history ones you got the other day?”

The ones I blindly grabbed so I didn’t look like I cared you were in the library?

“They were for school. I need a book for fun.”

Her eyes narrowed and she watched me for a second before asking, “Do you want me to help you?”

A laugh came out of me as I remembered all the summer mornings we’d walked to the library together. She’d always been annoyingly excited about getting a new book, whereas I’d always been annoyingly excited to log into a library computer and play Fortnite.

But, to appease my mom, Dani always found a book for me to check out.

“Do your best, Collins.”

“Come on.” She left her stuff at the table and gestured for me to follow her. The smell of her perfume was like my guide rope, leading me by the nose, and I cleared my throat and pushed that thought away because I couldn’t afford to lose focus.

“Billy Summers,” she said, moving through the book stacks with purpose.

“It’s actually Alec Barczewski,” I quipped, following her.

“The dad jokes, come on,” she muttered, not slowing until we were standing in front of what was obviously the Stephen King section. She paused for a second, searching, before she pulled out a thick one. “Billy Summers is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Read it. I know you’ll love it.”