Sabrina directs her irritation my way. “Tutoring you for what? We graduate in two and a half weeks.”
A trail of tension rides down my neck. I don’t owe her a damn thing. Least of all, an explanation for why someone’s helping me out.
“None of your fucking business.”
That makes her mouth clamp shut. With a huff, she grabs her purse off the piano.
“Whatever.” Blowing me a kiss, she pushes her way past Lennon, intentionally bumping into her. “Text me later.”
I won’t.
Lennon still isn’t making eye contact with me.
It shouldn’t bother me…but it does.
“Sabrina’s a bitch.”
Her head snaps up and there’s no mistaking the anger flashing in her eyes.
“Then why do you fuck her?”
I didn’t owe Sabrina an explanation, and I sure as fuck don’t owe her one either.
Only unlike Sabrina, I need Lennon.
My progress is slow and most nights, I want to bash my head through a wall and give up.
But there’s something about knowing that I might not have to cheat my way out of the hole I dug myself into that gives me a sense of pride.
I want to earn it.
But in order for that to happen, I have to keep my tutor around.
So, I lie.
“I didn’t fuck her.”
Lennon’s stare drops to the floor—briefly lingering on the used condom I dropped in my haste to get away—before trailing up to my face.
She no longer looks angry…her expression is pure hurt.
And then she walks away.
Fuck.
I chase after her, my long strides quickly eating the distance between us.
“I don’t appreciate being lied to,” she snaps when I grab her arm.
“Me either.”
She whips around to face me. “When have I ever lied to you?”
“When you told me you could keep your little crush under control and shit wouldn’t get complicated,” I point out. “Acting jealous and hurt because I fucked another girl is a complication.”
One I don’t need.
Her mouth drops open. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
So I’ve been told.
I tighten my hold when she tries to walk away again. A little too hard, though, because she winces. “You’re hurting me.”
I promptly let go. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
But we both know I’m not.
She gives her head a shake. “Fine. Jealous—no. Hurt—yes.” She looks me over, like I’m nothing but a piece of trash littering the street. “Only because I was dumb enough to think we might actually be friends.”
“We are friends.”
Maybe not in the conventional sense. But shit, I spend more time with her than I do with Storm lately.
“No, we’re not.” Sadness twists her features. “Because friends don’t fuck people who bully their friends.”
With those parting words, she walks away.
And I let her…
Because she’s right.
CHAPTER 7
LENNON
I’m tossing and turning in my bed when I hear something hit my window.
At first, I think it’s just a reckless chipmunk, but then it happens again.
I look over at the clock on the nightstand. It’s just after two a.m.
When something hits my window a third time…I get out of bed so I can check it out.
I nearly fall over when I see Phoenix swinging like a monkey from the large oak tree directly across from my bedroom…while the rain beats down on him.
I swiftly open my window. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You weren’t answering my texts.”
Damn right I wasn’t. I have nothing to say after catching him with Sabrina.
I heard they had sex in the parking lot after prom…but I didn’t think they were an actual thing.
Rumor has it Phoenix is a one-time-only screw.
Clearly, Sabrina’s the exception to that.
“That’s because I don’t want to talk to you.”
I go to slam the window, but he grunts, “Christ, Groupie. My arm strength is good, but not good enough to hang here all fucking night. For fuck’s sake, just hear me out.”
I cross my arms. “You have five seconds.”
“You were right earlier. We are friends—” he starts to say, but I cut him off.
“No, we’re not. I don’t want to be friends with someone who’s balls deep inside her on a daily basis.”
His lips quirk. “Check out the mouth on Little Miss Innocent.”