Page 66 of Habits

I slip my hand out of his and continue walking down the stairs, my mind all over the place.

I know Max means well, and it pains me to lie to him about this, too.

Lies, lies and more lies.

It seems like when you start, there is no going back.

“Oh, here she is.” I snap out of it when I hear my mother’s voice, my eyes slowly lifting until I meet her gaze, and then I see him.

Dark blond hair perfectly styled so it doesn't get in his face. Light blue eyes surrounded by long eyelashes. Clean-shaven square jaw. Lean body dressed in a custom-made three-piece black suit and black tie to match.

“Jeanette.” My mother smiles sweetly. Too sweet. “Meet Ethan. Your date.”

Jeanette

“I’m going to kill her,” I spat when I get to Max, who’s leaning against the bar. He hasn’t left this spot since we got to the Greyford Country Club, where the charity gala is taking place, while I had to play nice with mydate.

Taking the glass of bubbly champagne in front of him, I tip my head back and down the whole thing in one go.

“Why? It’s not a big deal.”

Is he for real?

Slowly, oh-so-slowly, I turn around to face him. “She didn’t set you up on a blind date!” I whisper-scream, sticking my finger into his chest.

“And it wouldn’t matter either way if she had.” He shrugs. “Why does it matter to you?”

“Because I hate it when she tries to mess with my life. I didn’t want a date! If I wanted one, I would have found one. But I didn’t. Why doesn’t she leave it alone for once in her miserable life?”

Max takes my waving hand in his. “It’s just a few hours.”

He looks calm and composed, but I can see a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “You’re so happy to see me agonized.”

“Me? Never!” But he laughs, so I know I’m right. “Where did the lover boy run off to anyway?”

He looks around, presumably searching for Ethan fucking Williams.

“Don’t look for him. Don’t think of him. Don’t even dare to whisper his name,” I whisper-yell at him, looking around and searching the crowded room for him.

This makes my brother laugh. “Come on! He can’t be that bad.”

“You don’t know the half of it!” I protest, crossing my arms over my chest and lifting my chin in the air.

“Then, by all means, enlighten me.” He mimics my pose perfectly.

“The dude is a know-it-all. All he does is talk about himself and check his looks in every reflectible surface. The leader of debate club, speaks Spanish and German, straight-A student with early acceptance to Yale to study law and, listen to this, a leader of Greyford High’s oldest and fiercest opponent—St. Jonah High.”

Gray eyes bulge out. “No way. She didn’t.”

I roll my eyes. Of coursethatgot his attention. Who the fuck cares about his sister being miserable by being put on the spot, when the guy she’s forced to date is the enemy on the ice? “Yes way, she did. And he’s a shit dancer. After the tenth time he stepped on my foot, I stopped counting.”

“Well, he can’t beperfect. Now can he?”

“Who can’t?”

In unison, we turn around. The fine hairs at the back of my neck rise as an uneasy shudder runs down my body. Light blue eyes take me in, a smirk curling his lips.

I guess it’s supposed to be one of those arrogant, I’m-the-man smirks that popular boys wear like a second skin, but the only thing it does is make my skin crawl.

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