Page 63 of Rules

Brook actuallygiggles.

I never thought I’d hear it, but damn does it sound good. It’s light and resonant, showing me a glimpse of the girl I know is hidden somewhere inside of her, the girl she keeps locked away from everybody. Until now.

Loosening her hold, Brook pulls back just enough so she can see my face. Her hand brushes away a runaway strand of hair. “I’m so happy for you, Max.”

Her touch is tender, the tips of her fingers running through my hair softly. Her smile is so big I can see her teeth shining underneath the fluorescent light, minty breath touching my skin.

I blink, realizing how close we are, her body plastered against mine, her face only inches away. Those wide, pink lips call to me. My eyes zero in on that pouty flesh, my tongue peeking out to wet my suddenly dry lips as I force my gaze to return to hers. Only, I catch her doing the same. Her cheeks flush at being caught, irises dilating even more.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I finally rasp, breaking the sudden silence between us.

My hand arches forward, fingers barely grazing against her face when our bubble bursts.

“That is amazing, Max!” Lia says, lifting the crumpled sheet of paper off the floor. It must have fallen out of Brook’s hand somewhere around the time she threw herself at me.

We both let go like we’ve been burned, suddenly aware of our surroundings. Brook’s cheeks grow redder, if that’s even possible, but she tries to play it cool, though Lia’s not buying it. Her knowing eyes dart between us, a sly smile curling her lips.

“Brook was helping you with this?” Lia offers me the exam.

I grab it and put it back in my backpack, avoiding her intrigued looks. “A time or two.” I shrug.

I’m not even sure why I’m acting like this, trying to play it off. Brook has helped me a lot. Passing this class would have been impossible without her help, but to get an 85… I never even dreamed of scoring that high. With Brook’s help, nothing seemed as hard; for some reason, she knew what to do and say to make it all so much easier to understand.

Rubbing the nape of my neck, I ask, “You two going to grab something to eat?”

They nod in unison, Brook avoiding facing me, while Lia’s eyes tell me all I need to know. I might try to change the subject, but this—whatever this is—is far from over.

Together we go to the cafeteria, our previous discussion forgotten.

Lia tells me all about her holiday plans as we grab something to eat and go to our table where our usual group is already seated.

“Hey, what’s up?” I slide next to Anette, who’s so concentrated on whatever she’s typing on her phone my sudden question startles her, making her jump in her seat.

“Fuck, Max.” Jeanette glares, her hand rising, covering her rapidly beating heart. “Do you always have to sneak up on people?”

I playfully pull at a strand of her hair. “I wasn’t sneaking up on anybody. If you weren’t so preoccupied with your phone, you’d have seen me. Who’re you texting anyway?”

“Nobody,” she says quickly. Too quickly.

With narrowed eyes, I look between the dark screen of her iPhone, which is still in her lap, and her too-casual face.

Ignoring me, she starts picking at her food. Sighing, I turn toward the guys, who’re discussing our hockey schedule during the holidays. Even though we don’t officially have games until after the break, Coach still wants us to come to practice every day to keep up with our workout regimen and stay in shape.

“Who are you texting, dude?” This time, the question comes from the other side of the table and is directed toward Andrew, drawing my attention. I look at him slumped in his seat, his phone clenched in one of his hands.

“Yeah, who’re you texting?” I challenge, looking at him intently. Jeanette shifts in her chair, and I can’t help but give her a glance before returning my attention to Drew.

I’m not sure what happened during the charity ball. Mom set Jeanette up on a date with the son of a family friend, and we stumbled upon Andrew at the event. For a while now I knew something had been going on between them. When their kiss went viral, both of them tried to reassure me it was nothing, but I didn’t buy it. The charity event only confirmed that because Andrew went ballistic. Not toward Anette, but the guy she was with. He seemed jealous even, not that I ever thought I’d see this guy care about a girl enough to act that way, but there was no other word to describe it.

“Just some chick.” He shrugs, and I can feel my eyes narrow.

“You hooking up with that cheerleader chick again?”

“Nope, definitely not the cheerleader.”

The guys laugh like they don’t believe him, and I hope for his sake that he’s telling the truth.

“Dude.” This comes from Derek, who’s been concentrating on Lia since we got here. “Like he’d do the same girl twice. That would probably mean he’s engaged to her!”

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