Page 33 of Nash

But no. Today, she narrows her eyes, glaring at me as I sit at my desk.

Ready. Aim. Fire.

“What did you do to your hair?” she snipes.

I shoot back, “Can you fix your face so it doesn’t look like you’ve sniffed a fart?”

“Can you fix your hair so it doesn’t look like Exxon is your stylist?”

Jace snorts by the door. Nash taps his foot over mine under the desk, and I know I should be nice to her, but that hurt.

“What?” I touch my strands. “I’m wearing it down and straight. Is that a crime?”

“It is when it’s all oily like that.” She slumps in her usual chair. “When was the last time you washed it?”

I can’t tell her how I’m afraid to take a shower. She can’t know how I’ve slept next to Nash all week, and every morning when I wake up beside him, I’m all hot and aroused and agitated. So, when I take a shower, it’s the only privacy I have from him, and I ache to touch myself and come, but now?

Now, I’m so damn flooded with emotions for Nash; coming at the thought of him feels like more than lust.

It’s starting to feel like love between us, and that scares the hell out of me. It scares me how he smiles at me when I brush my teeth. It frightens me when I catch him grinning as I type. It terrifies me how he watches me brush my hair. How silently he makes me feel so beautiful. How I think he’s beautiful, too. How he may be a beast, but he doesn’t frighten me.

So, it’s been a couple of days, and I thought dry shampoo and a whore’s bath would suffice. But it doesn’t under the scrutiny of my sister.

“It’s been a minute,” I answer her.

“It’s been an eon, andeww.” She grimaces. “You’re gross.”

So, I snap, “You know, your fleece pajamas are making a stench and a statement, too. They’re giving ‘I give up’ vibes.”

“Because I have.”

“You can’t give up on love, Blair. Not over one man.”

“You have no idea because no man has ever loved you!”

The sting is instant. Tears bite at my eyes, and I look away.

“I’m sorry.” She rushes to me. “I’m sorry.” She kneels, yanking me into a hug. “I’m being a bitch, and I’m sorry. I’ve never been heartbroken like this, and I’m so sorry. I’m wrong.Ilove you.Alenaloves you. And?—”

“I love you.”

I glance through my blurred vision at Jace, sitting on his stool by the door. Yes, he means it; it’s in his blue eyes. Not in a brotherly way; it’s more like a friend, but there’s a little something between us. A little flirt. A little fun. That’s all.

“Thanks,” I mutter, feeling the heavy silence on my right. It’s Nash, and he’s the only one in the room not saying a word.

I think I know why. I feel the same way.

“I started my period today,” Blair shares. “I’m bitchy and emotional as hell, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh, shit.”

Blair and I are synced up, and with all this Nash stuff going on, I forgot. But unlike Blair, my periods make me more than emotional. They make me sick.

“Do you have your Motrin?” Blair asks, smoothing my dirty hair. She knows what’s coming for me. “I’ll cover for you tomorrow, okay? And the next day. Just stay in bed, and it’ll be over soon.”

“Whatwill be over soon?”

Wonderful.NowNash speaks?Yes, please, let’s all discuss my periods from hell.

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