Page 38 of The Claiming

“Research. Information—evidence.”

I sip my drink and he scoffs, “You come to a party and drink soda. How old are you?”

“I’m not ashamed of my choices, Frankie. I couldn’t give a fuck if you approve of them or not.”

“That’s what I admire about you, Cassandra.”

I raise my eyes at his full use of my name and yet I kind of like that he uses it.

“You don’t play by the usual rules which sets you apart from the other girls.”

“I am myself, Frankie. I haveneverplayed by the rules.”

“And yet you’re a good girl.”

“Should bending the rules make me a bad one?”

“You tell me.”

He blows more smoke into the air and then tosses the cigarette to the ground and stomps it out with his feet.

“Why did you resurrect The Claiming, Frankie?”

I’m curious and add, “I mean, it’s pretty obvious girls come easy to you. Why did you want to chain yourself to one?”

“Because I have yet to experience monogamy. I’m interested in testing if I like it.”

“And if you don’t, say one week into your experiment?”

“Then I’ll suck it up and run with it.”

He turns and his dark velvet eyes gleam in the dusky light.

“You see, Cassie. The Claiming is for one semester only. At the end, both couples meet again and have a choice.”

“What choice?” I’m curious about how this works.

He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his voice is husky as he explains, “Their choice is whether to stick or twist for the next semester. Twist means break up and stick means carry on. If they twist, they can walk away and are either free to carry on as normal, or enter the challenge again, with a different outcome this time.”

“It makes sense, I suppose.”

He turns and his eyes draw me in as they bore deep into my soul and I couldn’t look away if I tried.

“What about you, Cassandra? This is your first experience of freedom. I’m guessing you would never have entered The Claiming if I hadn’t pressured you into it.”

“I wouldn’t.” I admit, reflecting his gaze back at him, which apparently amuses him.

“You see, Frankie, I’m like you. I love a challenge and crave excitement. I always have and college is a wild experience I want to enjoy in full. If that means testing relationships, friendships, my competitiveness and my learning ability, I’m up for it all. But the only reason I’m in this challenge is because I want to walk out the other side and win.”

“So, if you were claimed, how would you deal with that?” He asks, his blank expression concealing his thoughts.

“I won’t lose. We will never know.”

His sudden smile takes my breath away because Frankie Majerio is one impressive specimen of humanity. His dark good looks are enticing and his shrouded personality intriguing and I am not surprised he is so desired.

As if he can read my thoughts, he says with a sigh. “We all want more, Cassie. I want a challenge, the unattainable perhaps, which makes me no different from the students inside. They want recognition. To capture the bad boy, the one who doesn’t give a fuck about anything other than the girl who captures his soul. It elevates them above the rest. They become special if you like because they have something the others don’t have. He, in turn, wants a challenge. Somebody who doesn’t want him to prove he is the best. The man of all men where nothing is out of reach for him, no walls, impenetrable. He can smash through resistance while proving he is the best, so they are no different. Everyone wants to be the best and believe that this is the perfect way of winning.”

“You’re full of shit, Frankie.”

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