Page 34 of The Jack*ss in Class

I held up the ping pong ball and smiled. “Bring it on, Kingman.”

But as we fell back into our rhythm of shots andbanter, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d just glimpsed something important. Something real.

And that was dangerous. Because real meant complicated, and complicated meant exactly the kind of distraction I couldn’t afford right now.

I sank my next shot without looking. “Your turn.”

I was two shots away from beating Flynn Kingman at his own game when a girl in a crop top stumbled into our space.

“Flynn.” She grabbed his arm, nearly falling over. “I wanna go home. Like, right now.”

Something flashed across Flynn’s face, concern mixed with resignation. “Sasha, where’s your roommate? Weren’t you supposed to?—”

“Please?” Her mascara was smeared under her eyes, but that didn’t stop her from dancing her fingers up the front of his shirt. “I just... want you to take me home.”

And just like that, Flynn’s entire demeanor changed. The playful competitor disappeared, replaced by someone harder, more serious. He set down the ping pong ball and pulled out his keys.

“Rain check?” he asked me, but he was already steering Sasha toward the door, one hand steady on her elbow.

If this were a romance novel, this would be the moment of misunderstanding that drove the characters apart. The scene where the heroine watched the hero leave with another woman and jumped to all the wrong conclusions.

But I wasn’t that kind of heroine. I was the kind who knew better than to get invested in the first place.

“Whatever.” I turned away, ignoring the tight feeling inmy chest. “Hey, Hannah, what’s that I heard about Jello shots?”

As I walked away, I heard Flynn call my name. But I was done being the girl who waited around for the hero to choose her.

They never chose me anyway.

FUCK, I NEEDED THIS

FLYNN

Iwatched until Sasha made it safely inside her apartment building, waiting for her to text her roommate like she’d promised.

I texted Gryff while I waited for her roommate’s message.

Me: Don’t give me shit. Give me information. Is Tempest still there?

My phone lit up, but with the confirmation from Sasha’s roomie that she was safely tucked into bed.

Good. One more person who wouldn’t end up causing a late-night police visit to someone’s family.

Gryff’s text finally came back.

Gryff: She’s here. Don’t think she’s going anywhere until she’s done getting lit. You’d better get your ass back pronto.

Tempest? Drunk? While I didn’t stand for drunkdriving, I didn’t have a problem with anyone wanting to blow off some steam with a few drinks. Lord knows, she needed to blow off some steam, but I didn’t see her getting sloppy drunk.

She was too careful. Wound too tightly. Keeping secrets that she was taking pains to hide. Getting drunk meant loose lips.

And she didn’t want any of her ships sinking.

The drive back to the hockey house felt longer than it should have. That look on her face when I’d walked away...fuck. She probably thought I’d blown her off for another girl, which... hell.

But I had to fulfill my duty as designated driver. Even for the likes of Sasha, who never learned her lesson. Not when she’d had that look I knew too well. The one that said she needed to get out before she did something she’d regret. Not when she’d been too drunk to drive herself. Never that.

A car swerved in the lane ahead of me, and my hands tightened on the wheel.

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