Page 17 of Hush, Hush

If I wasn’t suspicious that Devon swung the other way, I’d have already dreamed of him marrying my sister. “You should call her,” I tell him. “She’d love to hear from you.”

“I’ve been trying to find a spare moment to do anything,” he complains. “They’ve already started in with the heavy coursework.” He gestures toward the open textbook in front of him. “I’m drowning in this stupid text.”

Before I can commiserate with him, we’re interrupted. “Hey, Delilah.”

I peer toward our visitor and have to force a smile to my face when my gaze meets Cameron Cabot. He and Keegan used to be best friends. I’ve never liked him all that much. “Hey.”

He leans on the table, the heel of his palm gripping the edge. He gives me his cheesy smile, the one he thinks every girl loves. I’m about to ask him if he feels okay when he tiptoes his fingers across the table and onto my textbook. I briefly peer up at Devon with a “what the fuck” expression. He shrugs. “So...” Cameron starts. “I saw you over here and just wanted to come by and say that I can help you with your problem, if you want.”

I tilt my head. I have zero clue as to what he’s talking about. Briefly, I check the textbook to see if I brought out Physics. When there’s nothing on the page but text, I peer back up at him. “Problem?”

He bends his knees to lower himself eye-to-eye with me. “You know, being a virgin?” he whispers. “That’s something I can definitely help with.”

My face blazes with heat. The way he rakes his gaze over me makes my fingers shake. I dig them into my textbook and glare back at Cameron. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m actually fine. No problem at all.”

“If Keegan can’t seal the deal, I thought maybe you’d want to look elsewhere.” He leans closer, reaching his hand toward my shoulder. “I’ve had virgin pussy before. I’ll make it nice for you, Delilah. I’ll go easy.”

I stand straight up. The need to get away from him is just too much. The force tumbles my chair over, hitting the carpet with a thud. “Dude, lay off,” Devon snaps.

I suck in a breath, trying to calm the erratic beat of my heart. With a quick tug on my clothes to make sure they’re all nicely arranged, I say, “No, it’s fine. Here’s the thing, Cameron. I wouldn’t let you touch me even if it meant I had to be a virgin for the rest of my life.”

His face sours. “I was only trying to help.”

“I fail to see the aid I need in getting laid.”

“Well, apparently you do because Keegan will fuck anything. Except not you. You must be an icy bitch like he says.”

He spins and leaves, and I glare after him. Is that what everyone thinks? Is Keegan telling everyone I’m like that? Devon starts to go after Cameron, but I reach out to grab his sleeve. “He’s not worth it.”

“I’m not going after that asshat, I’m going to tell Keegan this little game he’s playing with you is out of line.”

I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

“This time,” Devon states. “You’re finethis time. What happens when someone won’t take no for an answer? Keegan’s set you up to be the shiny gold piece everyone wants, and we both know there are a bunch of entitled dicks walking around this campus. They’ll convince themselves you wanted it.”

A shiver runs up my spine. Downstairs, the door bangs open, and I can imagine Cameron bitching to everyone who will listen about what just happened. Even if only a small number of people knew before, they’ll all know now.

Shit just got way worse.

ChapterNine

Devon follows me out of the library. So much for studying first thing this morning. Now I have an old boys’ club to bring into the twenty-first century, rumors going around that I’m a virgin, and the guy-I’m-supposed-to-marry committed to making me beg for sex.

I’m walking fast, but Devon jogs ahead of me. I take a breath of relief, hoping he’ll calm down, until he starts shouting, “Keegan! Hey, Keeg!”

I freeze where I am. Glancing around, I find Keegan walking across campus with a beautiful brunette. He glances at Devon and me and keeps going. Devon’s like a dog with a bone though. He doesn’t stop.

“Keeg, what the fuck? I need to talk to you.”

Keegan gives the girl an apologetic smile, the likes of which I haven’t seen since we were in our early teens and tells her he’ll hook back up with her later. When he finally turns to us, after checking the girl’s ass out, he hikes his bag up his shoulder, looking bored. “What?”

“What?” Devon exclaims, thrusting his arm out at me. “Cameron Cabot just hit on your girl.”

Keegan glares at me and snorts. “So?”

“So? So, he told her he could take care of her virginity problem, Keeg. You just made her the sweetest target among your simpering, selfish friends who are only looking to get their dick wet and the entitlement to believe they can get it anywhere.”

Keegan’s face turns an alarming shade of red. “They wouldn’t touch her,” he grunts, but he looks unsure. It’s his uncertain face that makes the weight of all this settle on my shoulders. It makes me second guess the morality of some of these guys I go to school with. I’m sure I only know a small subsection of vulgar stories and games when it comes to the rich families of the world. Murder, love triangles. I haven’t yet heard of virginity used as a game, but there’s a time and a place for everything.

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