Page 73 of Mistaken Magic

Ihad no idea what any of this meant, soIsat there a little longer with my fingers resting against my lower lip.LongenoughImust've looked dazed or something, becauseKeirfound me like that.Headingthrough the atrium, he angled his path toward me, stopping by my feet whenIdidn't look up.

"Rain?"

Finally,Ipulled my hand away and realized he was waiting for me. "Yeah?"

"Youdrunk on that stuff?"

"Buzzed,"Iadmitted. "Andyou forgot to warn me about dancing with the fae."

"Ah."Buthe crossed his arms over his chest. "Prettysure that's not your only problem."

"Justtrying to decide ifIshould have a shower before dinner,"Itold him. "AndwhoI'mgoing to eat with, and how much it sucks to not know what the hell is going on."

"Iusually sit near the back," he said. "Closerto the doors to the gym.Ifyou ever want to, you're welcome to sit with me.I'lleven introduce you to my friends.Believeit or not,Ihave some, butI'mvoting for a shower first."Hegrinned. "You'rea mess, and the last thing you need is anyone thinking you earned that hot and bothered look doing something else."

"Goodpoint,"Iagreed, pushing to my feet.ThenIpaused. "Hey,Keir?"

"Mm?"

"Iyelled atTorianfor being a dick.Imean, just so you know."

Hechuckled. "Believeit or not,I'mnot worried aboutTorianHunt, butI'mstill glad to hear it."Thenhe stepped the other way, aiming for the boys' side doors. "Shower,Rain.Idunno, get pretty or something."

"I'malways pretty,"Iteased, turning to leave.

Buthe called after me, "Youare.Kindamy point."

Thatshould've been thrilling.Keirwas everything a girl wanted in a guy.Iknew he wasn't lying, because he couldn't.Ishould have a giddy feeling in my chest and butterflies in my stomach.Instead, my mind immediately jumped back toAspen'slips on mine.Herhand pressing against my cheek.Theway she'd said she liked me - and howInow realized that meant a very different kind of "like" thanI'dfirst thought.

AsIheaded up to my room,Itried to make sense of whatIfelt.Itwas all a jumble, tangling up with itself in my head.Ialways had fun whenIwas withAspen.Ithought she was beautiful.Iowed her for getting me intoSilverOaks.I'djust never kissed a girl before.Iliked that she liked me, but did that meanIliked her back?

Mostof all, what wasIsupposed to do now?

Notworry about it,Idecided.Grabbinga quick shower,Ipulled on an old tee and a pair of yoga pants.Itwas the weekend, so we were given a lot more leeway on what we could wear, and this was comfortable.Myhair went into a messy bun, andIdidn't bother with makeup.Iwas honestly too hungry.

ButwhenIwalked into the dining hall a few minutes later,Irealized everyone was down here.Mostof them were wearing casual clothes, like me.Sadly, that meant there wasn't much empty space.Apparentlythis was the official dinner hour.Iusually ate a little later, which meantIcould typically find a table all to myself.

Ormaybe it was because we'd been partying all day?Eitherway, step one was to get myself a meal.Movinginto the line,Iwalked past the options, looking for something good.Inoticed the large array of fresh fruit, though.Sure, it had always been there, butI'dassumed it was a healthy thing, not a fae thing.

Iwent with a vegetarian pasta, and the server was just passing back my plate when, of all people,Wilderstepped in beside me.He'dcompletely cut the line, but no one complained.YetwhenIturned to get myself a drink, he followed me.

"You'reeating with us."

Ilooked down at my meal. "Uh, you sure about that?It'snot fruit."

Hemoved around me whileIfilled my cup from the dispenser. "Aspen'sworried about something.Youvanished.Shesaid she thinks she danced you too hard.Tor'sgrilling her because she won't let himsee.Hawke'sgrumpy.Comeeat with us?"Wilderbegged. "Pleasespare my sanity?"

"Iwas going to eat withKeir,"Iadmitted.

Theguy gave me an exasperated look. "Whatis going on?"

"Nothing,"Iinsisted, butIsaw him wince.

"Trythat again," he told me.

"Noneof your business."

Wilderactually laughed. "You'rea little too good at this.Rain, most people would jump at the chance to be invited to our table.You'reformally invited.Comesit with the court and amuse our little princess?"

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