Page 30 of Tag

I kept my voice hushed. “By the Literature building. They were masked too. Different physique than the one from this morning, so it wasn’t the same guy. Or girl.”

He halted and turned to me. "Did they follow you?"

“No. I was in class. They were in the courtyard, but it felt like they were looking up at my classroom.”

He exhaled slowly, his jaw clenching. "Sanj, you need to tell me these things as soon as they happen. What if they tried something?"

"I'm telling you now," I reminded him gently. "I didn't want to cause unnecessary panic, and I wasn't sure they were watching me. I’m still not. I didn't want to seem like I was overreacting."

He raked a hand through his hair. "Trust your instincts, Sanj. I'd never think your concerns are anything to brush off."

Looking into his green eyes, a fresh wave of guilt washed over me. Ashton was truly a good guy, even if sometimes he was a bit oblivious and too lax about things, like the incident that morning. He had always treated me well and never given me a reason to distrust him, which was why I didn't instantly suspect him of having cheated on me with Sarah Myers. So, while not all of our problems were my fault, I was definitely the cause of quite a few.

Had it not been for the widening gap between us, I might have embraced the moment more. Nevertheless, I smiled at him after he pressed a light kiss on my lips. We picked up our meals, and Ashton led us to the long table at the back where everyone was already gathered, including Ryder and Brooke. There was a spread of trays piled high with burgers, pasta, wraps, and enough fries to serve as a collective tribute to the gods of salt.

Ashton took the open seat next to me, greeting everyone with his usual easygoing smile. Cade acknowledged him with a lazy chin lift, mid-bite of what appeared to be his fourth slice of pizza. Rook gave a nod all the same. Roxxi and Ari replied politely, while Layla looked up from her phone to offer a quick hello. Brooke returned Ashton’s smile warmly. Ryder remained silent, watching me as I sat in the empty chair directly across from him, trying to ignore the inconvenient flutter in my stomach when our eyes met.

I quickly averted my gaze, focusing intently on my wrap. My face felt warm, another level of absurdity. I wasn’t the type to blush over boys, except apparently when it came to this one, whom I had known my entire life. I took a bite of my wrap, pretending not to notice he hadn’t looked away.

I found a legitimate distraction when I glanced over and saw that Arianna’s whole face was flushed even worse than mine. I leaned around Ashton, keeping my voice low.

"Ari? Are you okay?"

Roxxi burst into laughter. "She's fine now. But earlier? Oh, she was absolutely mortified."

"She wouldn't spill the details. Something about a laptop and her cursed lineage?" Xander added with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's really not a big deal. I had to use the computer instead of my tablet for something in class."

I nodded slowly, “And then?”

Roxxi grinned like she was holding a winning hand. “Wicked Whims.”

My mouth dropped open. “No way.”

“All she could do was slam the laptop shut,” Roxxi continued. “And you know she sits right in the front row. So just imagine it, she opens her laptop, enters her password, and you know what pops up? The mod download page. Full titles. Full thumbnails.”

I choked on my wrap, coughing as Ari collapsed face-first onto the table like she wanted to be absorbed by it. Ashton reached over to pat my back while trying not to laugh.

“Mods for a game? Why is that embarrassing?" Cade asked, finally looking away from his food.

Ari refused to meet his eye. "I'm never telling you."

"Wait," he grinned. “Is Whicked Whims some weird code-name for porn?"

Ari looked horrified as several people turned their attention in our direction in response to his comment. “No, you idiot.”

The guys, except for Rook and Ashton, now wore puzzled expressions.

"Then why is it embarrassing?" Nick questioned.

“It's a Mod, like Roxxi said,” Ryder announced, looking at his phone, having quickly consulted Google. He scrolled and started to laugh.

Brooke took a sudden interest in her fruit, biting her lip to contain her own amusement.

“It's a power-up for the Sims," Cloe explained, her tone completely serious.

Cade glanced around the table. "Sims has mods?"

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