Page 47 of Crew Princess
“I’m never going to live this down, am I?”
Zellman and I were both still gaping.
That was—that was hot.
Z closed his mouth with a snap. “Damn.”
That was all he had to say. I was on the same wavelength.
“Guys!” Cross yelled. “Come on!”
A slight giggle escaped Zellman before he kicked off and sped to catch up. I was right behind him, my stomach doing all these fluttery jumping maneuvers. And those flashlights were still coming behind us.
Zellman ran ahead, his phone mixed with Jordan’s to illuminate a walking path. I brought up the rear, keeping an eye on the cops behind us. They had stalled so far back so we knew they couldn’t see our phones, but after ten minutes of running at a light pace, we heard a shout from the right.
I hadn’t even been watching that side!
“THEY’RE HERE!”
More shouting and the flashlights began waving, almost frantically.
“Our 11! They’re on our 11!”
“Oh, man.” Zellman had come up beside me.
Cross never stopped. He just continued on, trying to pick up his pace.
We weren’t going to make it. That shout jumpstarted them, and they were moving in and doing it fast.
“I don’t want to leave Jordan behind,” I whispered.
Z’s voice was quiet. “I know.”
But …
“Hey!” A twig snapped, and Zellman and I jumped back, whirling.
Our lights swung up, and a girl was there. She was tall, long legs, slim and willowy. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun. She threw up an arm, squinting and blinking under the sudden light.
“Whoa! I come in peace, fellow earthlings. I swear. Book nerd. That’s all I am.”
We kept our lights pointed at her.
I stepped forward. “Who are you?”
“Um…” A strand of hair fell over her face, and she tucked it behind her ear, biting her lip. “Can we do the names later? I mean, don’t murder me or anything, but I kinda see what’s happening.” She pointed to the incoming flashlights.
“Guys!” A hushed yell from Cross. “What’s the fucking holdup?”
“Oh!” She turned, her hand going up in a Vulcan salute, her fingers spread wide. “I come in peace. I swear.” She bit her bottom lip again. “Shit,” she whispered. She looked down suddenly. “You all probably think I’m super creepy, don’t you? Shit, shit, shit.” She was hissing to herself, turning away, her shoulders hunching forward. “I’m so stupid. Why did I approach like this?”
“Weird girl.” Zellman stepped forward, his voice firm. “What do you want?”
“Right.” She snapped back. Her shirt was off-kilter, but she didn’t seem to realize it. “I can help you. I mean—” Again with the lip biting.
My patience was wearing thin.
I growled, “Get to the fucking point because you’re holding us up from trying to not get arrested!”
