Page 76 of Make Me Pretty
With a self-satisfied smirk—another expression I know well—Peris turns toward Gabe with a smile on his face. His confidence is palpable, and I can feel the way it radiates onto his teammates. They’re all smirking as Peris joins the throng, gathered in a lopsided circle around their coach.
“Damn, talk about a silver fox,” I huff as my gaze rakes over him. He’s older with salt and pepper hair, a thick, dark beard, and corded forearms.
“Iknow,” Sierra and Laken both gush beside me.
“How have I never seen him before?” I muse, mostly to myself. “I don’t know. Maybe I have…”
They shrug. “You probably just don’t pay attention. Only ever have eyes for Peris.”
I scoff loudly. “That’s not fucking true.”
Both girls exchange a look before turning it onto me. My eyes flicker between them, skin growing tight with every passing second. “What?” I finally blurt.
“Dude, you are so hot for him; it’s obvious.”
“What the fuck do you mean, it’s obvious?”Shit. If Peris finds out other people know, he’s gonna break it off. He’ll cut me off for good, and then, I’ll really be alone again. I just got him to fall for me, and if it ends now, it’ll all be for nothing?—
“I mean, maybe not to other people, but you don’t exactly hide the fact you flirt with him,” Laken says.
My sigh of relief is loud and palpable. “Well, obviously. But that doesn’t mean he returns the sentiment.” I clear the frog in my throat, eyes dropping to my lap once more.
Why am I lying for him? Isn’t this what I wanted—for people to know who he really is?
The thought sits uncomfortably in my gut, bringing a furrow to my brows.
Maybe I just wanted him—someone so pretty and perfect—to want someone like me. Trashy and ruined and… and worthless.
“No,” Sierra concurs. “But the way he’s staring at you right now certainly speaks volumes.”
My head jerks up, finding my favorite color pinned on me. As I stare back, it’s like the rest of the crowded room falls away, all the noise and vibration of bodies slipping into a flickering distortion. The sharp pinging of Peris’s eyes tells me he’s scanning my face, even from across the gym.
“Hello,” I mouth with a small grin just for him, despite the queasiness in my gut. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. I’m not this person. I don’t put on a fucking outfit and cheer for my school’s team. I don’t dress up in something I’ve always wanted to wear just to see if a fucking boy will like it.
This isn’tme.
But it’s who I’ve always wanted to be. Someone capable of caring about such trivial things, like homework and high school basketball teams and college. Like cheering with a squad, hoping the man I like will notice me. How I dressed prettyforhim—but for me, too.
Standing with the rest of the squad, I tug on the end of my skirt again, exposing a sliver of my midriff. Peris’s eyes drop automatically, and I can’t fight back the rush of warmth to my cheeks. I drag my painted fingertips over the flush, up to the bridge of my nose to adjust the barbell, because I know he likes it.
The narrowing of his eyes makes my stomach flip, but the widening of my smile ensues when he rakes them over the full length of my body. I feel exposed, almost more so than the night in the bathroom when he stared at me fresh out of the shower, having just had my fingers up my ass.
When he threw me around and demanded I show him my—I cut the thought off at the flare of heat in my face. It pierces my skin with sharp pinpricks, making me shift on my feet, pom poms brushing against my thighs.
Peris’s gaze drops to my shoes, tied all the way to the top for once with tight, stained white shoelaces in lopsided bows. I push up on my tiptoes, balancing precariously before dropping back and rocking to my heels and shimmying my pom poms.
With his undivided attention, I check him out myself. I’ve never seen him in his basketball stuff before. He looks so cute in purple, with the large, white “3” in the center of his torso beneath“Wolves”. The material of his jersey is loose, gaping around his neck and arms, exposing a lot of tanned skin.
It’s impossible to miss the vivid pink marks around his neck and down his chest where they disappear beneath his shirt. Swallowing is difficult, seeing them in the harsh, fluorescent lights. For everyone to see.
For his fuckingmomto see.
The deafening blare of a whistle makes me jump out of my skin, eyes wide as I sweat, knowing she’s sitting out there somewhere, probably looking at us.
Peris jolts, too, rocking back when Gabe slaps his shoulder. He shakes his head, dislodging a sticky strand from the rest of his hair. It hangs in front of his bowed head, tilted slightly to the right as he listens to whatever Gabe is whispering in his ear.
With one last lingering glance in my direction, he mutters something too jumbled for me to make out, and then, his back is turned, feeling as punishing as I’m sure he meant it to.
CHAPTER 24
