Page 103 of A Scandal in Homeroom
She looked expectant. Like she was waiting for me to say the thing we both wanted me to say.
And I should just do it. I should break up with Bee and ask Janie to hang out and…
Yeah. I should just have everything I want and not think about the hurt I caused or the damage I did. Because that would be so much simpler. Only I didn’t want to be that person. I didn’t want to be selfish. Instead, I wanted to be someone Janie deserved, and that person took responsibility for his actions.
I shrugged. “But of course, I can’t break up with her. I’m not sure why I even said it.”
She nodded and bit her bottom lip. “Of course.”
She turned to her front door. I waited until she was inside, the door closed and locked behind her, before I started to walk away.
She liked the flowers. I could tell. So maybe that was at least one thing I did right for her this year.
24
The Haddon Fortnightly
The Cotillion
Locke
The room reminded me of home. It felt old, almost other worldly, and I’d learned it had been built in the 19thcentury, so that made sense. From the parquet floor to the twenty-foot-high ceilings, it felt established. The tables scattered around the perimeter of the room sported large centerpieces of flowers topped with wide candles that flickered, giving the room a softly illuminated ambiance.
Adults and teens mingled together in their finest clothes and jewels. A string quartet played classical music in the background. Barely heard among all the oohs and ahhs of people greeting each other and telling each other how lovely they all looked.
The Darcys were here, chatting with several families, all of whom just wanted to say they had the ear of the Senator. I couldn’t help but wonder again what exactly she was being blackmailed for. She hadn’t told Croft, admitting only that it was happening and she wanted it stopped. It couldn’t have been too egregious if she was willing to risk exposure by informing the Feds.
It didn’t matter, I told myself. Soon all of this would be over. Irene would be free from any threat from Moriarty, aka Mr. Bennet. The Bennet family would be relieved of having a criminal and a liar in their midst, only this time, holding onto the money in their joint bank accounts.
And of course, I would have solved another mystery. The first being who was behind the Freshman Bait List, the second, the identity of Moriarty. It was impressive, I thought.
Irene would be impressed by me.
At least I hoped so, because the second I’d seen her standing on the stairs tonight, I knew I wasn’t worthy of her. She was the most stunning creature I’d ever seen, surpassing any concept of beauty I’d ever had.
I needed to be worthy of her. I needed to be able to show her that, on some level, I could be her equal.
“Should we get some punch?” she asked me, a few minutes after we had taken in the ambiance of the room.
She’d been making comments about the lighting and the flowers, but I hadn’t been paying much attention. Instead, I’d targeted the people I needed to watch this evening. The Darcys. The Bennets. The special guests Croft had given me a heads-up about. He’d opted to forgo the drama, but I didn’t need him here. Just his people.
Neither Star nor Beth were standing with their parents. Both were with Fitz and Chas and their families. This was good, I thought. The more distance from their father the better.
“Locke?”
I turned to Irene and once again had to remind myself to breathe. She was so beautiful. So perfect it almost hurt to look at her. Everything she’d been through, everything she’d suffered at the hands of her mother, and this, this was what she grew into.
No, I wasn’t even a smidgen worthy of her.
“I feel like you’re checked out,” she said, a small wrinkle forming in her brow.
“Checked out?”
“Like your head is some place not here.”
“My head is definitely here.” Because there was a drama about to be played out once I gave the word. I didn’t want to rush things. I knew Irene wanted to dance for a bit, but I couldn’t wait too long and miss my opportunity.
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
