Page 32 of A Scandal in Homeroom
As long as I was clear that while they might want something from me, that didn’t mean I had to give it, I was able to use all of it to my advantage.
It’s how I was able to pull off the poker game in the first place.
I made them think I was a chip on the table. A prize they could win. A luxury they could have if they beat everyone else.
As long as I was careful not to let them get too close. Not to tease too much. Only inviting the guys who wouldn’t cross the line when someone said no. It had worked.
Had been working for months.
Only now Moriarty wanted to invite in a new element. An unpredictable one. What if I couldn’t control this new group?
The timing wasn’t lost on me. The minute I felt something sexual inside me, I was already considering if I needed to back away from the character I’d created.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even see how the note got on my desk. It was just there. A folded triangle. I’d been too honest with him. It was a mistake I kept repeating. As if I could trust him whenIthere was no reason to believe I should.
Just because he was an outsider?
Although it did make a difference. He wasn’t a Snob or a Have-not. He didn’t see me like everyone else in this school did, because had no preconceptions. He also looked a little closer. At everything.
I opened the note.
Meet me after school. Under the visitor’s bleachers.
I should tell him no. Beth was in a tizzy about what they’d done to Star last night. She said she wanted revenge. I should be focused on that. Sisters before misters. Hos before bros. All that shit.
Or as I liked to put it. Don’t leave your girls hanging over a guy, because the guy is never worth it. Period.
Still, there was nothing to say I couldn’t do two things at once.
I gave him the time I would be free after practice ,then folded the note. I waited for the bell to ring, and when he stood, I stood, too. As I moved past him, I put the note directly in his hand.
* * *
Locke
These bleachers were quickly becomingmy office. I should set up a desk and chair. Maybe add a lamp and a picture or two. Something that said home.
I watched as she walked across the now empty football field. I had no clue what she’d told Star when the rest of the team had headed inside and she chose to remain outside alone. She’d just lingered over packing up her school bag, and when everyone was gone, she’d tossed it over her shoulder and started in my direction.
My problem, now that she was only yards away from me, was I had no idea what I wanted to say to her. It’s just that last note to me in Chemistry class had been so honest, so different from the fun, funny, sexy vamp she played around school, that I couldn’t think of how to respond other than for her to meet me. So we could talk.
Right. So we could talk.
“Hey,” she said, as she hopped down from the steps and made her way underneath to where I was. She wasn’t wearing her cheerleading costume today. Just black leggings that showed off her legs and a loose top that allowed her flexibility when she jumped and flipped about.
“Hey,” I offered.
“Why the clandestine meeting?”
“I presumed you didn’t want anyone to see us together.”
“Peoplewould have seensaw us together last night,” she said quietly.
I could feel the nervous energy pouring out of her. Her foot was tapping. Her arms were crossed over her stomach.
“But was anyone talking about us today when there was so much other salacious gossip?”
“No. We’re off everyone’s radar.”
