Page 249 of Ominous: Part 1
Thunder booms around us.
Rain starts to fall, light on my skin.
“You think me and Luna could come, to the beach house? Maybe Janelle? Jasper?” He lifts his gaze to mine. “I know it’s a lot to ask. It just might be nice, all of us together. We were close, before.”
Before you.What he doesn’t say.
I have no inclination to say no. I just nod, stupidly, a few times. Maybe Luna isn’t so bad, but even if she is, the idea of a party, right now in this moment, seems appealing. Besides, I’m only half here, thinking about Dom’s insistence Eli didn’t sleep with Winslet. The aggressiveness in his tone.Someone is lying.“Sure, yeah.”
Dom smiles, just a half tip of his lips. “Thanks, E.”
I nod, turning to the open door, the empty commons inside the school. “We’re late, let’s go.” And surprising myself, I reach for him, grabbing his arm, and he comes willingly, the two of us walking inside together.
I drop his arm and he hurries alongside me as we both head into the cold hallway. Sweat is damp at the nape of my neck and I’m grateful for the A/C as we stroll down the corridor.
I glance at Dom before we get to the second intersection, where we split. “I’m going away this weekend,” I tell him. “Keep an eye on him.” I don’t need to specify who, and I see Dom’s slow smile.
He nods once. “You got it.” Then he winks at me as he walks backwards a couple of steps before he spins around and heads to his class.
When I duck into Latin, unsure of just how late I am, IfeelEli’s gaze on me before I see it. I mutter an apology to Ms. Romano who breaks off from her lecture for only half a second before she picks it back up again.
Eli’s green eyes lock on mine, his posture casual, a pen in hand, tapping against his desk, but I see something in his eyes. As I make my way to the back of the class on shaky legs, I puzzle over it. Not anger, or jealousy, even.
Something else, the way he seemed to sag a little in his chair.
Relief.
It was relief.
* * *
He’s waitingfor me after class. We had to pair off for a major translation project, but we didn’t get to choose our partners. Mine—Ansel—smiles at me before he swings his bag over his shoulder, running a hand down his blazer.
I return the smile and watch Ansel’s lanky frame pass by Eli, leaning against the wall by the door. He, too, watches Ansel, and he has a strange smile on his face as he does.
I tuck my hair behind my ears and meet Eli at the door, feeling Ms. Romano’s eyes on me as we leave together.
“Why’re you looking at Ansel like that?” I ask, not wanting to talk about the sixty-three texts and the fact I’m grounded.
Eli’s smile curves higher, and my gaze, as always, is drawn to his mouth. His lips are just so pretty and full, and he looks slightly evil when he smiles, like his charm is cracking, especially now as his elbow grazes my shoulder and he says, “Like what?”
I’m sweating all over again with the feigned innocence of his words, even in the coolness of the hallway. “I don’t know. You had a creepy little look.”
He stops as we approach his locker bank, and I don’t realize he’s backing me up into it without touching me until my backpack zipper clanks against the metal of the lockers.
He places a palm beside my head, his focus wholly on me. “A creepy little look?” he repeats, his tone teasing.
I find it hard to breathe and when I do manage it, I’m inhaling his scent and I’m thinking of going down on him Wednesday night and how good he felt coming in my mouth and—
“See, nowyouhave a look.”
I blink, my chest growing hot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He tilts his head, nudging his nose to mine. “You look like you want to get on your knees for me all over again,baby.”
I suck in a breath, thinking of what I called him that night. I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried. “Shut up.”
His laugh is soft against my mouth. “I can’t hit you here. They wouldn’t understand.”
