“And Hayden?” They’d walked in on us after declaring their Ms. Pac-Man tournament a tie. Neither seemed phased by our red lips and flushed faces.
Now, they shared another look and laughed. Jackson shook his head and took another bite of cookie. “Don’t worry about Hayden. He’s all in. Honestly, this was all his idea.”
I frowned. “Really?”
“There was a universal attraction to you, Heaven, but nothing splits us apart. Nothing. So coming to an agreement was the only solution,” Jackson said.
“I’m telling you, we’re in this together. Despite one of us being a bit of a baby.” Oliver’s eyes darted over my shoulder and he popped one of Jackson’s cookies into his mouth. His big hand squeezed my knee under the table, sending a jolt of electricity up my leg.
When Anderson reached the table, he pulled his chair out with a loud scrape across the linoleum floor. He placed his bottle of Coke on the table and then a second one in front of me. “The machine gave me two.”
“Umm, thanks.”
“No big.” He took out his own lunch, dumping it out of his bag and on the table in the same fashion Jackson had. He fished out a sandwich and ate half of it in one bite. “We need to figure out when to meet for our project.”
Mr. Baker had announced a joint project due in two weeks during our last class. The kind of project that required meeting outside of school with your partner. There was definitely an awkward moment between the two of us during class when we realized we’d have to actually spend time together—alone.
“We can meet at my house,” I offered.
His eyes flashed around the table. “Maybe the library?”
"The library.”
He wasn't looking at me. His eyes were focused on opening a package of chips. "It's...easier."
Right. Because I was a skank who he didn’t want to be left alone with. I may sully his reputation. I’d probably jump him the minute he came to my house, even though I was involved with his best friends. Okay, maybe not the best use of mental sarcasm.
I tried to swallow my anger, but I knew my expression betrayed me. Jackson must have seen it, too, because his protective hand was on my back immediately. “I’ve got some studying to do also. We can meet Anderson at the library together.”
Anderson nodded and I agreed, but I felt sick. I thought we had made progress. I thought we were friends. He told me he didn’t think of me that way—like a whore—but he obviously didn’t trust me. Appropriately, his head was still down, refusing to meet my eye. He knew he was an ass. Jackson and Oliver knew it, too, and without offering an excuse, I gathered my things and left the table.
Chapter 13
Even with Anderson acting like a weirdo, I decided I wasn’t going to make a big deal about doing this assignment. I’d take the high road. Of course, this attitude was within reason, my reason, and I had definite plans to make him squirm.
My version of the high road included my signature outfits that, despite his protests, I knew he liked. Over the course of a week during our after-school library meetings, I managed to flash more of my legs, ass, and chest than anyone would possibly want to see. My methods were fair, though, because every day Jackson and Anderson arrived freshly showered, smelling like soap and whatever delicious-smelling cologne they slathered on their bodies that made me insane. Have you ever smelled a squeaky-clean boy? It was all I could do not to shove my face in both of their chests and huff the two of them in the middle of the public library.
So right. Fair play.
Each day, Jackson left for his own corner to ”study”. I was pretty sure he was just watching videos on his phone. I thought Anderson would relax with Jackson around to chaperone our study dates, but he didn’t. Our meetings were filled with a heightened tension. At first, I thought it was just his general dumbassery and hostile demeanor, but as the days progressed I realized it was something else. There was an internal struggle going on with him, and as much as he hated it, the reason became perfectly clear: Anderson Thompson wanted me.
This whole time I thought he hated me. I thought I repulsed him. I was totally fucking wrong.
I knew this because of the way he stared at me when I wasn’t looking. I knew because of the way he glanced at the ignorant figure of his best friend with guilt in his eyes. I knew because he came up with fake reasons to touch me, or get close to me, or move near me. I knew because every time he did one of these things he grimaced and frowned and refused to look at me for the next ten minutes—until he caved again. I knew, because if I learned one thing in this stupid game I was playing, it was that boys were weak at the sight of a nice set of tits and mine were spectacular.
What I didn’t know was how he wanted me. Did he think I was a cheap and easy conquest? Could he just not keep his eyes off my rack? I wanted to ask, but I was caught in such a complicated situation with three other guys—his three best friends—that I didn’t see an easy way out. So instead, I continued, pushing and pushing until one of us was forced to break.
*
Even though it was the weekend, we agreed to meet Sunday afternoon for the final review of our project. Jackson picked me up and I was barely in the car when I felt him surveying my outfit. I couldn’t blame him. I was wearing a low-cut, black, sheer shirt that—with the assistance of a push-up bra—left either too little to the imagination or too much. The lace edge of my bra was visible at the top of my shirt. Extra revealing. Extra effect. Make no mistake, after a week of playing cat and mouse, I was going for the kill. The entire outfit was inappropriate for the library, but I had a goal to make Anderson melt into a puddle when he saw me, and if Jackson’s response was any indication, this would be easy to accomplish.
“Why do I have the feeling you’re not wearing that for me?” he asked after I buckled my seat belt. I tried to ignore his blue eyes bulging out at my chest. His jaw dropped too.
I leaned over and kissed him, feeling the quick sweep of his tongue. Hi
s hand grazed the underside of my breast and I felt the shock of arousal throughout my entire body. He smiled lazily when we parted.
“It’s not that I didn’t wear it for you. I mean, not when you kiss me like that, but yeah, I’m still trying to get a rise out of Anderson.”