Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

I speak rapidly and turn away. “I’m so sorry. I was looking for the bathroom.”

“It’s fine. We were done anyway,” Bianca says and gets up.

She stops in front me, her eyes plunging into mine. I can tell she’s going to say something.

And I can tell I’m not going to like it.

“I see the look in your eyes. I’ve been there, too. But take my advice—run. You’re a phase. We all are.” She turns her head and glares at him.

“Bianca…” Haze blows out a discouraged breath.

“I’m not done,” she hisses. “You think you’re so special, don’t you? That you’ll somehow be that one girl who makes him fall in love? News flash: you’re not. And in the end, he’ll get sick of you. Because guess what? You’re not different. Or special. No one is.”

She walks around me, radiating rage. Her words sting, no matter how hard I try to deny them access to my heart. I have no idea what he said to her, but it certainly wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Haze’s gaze tries to connect with mine, but I ignore him and walk out of the room, striding down the long hallway.

“Winter, wait.”

Here we go.

“Let me explain.” He easily catches up to me, walking by my side.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re free to—”

He cuts me off. “I didn’t sleep with her.”

I stop in my tracks.

I hate to admit it, but I want to hear what he has to say.

If he carries on, we’ll be crossing the line—the “let’s pretend we’re both unaware that there’s something going on here” line.

“She showed up at my house on Sunday. I sent her away. Nothing happened. She just couldn’t take a hint.”

“Oh.”

We don’t speak for a couple of seconds. That still doesn’t explain why he was with her when he asked me to call him.

“What’d you say to the poor girl to get her this mad?”

“I told her the truth. That I’m not interested in her. We can’t keep doing this when she has feelings for me.”

I half-smile. “How considerate of you.”

“I know.” He steps closer. “See? I’m a good guy sometimes.”

“You just ended things with a girl that you literally only used for

sex—don’t push it.”

“Oh come on, I don’t even get a couple points in your redemption board for the noble gesture?”

“Nah. You actually have to earn the redemption points. You’re going to have to do a lot better than that, Adams.”

He smiles, following me down the stairs. When we reach the first floor, the loud music and the scent of a mixture of sweat and vomit overwhelm us. The bass crushes my chest unpleasantly. I wince.

Haze and I exchange a look. It says, Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

He looks down at me. “Want to get out of here?”