I started toward the main building, tempted to walk the long way around and find a side entrance because I knew—I just knew—I’d be tempted to cop another peek at Glowing Girl when I passed by her.
There was just something…I don’t know, interesting about her that made me curious.
Dammit, temptation got the best of me.
I needed one more look, just to convince myself she wasn’t all that, so I kept with my path. I was in the middle of an internal debate with myself, trying to decide when the most opportune moment to nonchalantly glance over would be when Eva’s voice rang out. “Good morning, Mason.”
It took everything I had to appear completely unaffected when I lifted my face her way, and in effect, that girl’s way. I set my gaze on Eva, still avoiding her friend,
and tipped my chin in the most lackluster greeting I could manage. “Sup?”
“Looking good today,” she told me, tossing her blonde hair as she posed. “What do you say we skip class this morning and do something…fun instead?”
I snorted and shook my head. So she was running hot today with the flirting and come-hither glances. It figured. The last time she’d talked to me, she’d called me a bastard and probably would’ve slapped me if I’d been within smacking distance. She was one girl I planned to stay as far away from as possible.
But the most incredible thing happened next.
Glowing Girl gasped. And not in pleasure. It was clearly an outraged sound.
“E!” she growled at Eva in a reprimanding voice, telling me a couple things.
A) She was not a blind Eva follower; she had her own mind, thank God.
B) She must not have heard the dirty rumors about me yet or she just didn’t believe them, because who would defend a male prostitute like she was defending me?
And C) Not only was she not an Eva follower, but she also didn’t seem to be like Mercer. At all. She had at least some decency and kindness in her if she was willing to call Eva out on my behalf.
This new insight had me glancing at her before I could stop myself. She met my gaze, cringing as if apologizing for Eva’s behavior.
And fuck, it happened all over again. Our eye contact locked and held.
The sudden rush of heat washed over me once more, only to flee just as soon as it came. And an intense buzzing desire flooded my skin, soaking into every pore before surging through all my internal organs.
Up close, she was even better looking. There seemed to be a little more meat on her than I’d originally guessed, and the fluid way she moved was like poetry. Then there was her face. Jesus Christ, plush kissable lips, big blue eyes, and an expression of innocence mixed with curiosity and verve.
She was like no female I’d had contact with in the past two years. Void of any and all controlling, cold, calculating, and powerful ice queen vibes, she exuded pureness. Kindness. Compassion. Maybe a bit of naivety, but a whole lot of playful fun to make up for it.
I wanted that. I wanted to own it and possess every fiber of it. And quite suddenly, I wanted her. As in, I wanted to fuck her. I hadn’t wanted to fuck a specific person in a long time, certainly not since Patricia Garrison had pranced into my backyard and ripped away all intense desires for human contact from my soul that I’d ever had.
It scared the ever-loving shit out of me. And gave me instant wood all at the same time.
Horrified by both my physical and emotional reaction, I forced my gaze away and picked up my speed, rushing into the school. I stopped by the bathroom to duck into a stall and cool off.
But what the fuck had just happened?
Merely looking at a girl should not do that to a guy, especially a guy like me who was as jaded as they came. At least I felt jaded, anyway. Except right now, I felt hot. Needy. Uncertain, and kind of naïve myself.
And as I stared at my own haunted reflection in the bathroom mirror, my life mission became: Fuck making her laugh, whoever she was. I needed to stay away from that girl at all cost. She was straight-up frightening as hell.
She made me feel shit.
Confession #4: Karma loved to fuck with me, or maybe I just brought it all on myself.
So, you know when you convince yourself it’s best to stay away from something for your own safety, and then, bam, karma’s like, Ha! Yeah, right?
Well, that’s what happened to me.
I saw Glowing Girl every time I turned around that day. I kid you not. It was aggravating as hell.