Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

The classroom door opened, and Ariana ducked out of the way. Students shoved past one another into the

hallway. She flattened herself against the wall, hoping to catch a glimpse of Thomas in the crowd. Finally, she

saw him, a soccer ball wedged under his arm. He tossed the ball up above his head and the kid behind him

swiped it out of the air.

"Give it back, asshole." Thomas laughed, shoving the kid against the wall. He grabbed the ball and hung back

while the rest of the class continued down the hallway. In one smooth movement, he dropped the ball to the

floor, dribbling it slowly toward the double doors.

Ariana loved watching Thomas. There was a vulnerability in him that no one at Easton had ever really seen.

To them, he was the player, the elusive bad boy. Just another entitled kid with a screwed-up family. But

Ariana saw the real Thomas Pearson. She saw it in the way his face relaxed completely when he slept, and in

the way he stuffe

d his hands in his pockets when he got nervous. In the way he smiled to himself when he

thought no one was watching.

She crept up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands.

"Guess who," she whispered, her lips close to his ear.

Thomas whirled around, surprised. "What are you doing?" He swooped down and lifted the soccer ball from

the floor.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't happy to see me," Ariana said, her shoulders tensing.

"It's not that." He took her wrist and tugged her into an empty

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classroom, closing the door behind them. When he turned to look at her, his expression was serious. His eyes

darted to the slim window in the door as if he was afraid someone would peek in. "You need to be more

careful. You know how fast gossip travels around this place. And now with Melissa..."

Ariana grinned. "I'm not worried about Melissa anymore."

Thomas blinked. "I'm confused. Yesterday you were all freaked about her."

"That was yesterday," Ariana said coolly, tracing her fingertip on the smooth surface of one of the oak desks,

making a little heart. "As of today, your little girlfriend won't be bothering us anymore."

Thomas eyed her quizzically. He wasn't getting it.

"I took care of her," Ariana clarified.

She watched him carefully, waiting for the relief to surface in his expression. Instead, the muscles in his face