Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite 6)

I type the fastest I ever have.

Silver: Alone?

Summer: With Jennifer from the track team.

My fingers hover over the keyboard and moisture fills my eyes.

No.

I won’t allow myself to cry about this.

The moment I lift my head, my gaze collides with Adam’s. He’s sitting in a small lounge area with the rest of the rugby team. Those guys are popular, too. Not as much as the football team, but they have their share of girls and glory. While his team members are joking, laughing, and drinking, he’s not.

A bottle of beer nestles between his fingers as he stares at me. Unblinking. Unmoving. Almost like he’s been watching me that way since I came in.

My shoulder blades snap together and I swallow as I quickly cut off eye c

ontact. It’s better to pretend I didn’t see him

I need out of his vicinity. Now.

I spot Xander pouring juice in his vodka bottle. Before any of the girls start ganging on him, I storm in his direction, out of Adam’s view, and grab him by the arm.

He grins down at me, showing me his dimples. “Queen B, I thought this scene is beneath you with all the stupidity around? You know, alcohol and sex. Wait, is that still a taboo word? Sex, I mean.”

“Shut up.”

Xander laughs and it’s charming. He’s charming. Why the hell isn’t he the one I’m hung up on? Why did it have to be that wanker?

“You still won’t show me your tits?”

“No.”

“Tell you what, I’ll give you a hundred so you make Ronan believe you showed them to me.”

“Ronan tried that tactic before you and the answer is still no.”

“That fucker.” He appears genuinely offended.

“You need to step up your game, Xan.”

“I know…” he trails off as Kim appears at the entrance plastering a shy smile on her face.

She stares between me and Xander, her chin trembles the slightest bit, which used to be her habit before crying when we were kids, then she turns around and leaves.

I bite my lower lip, my feet itching to go to her and alleviate that awkwardness of being in a party alone. But I can’t. She can’t get close or she’d read me. No one is allowed to read me.

“Why don’t you go after her?” I ask Xander who’s still watching the place she stood in, his fingers strangling the bottle.

“Why don’t you?”

“I…can’t.”

“Maybe I can’t either.”

“You were her best friend, Xan. She needs you more than she ever needed me.”

“So now you care? You didn’t when you were acting like a bitch towards her.”