Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep 2)

“No,” I said quickly, before adding, “thanks.”

My stomach had been slowly knotting up again as we drove. The sun was just beginning to set, casting the sky in shades of pink, purple, and orange. And every minute that ticked by was one minute closer to my inevitable confrontation with the Princes.

I felt like I might barf. And I definitely couldn’t eat right now.

“That’s cool.” Oliver flashed another laid-back grin. “Another time, maybe.”

He opened his door and went to the trunk, and by the time I joined him, he’d gotten all my bags out.

“You need a hand back to your dorm?” he asked, a slightly hopeful note to his voice.

“Um, no, that’s okay. Thanks.”

“Okay.” He nodded, glancing down then back up to meet my gaze. “Well, I’m glad I ran into you. I always wanted to get to know you better last year, and then after the end of the semester, I was really bummed I hadn’t. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Thanks,” I repeated on autopilot.

I picked up my bags and walked quickly across campus toward Prentice Hall, trying not to make it obvious that I was scanning my surroundings for threats like I was in a fucking war zone.

It only occurred to me when I was halfway to my dorm that Oliver might’ve been trying to flirt with me. I’d been so distracted, so out of it, that I hadn’t really registered half of what he’d said.

He was cute, in a sort of gangly way. He was tall and lanky, although still muscled, and his face was expressive and sharp. His eyebrows moved around almost as much as his hands when he talked.

I shook my head. I wasn’t used to guys expressing interest in me. For an entire semester last year, I’d been a social leper, and then the Princes had enfolded me into their fucked up little enclave. I’d never really had a chance to even think about dating a regular guy.

And that was just what Oliver seemed like—a regular guy.

I glanced back toward the parking lot, but he’d already left his car, and I couldn’t spot him anywhere on the quad.

Ah, well. I wasn’t in a good mental state to go out with anyone at the moment anyway. I really did think I might barf if I tried to eat anything. But I’d make a point to talk to him next time I saw him. I needed to prove to the Princes—and myself—that they couldn’t keep me from having a normal life.

Feeling a little better, I slipped my key card into the entry door of Prentice Hall and stepped inside. Several people were gathered in the downstairs common room, but their voices died out as the door clicked shut behind me.

I glanced up to see three painfully familiar faces—Leah, Maggie, and Dan.

“Oh! Hey, Talia.” Maggie half rose from her seat on the couch, then glanced at Leah and sat back down. “I heard you were back… but I wasn’t sure if it was true.”

“It’s true.”

“Yeah, I see that. You, um, just get in?”

“Yeah.”

My skin crawled with discomfort, and even though I was talking to Maggie, my gaze kept flicking to Leah.

Leah, who’d been my best friend on campus until the Princes crept into my life and overtook it. She’d blamed me for falling in with them, and I could only imagine how fucking vindicated she must’ve felt when they’d aired that video of me at the award ceremony in the spring. It made me hate her a little, just for being right. For knowing what would happen and letting me get sucked into their orbit anyway.

But wasn’t it my fault, really? She hadn’t forced me into the Princes’ arms. I’d walked that fucking plank all by myself.

Dan’s head was swiveling back and forth between the two girls next to him and me. Leah still hadn’t spoken, but her lips were pressed into a thin line as she stared at me. Her auburn bob was different, cut at a steeper angle—short in the back and long in the front.

“So you’re stuck in Prentice again, huh?” Maggie tried again to smooth over the awkwardness with conversation, even though it wasn’t helping. “Yeah, me too. And Dan’s next door.”

“Yup.” Dan opened his mouth like he might say something else, then shut it again.

For a moment, we all stared at each other in awkward silence. Then I lifted the bags slightly. “I… better go up.”

“Yeah! Yeah.” Maggie nodded enthusiastically, relief coloring her features. “See you around.”