to eat this in front of Karsyn. With every bite, I would’ve waited for his smartass quip about my body or weight. I would’ve wilted under his attention like a flower starved for sunlight.
But now? Fuck him. Fuck all of them. I’ll eat what I want, when I want, and if they have a problem with it, they can kiss my slender ass.
Karsyn appears to be in almost physical pain as he watches me lick my lips.
“Nah. I’m not really hungry.” Emmett kicks out his feet until they’re touching mine, and with a giggle, I press the toes of my foot against his own.
“Here.” I offer him the other half of my sandwich, which he accepts with a grateful smile. Those gorgeous dimples make an impromptu appearance as his green eyes sparkle.
“Yum,” he moans around a mouthful of sandwich. “This is delicious. Though…I’m sure it’s not the most delicious thing you can offer me.” His eyes very purposefully roam over my body, and another snort escapes me unbidden. I have no idea if his flirting is genuine or if he’s merely attempting to get a rise out of Karsyn, but I don’t care either way. Especially when Karsyn’s nostrils flare and his muscles tense.
Huh. Apparently even after all these years, Karsyn is still determined to make me a social pariah. I’ll never get laid again if he has his say. Maybe I’m just too hideous for his teammate.
“Peony, I really think we need—”
“Karsyn! Peony!” Mariabella’s familiar, elfin voice floats to me as she races towards the table like a tornado obliterating everything in her path. She really is a breath of fresh air, this girl, with her warm smile and cognac brown eyes glimmering with jovial mirth and excitement. She throws her arms around my shoulders, squeezing my neck in an iron vise, and I awkwardly pat at her hands.
“Mari,” I say, the shortened version of her name slipping out instinctively. Her eyes gleam once more as she giggles, sliding onto the bench opposite me and beside Karsyn. The man in question only grunts, narrowing his gorgeous hazel eyes at me as if it’s my fault Mariabella decided to join the group. Yeah, no. If he has a problem with our budding friendship, he should talk to his pretty girlfriend about it, not glare at me as if my mere existence acts as a personal slight against him.
“How has your first day been so far?” she asks with a decidedly nervous giggle.
“I’ve been hearing rumors that you’re some sort of musical prodigy,” Emmett adds. “You play the cello?”
“The violin,” I correct, acutely aware of Karsyn’s gaze boring a hole in my head. And now that I’m thinking about it, Lucas and Cassian haven’t looked away either. Oh, they’re trying to be subtle about it—a flick of the eyes here, a swivel of the head there, a suspicious glance here—but I can tell that I have their complete and undivided attention. Both of them have females hanging off their every word, but they act as if they don’t exist, as if nothing in this world exists except for me. And though they attempt to appear impassive, I can see panic radiating in Cassian’s gaze and bemusement intermixed with loathing in Lucas’s.
Yeah, right back at you, man.
“How long have you been playing?” Mariabella bats her eyelashes at me, and I swear, if it’s even possible, Karsyn appears even more annoyed. His eyes practically roll into the back of his head as he spreads out his long, toned legs and steeples his hands together on his chest. How he’s able to do this without a backrest remains a mystery. I’d fall on my ass.
“For years now,” I admit. “I got…bullied pretty badly when I was younger. Music was my escape from reality.” An escape from my pain. From the monotony of my existence. From the dissonant chaos of my life.
I find immense satisfaction in the rapid paling of Karsyn’s face. He looks as if he’s going to be sick, and I pray that if he vomits, he misses my shoes.
“Really?” Her face scrunches with confusion and sympathy, and I have the urge to snap at her, to remind her that she was around when her precious, perfect boyfriend made my life a living hell. But instead of saying any of that, instead of allowing Karsyn to see how much I actually care, I adopt a nonchalant frown.
“Life happens.” I shrug my shoulders. “But it’s kind of funny, if you think about it.” Glancing