My Know-It-All Nemesis - Maggie Dallen Page 0,28

You snap your fingers, and you get whatever it is you want. Life isn’t like that for the rest of us, and maybe it’s time you step aside.”

I felt a flicker of guilt—shame, even—when his eyes filled with disbelief and then disappointment. “That’s what you want?” he said. “An easy win?”

I couldn’t quite bring myself to answer. No? Yes? I wasn’t sure, but right now, my heart was beating too fast, and my lungs were struggling for air, and I clung to my anger, because that was at least familiar, whereas everything else tonight had been out of some crazy alternate universe.

A universe where guys looked at me like I was hot and not some cute little mascot. A universe where Miller looked at me like I was a girl and not a rival.

A universe where Miller called me sexy.

Sexy.

Me.

I gave my head a little shake. “Never mind,” I said. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh no,” he said quickly. “I understand completely. You’re afraid of losing to me and are already making justifications for why you can’t win.”

I inhaled sharply. “I am not going to lose. I never lose.”

“Oh, that’s right,” his tone was taunting. Mean, even. But at least this was familiar. “Miss Perfect couldn’t possibly lose.”

“No, I can’t,” I snapped, my voice getting too shrill. My heart threatening to leap right out of my chest at the anger in his eyes, the heat, the passion… I shook off the thought and focused on what I did best—fighting with Miller Hardwell. “I don’t lose to you. I can’t.” I widened my eyes as my voice rose with rage. “I can’t afford to lose. Don’t you get that?”

He frowned at me, moving so close I could smell his aftershave and feel the heat of his body. I took a quick, shaky step backward, cursing Daphne for suggesting I wear heels.

“And you think that I can?” he asked, honest confusion warring with a bitterness I’d never seen before.

That made me stop and hold my ground. “Yes,” I said simply. “I think you can.”

A silence fell between us so overwhelming I could hear my own heart beating in my chest.

“If you don’t have student council president on your applications, you’ll still get in to any school of your choosing,” I said, trying and failing to keep my voice calm and rational, but really—this was everything I’d always hated about this guy, and the fact that I had to stand here and spell it out made years’ worth of injustice and anger rise to the surface. “You have all the sports and extracurriculars, and I know for a fact that you have the grades, and even if you didn’t…”

His brows drew down when I trailed off. “Go ahead,” he said, his voice eerily calm. “Say it.”

“Even if you didn’t, you have connections,” I said. “You have money.”

His jaw worked. “So…what? You think I should just sit back and have my dad buy me a spot at a good college?”

“No, that’s not what I…” I heaved a sigh. “All I’m saying is, you don’t need the scholarship money, and you don’t need every extra credit project and every club and—”

“Is that what you think of me?” His brows drew together in disbelief. “Is that what you think? That just because I can buy my way through life, that I will?”

My lips parted as I searched for the right answer. I wasn’t sure what to make of his reaction. He was furious, clearly, but worse than that…I had a horrible feeling he was hurt.

“I—I don’t know what to think when it comes to you.” It was the truth, but it didn’t help. His eyes grew wide—crazed, even.

“Yeah, you do,” he said. “You clearly made up your mind a long time ago. So just tell me, Kate. Do you think I’m just another rich jerk who’d rather buy a spot at college than earn it?”

When I hesitated, he thrust a hand through his hair with a little growl. I’d never seen him lose his cool like this. But that wasn’t the shocking part.

The shocking part was…he kissed me. More precisely—he crushed his mouth to mine, his hands on my cheeks and his breathing heavy as I froze beneath him. I went hot all over in the heartbeat it took for my lips and skin to register the feel of his firm lips over mine.

And then he was gone. Letting me go just as quickly as he’d grabbed me.

I wasn’t sure who was more surprised when we