were older, trying desperately to grasp at something neither of us could reach.
I could’ve lied. I could’ve sugarcoated my answer, but I didn’t. “She’s been better.”
“And there’s nothing anyone can do?”
Shaking my head, I said, “No. We’ve spent the last few years taking her to doctors, trying to get answers, but…they can’t pinpoint what it is.”
Jaz reached for me, her hand resting atop mine on my lap. She squeezed my hand, whispering, “I’m sorry, Archer. I can’t imagine what that’s like. I—” She was going to say more, but she was interrupted by a sleazy, tattooed guy in a leather jacket.
Dante.
He grabbed the back of a chair at an adjacent table—a chair someone was actually sitting in—and he pushed them off it, pulling it and flipping it so its back was closer to us. He sat less than two feet away, his legs spread around the back of the chair, his arms leaning on the top of it.
“So, what are you cool kids talking about?” Dante spoke, his eyes spotting her hand on mine immediately. He didn’t even care that he was getting cussed out by the kid who was sitting in the chair before. He only had eyes for Jaz, and the fact our hands were touching.
Jaz was slow to pull her hand off mine, giving Dante an unimpressed look. “Dante. You made it.”
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “All I had to do was beat up a few kids after school.” He shot me a smirk. “I’m kidding. Or am I? I guess pretty boy here will never know.” His fingers tapped the back of the chair. He looked like he wanted to lunge out of that chair and gouge my eyes out for daring to look at Jaz.
Yeah, I get it. He was extremely possessive of her.
“Is Vaughn here, too?” Jaz spoke, glancing all around. “I said you guys could come, but this is supposed to be Archer’s time with me, not yours.”
Archer’s time. Like she had slotted time for each of them—
Maybe, I realized, she did.
Would I want to join that mess? I’d liked her a lot more than I should’ve from the beginning, but I didn’t know…
Dante flicked his icy blue eyes between us. “Are you telling me to leave you guys alone?” He sounded aghast, like that was the absolute last thing he wanted to do.
Jaz nodded. “Please, Dante.”
With a groan, Dante got up. “Fine, but know I’m going to be watching.” He lifted two fingers and brought them to his eyes, flicking them at me.
Ah, so he’ll be watching me, making sure I don’t make any moves on her like I did that day when I’d taken her to the park, away from everything. That day…it’d been the last day I’d tasted her. God, I could really go for tasting her again.
He sauntered away, and the kid who he pushed from the chair took it back.
When he was gone, I brought my stare back to Jaz, muttering, “Looks like Jacob’s not the only one stalking us tonight.”
She let out a faint laugh. “Yeah, they, uh…they worry about me. I have a habit of getting myself into trouble.” She bit her bottom lip, studying me in a way that made me want to take off my blazer. “Especially when it comes to you.”
Her words sounded so sincere, I almost didn’t know what to say back. “I knew you’d be trouble for me the first time I saw you.”
Jaz’s dark eyes narrowed, and she set a hand beneath her chin, leaning towards me as a tiny smile crept along her lips. “Did you?”
“I did. I had no idea this was where we’d be, but…even though we didn’t get here how I wished we did, I’m—” It hurt to say this next part, because it kind of felt like I was agreeing with everything that had happened lately, which I didn’t. “—I’m glad we’re here.”
“I am, too.”
We spent the next few minutes just talking. It was nice. Even though her stalkers were nearby, blending in and watching, it was enough for me to lose myself in her, to forget where we were, what our pasts were. I overlooked the fact everyone kept glancing at us, as if they couldn’t believe she and I were here together. All that mattered was her.
Why had I clung to my ignorance for so long? Why did I blame this girl for everything? She was new here. She didn’t play the games these other kids did. Jaz was unlike Brittany in every way, and