Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,42

alertness. Was that Max Heath?

What would he want with Zachary Plympton, especially after their encounter at the party? And more important, what would the highly esteemed lacrosse star Zachary Plympton want with him?

“You’re pissed at me,” Zach said. “I know.”

“Pissed is a complete understatement,” Max responded.

“I’ve got an image to uphold, Max. You know what’d happen if someone knew.”

Then it struck me. I suddenly understood their secret rendezvous.

“So you publicly humiliate me?”

“You gave me no choice,” Zach said. “It showed exactly how much I care about you, and what I’d do to protect us.”

Holy shit.

Silently, I opened the door just a crack. Enough for my phone’s camera lens to poke through, ready to capture whatever scandal was about to reveal itself.

“I hated doing that, Max. I can’t believe you’d make me do it.”

“I thought you said you were ready to be serious with me,” Max murmured.

“God, not like that. Not in front of my friends.”

“You think keeping us a secret is protecting me? Your friends already make my life hell. This is about your reputation, isn’t it?”

“No. Don’t you understand? It would be so much worse if they knew I was dating you. For both of us. I don’t care about my reputation. I care about us being happy.”

I had to stifle a snort. That sounded like bullshit.

“Really?”

“Really.”

And then I watched their figures become one as Zach drew his lover in for a kiss.

“You know I’d do anything for you, Max. I love you.”

Fifteen

Monica,

Do you remember that time in elementary school when you asked me if I’d ever thought about running away?

I hadn’t at the time, but you had.

I didn’t understand what you meant when you said you hated the pressure your parents put on you to look good in front of all their friends. Now that we’re older, I can see how that made you want to control things as we grew up. I think part of the reason we’re best friends is because I let you be in control. I never minded, as long as I had you by my side.

But you can’t control everything. I guess you know that now.

Love, Chloe

I DON’T THINK I took a breath for at least fifteen minutes after the newly outed lovebirds had left the room. But when I did, I erupted into motion, flinging open the locker doors and grabbing William’s note before anyone else could find it. My boots slapped against the cobblestone footpath as I scampered to my locker.

What William was thinking, I had no clue. I was still in shock that one of the most yearned-for bachelors of Arlington had a secret Level Four boyfriend. Shaking the thought from my mind for now, I grabbed the roses and my bag from my locker before making my way to the parking lot.

Just as I’d hoped, a certain silver BMW was still idling by the exit. I didn’t hesitate to open the passenger door and claim the seat which I’d sat in so many times this past week.

“Well, that was interesting,” I said. What an understatement. A Level One having a secret affair with a commoner—let alone someone as low on the social ladder as Max—was unheard of. The fact that Zach had made a mockery of him at the party only made it all the more juicy.

“It worked out, then?” he asked, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

“How did you know?”

“I’ve stumbled in on them a few times. They meet there in the locker room on most Monday afternoons. I don’t think they know I saw them. It’s just something I’ve been sitting on,” he said. “And then seeing what happened at the party . . . How terribly Zach treated him . . .”

“William Bishop, you and I have much more in common than I thought,” I said, a small, hysterical laugh slipping from my lips.

“I knew flowers or jewelry wouldn’t mean much to you as an apology. But secrets might. I hope you can forgive me. At least a little.”

He was right. He could have showered me in gifts, but none were as valuable as ammunition to my plan. I felt almost gleeful.

“I’m still unbelievably pissed at you,” I said, but my tone didn’t match my words. For now, this new information had pushed William’s misdeed to the back of my mind.

“You know, I really am sorry,” William said. “I didn’t even consider you in what I did—you’ve even told me before that you didn’t want PDA. I wasn’t thinking, and I don’t ever want to do that