and grips my hair before he leans down and kisses me. I gasp into his mouth, and he takes the opportunity to slide his tongue between my lips. I kiss him back without thought. His lips feel so soft even though his words are as sharp as a knife. He pulls away quickly and slaps my ass. “See you after class, sweetheart.” Then he walks out.
I turn to face the classroom half dazed and half horrified. It’s full.
“Hey, Austin,” the blond headed guy who sits in the front row says.
“Huh?” I manage to say.
“How’s it going, Austin?” the guy next to him says with a wave.
“Good to see you again, Austin,” another says.
My eyes dart around the room as these guys I’ve never seen before all greet me by my name.
“Austin?”
Finally, a voice I recognize. I look at the back to see Becky—my kind of girl. I walk back to her, ignoring those who say hi to me. I plop down in the empty seat next to her. “What the hell?”
“What?” she asks.
“How do these people know me?” I ask like she would freaking know.
She smiles softly and pulls her phone out of her bag. “The video.”
“What video?” I ask in horror. Did Deke share the video of me driving Cole’s car? Are the cops going to show up here to arrest me?
She scrolls through her iPhone and then holds it up to me. It’s of Cole and me at his house party Monday night. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him. He looks down at me in surprise, and then I smile up at him like I’m his doting fucking girlfriend. You can hear every word I say to him. He spins around in my arms, and then he’s whispering against my lips. All of a sudden, he picks me up and places me on the counter …
“He posted this?” I demand.
“Deke did,” she answers, putting it away. “Cole doesn’t do social media. But Deke”—she rolls her eyes—“is an attention whore.”
I fist my hands. Tonight, you’re mine. He wanted everyone to know I belong to him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
COLE
WHEN I WALK into class and sit down, Deke sits next to me. He leans over his desk. “What’s the plan?”
“With what?”
“Tomorrow night? How are we gonna play it?”
“Like we always do,” I say simply.
“We’re not gonna give her any special rules?”
I shake my head. “Nope. She’s gonna play just like the rest of us.”
He smiles. “This is gonna be so much fun.”
The door opens, and a few students walk in. The last one is a blonde by the name of Natalia. She spots me right away and plops down in the free seat to my left. Deke grunts when he sees her.
“Hey, Cole,” she says excitedly.
I don’t acknowledge her.
Deke speaks to me. “I have a feeling she is gonna surprise us.”
“Doubtful.”
He snorts. “You don’t give her enough credit.” He sits back in his seat. “I see the way she looks at you.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s that?” I can’t get the look of want she gave me out of my mind from my party or in her room. I should have taken her up on her offer. Next time she throws herself at me, I’m not going to back down. She’ll have me. And she’ll realize what a mistake wanting me is.
“Like she wants to rip your heart out,” he answers.
I smile.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if your dare is that she wants you to jump off a cliff.” Deke chuckles to himself. “Or stab yourself in the eyes.”
“How was your winter break?” Natalia asks, not caring that she’s interrupting our conversation.
“Hey, Nat!” Deke calls out, leaning forward in his seat to look past me to her. “His break was great. He’s seeing someone so quit trying.”
“Dick,” she mumbles but sits back and doesn’t say anything else to me.
I look over at Deke, and he winks. “You’re welcome.”
I chuckle.
An hour later, Deke and I are walking out of class. I was planning to get Austin at her classroom, but she’s already standing in the hall, leaning up against a locker right outside the door. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and a look of rage flares in her green eyes. She looks like she wants me dead. And that thought makes my body heat rise.
“Guess she saw the video.” Deke laughs.
She throws him a fuck you look, and then her eyes are back on mine. “You had him record that on purpose,” she snaps.
“No.” Not a lie. “That implies I