Devils' Day Party: A High School Bully Romance - C.M. Stunich Page 0,141

They care so much about what people think that my dad’s going to freak the hell out when he finds out we’re together now.”

“And what are you going to do about that?” I ask with a small sigh, kicking my feet in the water and appreciating the fact that we’re even able to swim in fall whatsoever, especially since it rained this morning. But while the water’s cold, it’s not impossible. No, the initial temperature shock was a small price to pay.

“I don’t know,” Raz admits, shaking his head and sending stray droplets of water everywhere. The demon statue next to him doesn’t seem to mind. “He already hates me because … Well, Pearl told him some things.” He shrugs his shoulders again and looks at me like he’s afraid I’ll judge him. I just want the chance to prove to him that I won’t. “Anyway, he hates me because of that. He hates me because I couldn’t hack it at football. He hates me because I don’t want to be him. All of it.” Raz looks at me with an assessing gaze, like this is something he’s thought about before. Based on what he said at the cottage, I’m certain he already has. “There’s nothing he could do to keep me from you, now that I know.”

“Know what?” I ask and Raz smiles, not a grin, but a smile. Okay, fine, it’s almost a smirk, but it’s close enough.

“How you feel about me,” he says with another shrug. “I wanted you to like me, at first. But then you reported us for beating up that kid freshman year, and I figured you didn’t like me and never would.”

“Why did you hurt that kid?” I ask, and Raz sighs, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“He snuck his phone into the Devils’ Day party.” He glances my way, as if searching my face to see how I’m going to react to this. “He was threatening to ruin a good twenty students at the school, including me and Calix. He had videos of you, too, dancing in your bra around the fire.”

“Everybody dances in their bra around the fire at the Devils’ Day party,” I reply easily, but at least I’m finally starting to understand some things that I’ve wondered about for years. “What about you and Calix? What did you guys do?”

Raz laughs, harsh and loud, shaking his head and swiping his hand down his face.

“What we always do: get fucked up, fool around, dance. But you know how it works: there are no phones allowed at the Devils’ Day party.” He pauses for a moment, staring out at the trees. They’re all around, rolling hills covered in foliage, not a building of any kind to be seen. We truly are in the middle of nowhere right now, and I’m loving every minute of it. “You know Erina has to pay for what she’s done, right?”

“What are they going to do to her?” I ask, a chill working its way down my spine. Suddenly, it feels too cold to be in the water, so I climb out, scooting close to Raz’s sun-warmed skin and shivering until he wraps an arm around me. “And by they, I mean … Calix and Barron, right?”

“Unless Calix is stupid enough to believe Erina’s bullshit then, yeah. They have to deal with her. And not just for the video, but because she won’t leave Calix alone. Much as I dislike the guy, he puts up with a lot from that bitch.”

I remember the kid they beat up during freshman year. They hurt him—badly. Would they beat Erina up the same way? I can’t imagine it. It seems whenever the Knight Crew has trouble with a girl, they send Sonja. But Sonja’s here with us, so now what?

I almost ask what Erina’s done to Calix, but then it occurs to me that Raz doesn’t want to talk about Calix. He was jealous of him for years. Best not to stir that fucking pot.

“Didn’t you have an idea on what we could be doing right now?” I ask, watching as Raz’s lips curve up to either side in a cocksure smirk. He drags me into his lap for the millionth time that day, but it’s a much different situation with him naked beneath me. As I wiggle into a comfortable position, he groans and curls his fingers against the back of my neck, drawing our faces together.

“Now, who’s being cruel?” he asks, leaning down to nip at the pulse point