Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,94

too.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him I never finished reading the first contract Mr. Pruitt gave me either. Not when he was looking at me like I was crazy. “I’m sure whatever it is isn’t that bad.”

He sighed. “I’ll try to get a copy without raising suspicion. Next time don’t sign something without reading it. You know how detailed those contracts are. You’re practically signing over your life. For all we know you’re freaking betrothed to the guy.”

I swallowed hard. What did he mean by that? Signing over my life? It didn’t matter if he was disappointed in me for not reading the contracts. I needed to know what was in them. “Miller, I…”

A car honked behind us.

“You should get in there,” Miller said. “You’re already late.”

I glanced out the window at Kennedy. She was standing there shivering. Crap. I hadn’t meant to make her wait in the cold. “Okay.” I’d confess that I hadn’t read the first contract after the dance. There wasn’t a rush. Besides, I was pretty much stuck in this world. So what if I’d signed a few papers agreeing to that fact? As soon as I graduated, I’d still be able to move out. “I’ll see you after?” I asked as I grabbed the door handle.

“I’m not going anywhere. I have to watch you 24/7, remember? I’m going to go park and then I’ll be right in.”

I nodded. Right, 24/7. Because Mr. Pruitt did dangerous work. I stared at Miller for another beat. That meant Miller was dangerous too. I knew that and yet…he didn’t seem dangerous to me. Not even a little. But neither did Mr. Pruitt. And I knew for a fact that Mr. Pruitt was dangerous. He’d even told me as much. And I’d freaking signed his contract without reading it. I’m a complete fool. My heart wasn’t just confused anymore. My head was too. What kind of man said he was dangerous and then put his hand to my forehead to check my temperature? It didn’t make any sense.

“Don’t make me too jealous tonight,” Miller said with a wink, trying his best to lighten the mood.

He didn’t have to worry about being jealous. I’d probably only dance with one boy tonight. Matt had one dance to tell me his side of the story. That was it. Everyone else would just treat me like the social pariah I was. It would be Kennedy by my side, no one else. I’d gotten a small taste of what it felt like to fit in. But it would only ever be a taste. I was back to being invisible. Which was actually fortunate because I was an awful dancer.

“Trust me,” I said. “You have nothing to worry about. Kennedy is my dance partner tonight.” I climbed out of the car to join her.

She grabbed my arm before I had a chance to wave goodbye to Miller. “It’s freaking freezing!” She pulled me toward the entrance. “What were you guys talking about?”

“I’m sorry. My head and my heart are really confused and I just needed to talk to him.”

“Because of Matt or Mr. Pruitt?”

“What?”

“Your dad isn’t exactly the evil monster you described. He’s kind of sweet. Or are you talking about the fact that you still have feelings for Matt?”

God. “All of it.”

“You know what you need?” She looked so excited and for some reason it made me wary.

“No…what?”

“Your favorite.” Her voice was weirdly high-pitched.

I just stared at her confused.

“Punch!”

I groaned. “I will never ever drink punch again in my life.” Numbing the pain wasn’t worth it. It was one of the few lessons I’d learned with my uncle by my side. I’d made a promise to him that I wouldn’t get drunk again. My promise was one of the only things I had left of him. “Never,” I added when she was still smiling. “I mean it, Kennedy. Being hungover was not something I ever want to experience again. Punch is the freaking worst.”

“I’m pretty sure you said the exact opposite the last time you had it. If I recall correctly you said you loved it. Like really loudly. You screamed it at the top of your lungs.”

“Yeah…because I was drunk.”

“Well, we’re at a school dance this time. I’m sure this punch isn’t even spiked.” She winked at me and I didn’t believe her at all.

Chapter 30

Saturday

“Wow,” I said when we entered the ballroom. It looked completely different than the last time I’d served here. There weren’t any tables, just a huge dance