upper part. Deep red. Soft.
I want to crush it.
“So what?” she asks.
“To come over here. To see me.”
“To help you. I didn’t put it on for you.”
“You looked to the left when you said that. That’s your tell when you lie. FYI, people generally look to the left when they lie.”
She props her head up with her palm. “Don’t comment on my lipstick—unless you plan on kissing me. It’s a rule. I just made it.”
I ease up and prop my head up like she did. “Serious talk: I guess we need rules. No kissing. We both know what will happen if I kiss you.”
“Hold on. You said you’d never thought about it.”
“I’m a dude—now I’m thinking about it.”
She curls her lips. “Huh. I can guess what would happen. You’d get grossed out and puke or die from the poison on my tongue. I’d faint from bliss because you are so awesome. Right?”
“If you’re trying to hit on me, mentioning puke is not the way to go—”
“Like I’d hit on you! Please. You’re the last man on earth I’d ever consider—”
“As I was saying, if we kissed, it would lead to us doing more, and that can never happen…” My voice trails off.
Her eyes search mine. “Donovan is your friend.”
“Not like Crew and Hollis and Benji, but yeah. We pledged together. He was there for me when one of the other pledges slept with my girlfriend. He supported me in getting him kicked out. We’ve spent over three years hanging out together as brothers.”
“He broke up with me in a horrible way,” she says with a defiant tilt of her chin.
“It just happened, and you’re hurting. Right now, you want to lash out at him, and I get that—I would too—but you can’t use me.”
“Jesus, get over yourself. I wasn’t going to! I made one little comment and you can’t let it go.” She jumps up off the bed and prowls around my room. She picks up the picture of my family and sighs. “Beautiful,” she murmurs, then heads to the closet, opens it, and gapes. I don’t even try to stop her. It’s not that bad.
“What are you thinking?” I ask as she walks back to the end of the bed.
“What I think, what I think…hmmm, you really want to know?”
“Yeah?” I say uneasily. I know I’m saying all the wrong shit, but I can’t seem to stop. Why did I bring up her lipstick? Why did I insinuate that she was hitting on me?
It’s me. Me. I’m poking the tiger, seeing where she is…
A hesitant expression crosses her face. “I’m not sure you can handle it. I’m not sure my ego can.”
“You can’t be vague like that. I think we’ve come a long way, so lay it out.”
She takes a deep breath. “Alright. You asked for it. I think we have some kind of connection. Like, I know this is crazy, but since day one in the library, there was something between us. Insta-hate? Insta-attraction?”
My heart pounds.
Not hate, Rainbow.
“You can deny all you want, but it’s there. If you kissed me, hate or attraction, yeah, we’d probably hook up just to get it out of our systems, and that has nothing to do with my ex.” She sighs.
I stand up, uncertain how to reply.
“How’s your head?” she asks.
“Better. Strange…they usually last hours. You think we have a connection?” I can’t let it go.
“Yes, but…” A frustrated expression flits over her face. “I guess we do need ground rules. First, no talking about my lips. And stop saying my name like you want to fuck it.”
“Hmmm. Anastasia,” I murmur, dragging out the syllables. “Sounds totally normal to me.”
“It’s not!” She inhales.
“Sorry.” Not.
“Moving on, tomorrow, we’ll meet in the library at eight. Don’t be late, and don’t have any of your hangers-on with you—”
“Who?”
Her eyes spear me. “Don’t act like you don’t have girls all over you.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, I’m rearranging my schedule at the bar to fit you in this week. Don’t waste my time. Bring your book and your notes. Keep up the work in the meantime. Also, Lila mentioned a possible candidate for this revenge thing—”
“What? Already?”
“—and he just so happens to be in a study group at the library during the week. Don’t ask how Lila knows these things. She just does.”
My voice lowers and I cross my arms. “I thought you were waiting until the ski trip.” I don’t want to think about this part of our revenge pact yet.
“No time like the present. Might as well