The Secret Girl (Adamson All-Boys Academy #1) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,61

to drop you off somewhere?”

Good question, Charlotte. Now what?

The last thing I want to do is go back to the hotel with Dad. Not tonight.

“Um …” I consider asking them to drop me off at my Aunt Elisa’s place, but then I figure she'll probably call my dad and tell him two hot twins in an expensive sports car dropped me off in the middle of the night. Not a good way to start winter break.

“You can come back to our place,” Tobias says, shrugging casually. There's a tension in him though that makes me a little nervous. “We've got a party going on that'll probably last until sun up, but if that doesn't bother you, there are plenty of rooms away from the action.”

“You guys are having a party?” I look between the two of them. “That started … after you dropped me off at the boardwalk?”

“Several hours earlier, actually,” Micah says, grinning, his green eyes glittering. “We just up and bailed. It got boring.”

“Same old idiots, fawning all over us, begging for a scrap of attention. It gets old. We like Adamson best. Everyone's a rich asshole there, so the kowtowing and groveling is so much less.” Tobias turns on his blinker, slows, and makes a sharp left onto a road that travels up a row of mansions set right on the beach.

“Oh, wow, what a problem to have,” I reply with a roll of my eyes. “All that fan worship must be annoying.”

“Poor little rich boy, right?” Micah laughs as Tobias takes us up a driveway lined with cars. I can already hear the music from here. “What he's trying to say is: he'd rather be torturing you during Culinary Club than getting drunk and stoned with these dipshits.”

Tobias parks, and Micah kicks the door open, hoisting me up and out of the car and making my head spin. He's literally carrying me like I weigh nothing. When he finally deposits me on my feet, I cling to his muscular arm to keep my feet.

“Come on,” Tobias says, tossing the strap of my bag over his shoulder. “I'll show you to your room.”

He leads the way inside with Micah trailing behind. There are people everywhere, drinking and making out and smoking weed. They watch us as we pass, but I ignore them all. This is just a temporary thing. After break is over … I'll be going back to Connecticut, back to Adamson All-Boys Academy.

A weary sadness sweeps over me, and it takes all I've got to make it up the huge, curving staircase to the second floor and down the hall to the fancy white double doors at the end.

“Wait.” Micah slams his palm against one of them, pushing it closed as he glares over my head at his twin. “This room?”

Tobias glares right back.

“Yes, this room.” There's a tension building between them that escalates from zero to a hundred in an instant. I glance frantically between the twins, but I have no idea what's going on.

“No.”

“Yes.” Tobias goes to open the other door, and Micah sweeps past me, slamming it closed with his shoulder. “Get the hell out of my way. This isn't your decision to make. You gave up that choice a long time ago.”

Micah's nostrils flare in irritation, and he pushes off the door, storming down the hall and knocking a plant off a stand on his way. The vase shatters, but he doesn't stop, heading for the staircase and leaving me gaping behind him.

Tobias watches him go, shakes his head, and then pushes the door open, leading me into a huge master suite with a balcony view of the ocean. It's … “like a palace,” I whisper, and I see his lips twitch in a smile. We step out onto the porch, and I lean on the railing, gazing out across the water. “I thought you guys did everything together?” I turn to look at Tobias, but his face is already shutting down.

“Not everything,” he says, and then he offers up a tight smile. “The room is yours for as long as you want it. I'll let my mom know you're here. My dad isn't showing up until Monday, but if you want to stay for Christmas …”

“I'm going to see my mom,” I say, feeling dizzy with fatigue. My eyes seem to be closing of their own accord. All of a sudden I'm being lifted in the air, and I let out a small squeak of surprise as Tobias scoops me