Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Mr. Carter was in fine form today.” She points out.
“I know.” I sigh.
“No offense, Stella. The dude might be hot, but he seems colder than ice. What was it even like, anyway?”
Pieces of Saturday night flash through my mind, and my entire body turns feverish. Sebastian might be cold, but what happened between us was anything but.
“I think there’s a reason he’s that way,” I remark. “I don’t think he intentionally wants to be so detached. Who would?”
“We all have our crosses to bear, I guess.” She shrugs. “I’m sure you’re right, but still. It just seems to me like you don’t deserve his cold front. If you’re going to have a rendezvous with a teacher, it needs to be worth it. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
When I swallow, it feels like I’m choking on a lie. Or maybe the truth. Either way, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. “It doesn’t matter. I doubt anything will happen between us again. He’s made it pretty clear where he stands.”
“I guess so.” She nods. “Will I see you at cheer tryouts this afternoon?”
I chew on my lip as I consider it. Now that my parents have both disappeared, it seems pretty dumb to keep up this charade. They were the only reason I applied for cheer squad to begin with. My mother would have loved adding that to the list of things she actually liked about me. But that ship has sailed now.
“I don’t know if I’m the cheer type,” I admit.
Sybil’s lip tilts up at the corner. “Yeah, I kind of figured your heart wasn’t in it. But that’s okay. You can just come and watch me steal the show.”
“Sounds like a deal.” I laugh.
TO MY DISAPPOINTMENT, Mr. Carter didn’t show up to detention today either. Instead, I was stuck with Mrs. Chen and the never-ending saga of her romance audiobook. At least I still had some company from the boys who got in trouble in the science lab. It appears they’ll be in detention for a while too. And while I’m pretty sure that I’ve served my sentence, I keep showing up regardless, and I will until Sebastian tells me otherwise.
Cheer tryouts are this evening, and I help Sybil practice on the quad before they call her in. She makes me wear one of her old uniforms to make the experience authentic, whatever that means. We’ve studied the routine so many times that she’s not nervous about it, and I already know she’s a shoo-in, but she won’t know for sure until next week.
“I have to go put in some studio time,” she tells me as we leave. “You going to be okay?”
“Always.” I bump her hip with mine. “I’m just going to take a walk around campus to burn off some of this excess energy.”
“Okay,” she chirps. “Have fun. I’ll be back in my dorm before curfew if you want to chat.”
I nod, and she skips away while I consider going back to the dorm to change. It’s cool outside, but I’m still burning up from practice, so I opt to keep the cheer uniform on for my evening stroll. I haven’t really had a chance to explore the entire campus yet, and I really need to do something to clear my head. It’s a good plan until I realize that the seasons are quickly changing, and the light is fading a lot faster than it normally would. At seven o’clock, the campus is already swallowed up by darkness, apart from the occasional lights around the buildings.
Regardless, I keep moving along the fence line on the east side because the cool air is refreshing and I’m feeling rebellious. Secretly, I hope that if I exhaust myself, I’ll be able to put Sebastian out of my mind and get some sleep tonight. But that notion falls to pieces when I hear his voice behind me.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The biting sharpness in his tone makes me jump before I turn around and glance in his direction. The blue suit is gone, and now he’s in a black T-shirt and gray sweats. The sheen of sweat across his forehead seems like an indication he’s been running off his own pent-up frustration. And it looks like he’s been at it for a while. My tongue darts out to wet my lips, and I force myself to remember how much I hate him as I toss out my reply and turn away.
“Walking, obviously.”
I don’t get what his problem is. It’s not even curfew yet, and technically, I’m not doing anything wrong. But Sebastian doesn’t seem to agree, and he makes that clear when he catches up with me and grabs me by the arm.
“Stella.” His voice is a warning, and the silhouette of his face in the shadows reminds me so much of Saturday night my entire body comes alive for him.