If he spread rumors about me opening my legs for him, I’m going to fucking kill him. I should be able to get something out of Gunner. He likes to talk it up, so I shouldn’t even have to ask. He’ll be the first to ask me how fucking his best friend was.
I stop at the vending machine before heading to class. The protein bar falls to the well as Brielle comes straight toward me. Her frown is so deep it’s gouging into her Botox treatments.
“So, you are a whore?”
What I want to do is grab her shiny blonde hair and smash her pretty bitch face into the glass of the vending machine. Instead, I adult, take a deep breath, and ask myself if I should hear her out or completely ignore her and walk away. Since she’s in my first class, I don’t think ignoring her is an option, so I might as well get the suffering out of the way.
I plaster a sickly sweet smile on my face. “Yes, Your Gracious Highness, what can I do for you on this lovely Monday morning?” Then, to top it off, I do a little bow. Patiently waiting for her to say something, I maintain a fake smile as I pull my hair over my shoulder.
Her lips peel back over her straight, unnaturally white teeth. “You fucked Edge, and you’re going to pay.”
I unwrap the protein bar. “Wow. That’s news to me. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Don’t fucking lie about it, slut.”
“Where did you get this insane information about my fucking habits from?” I ask. I know she has no intention of telling me, but it’s worth a try to ask.
“Venom is taken.”
“By you? All of them?” I laugh because she makes it hard to take her sorry ass seriously. I’ve seen the way each of them treats her, and she must be one delusional hoe to think she’s with any of them. Her face turns red like the Corvette I blew by on my motorcycle this morning. “So, can I assume you’re the mystery person who’s been blowing up my phone with empty, dumbass threats?”
She takes in a deep breath, then pulls back her shoulders in her all-mighty bitch posture. “Trust me, they’re anything but empty.”
“Bring it on.” Happy to have the mystery solved, I slap a smile on my face and take a bite of the chocolate bar. Pointing it at her and looking up to the ceiling as if contemplating something, I say, “Tell me something, since I don’t remember, do you know if I enjoyed fucking your boyfriend?”
She snarls as fury blazes in her narrowing eyes. “Stay the fuck away.”
Remaining in complete control, I take one step so that my face is within inches of hers. Her friends step back a couple offeet, their heels clicking in sync. Smart of them. Lowering my voice to a growl, I say, “I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. After I saw him drilling into you last week, I wouldn’t want his putrefied dick anywhere near me.”
I back away. Her face drops a fraction as if the relief of knowing I’m telling the truth sets in. I take another bite of the bar even though I’ve lost my appetite.
“Maybe if you’re not getting fucked, I’ll see you in class.” I turn and head toward art.
I toss the rest of the uneaten bar in the garbage. Even though what I said is true, I went to sleep last night thinking about Edge and his body, including his man parts. But we won’t go there with Brielle. That’s nothing she needs to know about. I want to know who started the rumor. I have a few guesses in mind but none that I’m entirely sure about. If it was Edge, what would he have to gain by spreading a lie about fucking me? He has nothing to benefit from it. The guy can have any girl in this school he wants—well, except for me.
Someone behind me calls my name and rushes up to me before I can answer. Josh’s expression is stricken with regret and hurt.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I wanted to apologize for Saturday night, passing out like I did. It had been a long day of drinking and sun, and it kicked my ass earlier than I wanted.”
“No problem. It started storming, and I went home.”
“Home?” His face etches into confusion.
I immediately stop in the middle of the hall to face him. A few huffs and curses follow as I disrupt the flow of traffic. “Yes, home, Josh. In contrast to the rumor floating around about me. I went home… alone.”
His tense shoulders visibly relax. “Good,” he breathes out. “I mean, if that’s what you wanted to do, then…”
Knowing where he’s going with this and deciding to save him, I say, “Yeah, it’s what I wanted to do.”
I hate to give him the sense of any hope between us, but there it is, unintentional hope. I’ll have to steer that ship away from my shore another way and another day. Today’s missions are to shut down the rumor about me hooking up with Edge and find out where Venom trains.
“I have to get to class. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, see you?—”
I’m gone before I hear him finish his sentence.
