He tosses it at me, and I fumble, almost dropping it. When I get a handle on my reflexes, I glance down at the device like I’ve never laid eyes on a cell phone before.
“It doesn’t have teeth.”
“I know.” Blinking rapidly, I swipe to unlock the screen, but it prompts me for face recognition.
Lex moves in beside me, wraps a hand around the phone, and angles it toward his face. It unlocks.
His fingers brush mine, causing a tickly feeling to dance across my skin. I’m flustered, and I don’t know why. “Where did you want to meet up?”
He sniffs. “Your place is good.”
I consider his place, probably a mansion on the wealthy side of town with unnaturally green grass, multicolored perennials planted by professional landscapers, and a sun-drenched pool he mentioned he’d been swimming in. “What about your house?” I try, scrambling to find his contact list and typing in my number. He doesn’t have a lot of contacts. Only five, making me number six. Even I know more than six people. “My house is small.”
“So?”
“So your house might be better.”
“It’s not.”
Well, I guess that’s that.
I save my number in his phone and hand it back to him. “What time?”
He taps the phone against his khaki-covered thigh. “I’ll text you after school.”
“Okay.”
A beat of eye contact. And then he moves around me and saunters off down the aisle to the main doors.
Nerves bundle inside my chest at the notion that we’ll be practicing lines together at my house later. Joplin is sure to be giggling behind walls and giving me knowing looks from nooks and corners. My cheeks warm at the thought.
“You’re such a lucky bitch.”
I glance behind me at Wren, who has gone back to sucking on her lollipop. The words are jumbled by the candy, but “bitch” stands out. I frown. “How so?”
“Lex?” It’s a question, but it’s not. It’s aduh. “Lexington Hall. Do you know how many girls would kill to trade places with you right now?”
“I haven’t collected the data yet.”
“I’ll save you the trouble: it’s all of them.”
“He’s talented, I’ll give him that.”
“Right. Because he’s talented.” She gives me an eye roll paired with a disbelieving sigh, then strolls past me down the walkway.
When she’s out of sight, a different word stands out.
Lucky.
I don’t know that I am.
Chapter 7
Lex
“Where the hell are you running off to?”
My father emerges from the home office, successfully squashing my plans of escaping unnoticed. He stands tall and menacing beneath the luxe chandelier that’s doing nothing to brighten his black soul.
