“Um, yeah?” she says.
“Hey, sorry, I don’t mean to intrude,” he says. “I’m Michael Smith, by the way. I don’t know if you remember me.”
His name sounds familiar. I sift through my mind, recalling all the people I’ve met. It’s at the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember.
“I’m...sorry.” She shakes her head and forces a smile. “I don’t remember.”
He holds up his phone, the screen displaying an app with her picture on it. “We matched, and it’s such a lucky coincidence to see you here.”
I narrow my eyes at the screen, my lip curling back. It’s a dating website, and Dahlia’s picture looks back at me, along with her name, age, and the city she lives in. She notices too and sucks in a sharp breath. I snap my gaze to her and clench my teeth until they grind together.
She’s on a goddamn dating website?
Jealousy runs rampant inside me, battling the tiny voice in the back of my head that tells me I can’t make a scene. She doesn’t want anyone to know about us, and that’s the only thing holding me back from punching Michael.
Dahlia gives the asshole a tight-lipped smile, her shoulders practically up to her ears. “Oh, that’s?—”
“I don’t know if you remember me from high school, but we had the same geometry class in the tenth grade.” He eases Dahlia’s confusion with a soft chuckle and lowers his phone. “It’s fine if you don’t remember me. I kept to myself to avoid any attention.”
He nervously glances at me, and I cock my head. I never fucked with anyone in high school unless they started it. Mickey being a prime example.
The light bulb in Dahlia’s head blinks on, and her eyes widen as she remembers him. “Oh, yeah! You had black hair and always wore headphones. I think I remember you talking to me about one of our favorite bands.”
Michael leans forward. I know that move. He can’t hear her, probably because he’s been so busy looking her over and settling his gaze on her breasts.
What she said finally clicks, and his smile widens as he rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, emo was the thing back then, and I couldn’t be that without the black hair.”
Dahlia giggles.
I slowly turn to her, my face falling flat as red fills my vision. She acts oblivious to the fact that I’m about to losemy mind.
“How have you been?” she asks him.
Oh. So she’s going to play this game. Act interested in him, lead him on, piss me off, and expect good results from it.
Michael’s grin widens, and he puffs out his chest like she just said she’ll marry him or some shit. “I’ve been great. Went to the gym, lost all that weight, and now I’m working toward getting my master’s in engineering.” He looks at me again, but his eyes dart away when he meets my glare. “I know you’re hanging out with your brother, but would you want to get a late lunch?”
Dahlia’s cheeks pinken, and she refuses to look at me. Her legs tremble, and I arch an eyebrow. She knows what I’ll do if she goes on a date with this asshole, yet she still entertains him. Maybe my jealousy is getting to me, but I’m curious about what she’ll do with him. I fold my arms over my chest, keeping my expression blank.
“W-well, I’m kind of—” she says.
“Oh, I know. How about I get your number and we can set up a date?” Michael briefly touches her arm, an excited smile on his face.
I don’t hold back my grin when he looks at me. It’s genuine, but for all the wrong reasons.
“You know what, sis?” I turn to Dahlia and lick my lips, my tongue curling against the sharp end of my canine tooth. “I’ll finish shopping. You go ahead and go on a date with him. I wouldn’t want to clam-jam you. Text me when you need a ride.”
Dahlia’s cheeks flush, and fear creeps into her eyes. “Jaxon?—”
I turn to Michael and blow him a kiss before I leave the aisle to put space between me and him. The weight of Dahlia’s stare follows me until I round the corner and I’m out of her sight. I fish my cell phone from my pocket and pull up the group chat thread with my friends.
Jaxon
We have a new target.
Aiden
Please tell me it’s Mickey this time.
