Page 14 of Made for Cyn
Smiling, I step up to the counter. “What did you like to read?”
“Me? Well, back then, we were forced to read the classics. Not my jam. I tended toward true crime novels.”
“Oh, cool. I haven’t read too much in that genre.”
“Well, I have a few recommendations if you’re interested,” he says with a smile.
“Okay, thanks.”
“Here.” He holds out a plate with cheese and crackers. “I thought you ladies might be hungry.”
“Thanks,” I say, taking the plate with a shy smile and retreating up the stairs.
Now I feel guilty for thinking he was a dick based on gossip from my mom. Sigh.
Iris’ door is closed, and when I knock, I hear her muffled voice telling me to come in.
“I have snacks,” I say when I spy her sitting on her bed, curled around her pillow and staring at nothing.
“Hmm,” she says, without so much as a flicker.
Setting the plate on her bedside table, I sit behind her and ask tentatively, “Is everything okay?”
“What’s going on with you and Cyn?” she asks abruptly, sitting up and turning to me.
Startled, I look into her dark eyes, and to my shame, I lie. Not only because Cyn’s threats are in my ear, but because she’s looking at me with an intensity that makes me uncomfortable.
“Nothing. I don’t know. He’s kind of weird, yeah?” I whisper, maintaining eye contact, even though I desperately want to look away.
She studies my expression, and her eyes narrow before she shrugs one shoulder. “What did he say to you outside?”
“Um, I think he wants to fuck me,” I say uncomfortably, ignoring the pang in my chest as I recall his cruel words.
Snorting, she tosses her pretty red hair and mumbles, “It’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Dudes always want to be the one to fuck you first.”
“Right,” I mutter sourly. “Which they wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t confirmed it. What was that about anyway?”
Dropping her gaze, she says militantly, “Nothing. Just stay away from Rand. He’s bad news.”
“That shouldn’t be so hard,” I say dryly, smirking when she giggles.
“You should’ve seen the look on his face. Epic. I hope he has to have his nuts surgically removed from his chin.”
Laughing, I silently agree because he is a jerk who had no reason to spread such gossip about me, but I suppose it’s a warning that high school is not as fun as I thought it was going to be.
Too bad. I was looking forward to being normal and young and free, but maybe this is a rite of passage, just like anything else.
“Why do you hate Rand?” I’m curious about all these new characters surrounding me that I know nothing about, but there seems to be a lot of sordid history.
“Because he’s a dick. Rich boys like that always are,” she says with a shrug.
“And Bastion?”
“Well, he’s crazy in bed.” She looks away, and I smile with a pulse of sympathy.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Doesn’t matter now. He’ll never touch me again,” she says, her chin wobbling, and even though she avoids my gaze, I see her pain all too easily.
