Page 9 of Bump and Run

“Who have you been talking to?”

She flicks out her fingers as she lists them off. “Maddy Bryant, Stephanie Gomez, Lisa Lawrence, Tanya Mars, Rebecca—”

“Okay, you can stop.”I shake away the quick flashes of faces from my mind. “You’ve proved your point… and done your homework.”

Eliza chuckles softly as she takes a victory sip from her coffee before sliding it back into place between her thighs.

“You make friends very quickly,” I note.

“And you break hearts just as fast.”

I flex my jaw. I crashed and burned before I even sat down. Might as well throw a Hail Mary. I lean closer and soften my voice. “Okay, I’ve broken a few hearts here and there but with those eyes, I’m willing to guess you have, too.”

“Oh, my god,”she laughs, twisting towards me. “You didnot just try that.”

“Yes, I did,” I nod, owning it.

“Does that line ever work?”

“I’ll let you know.”

She leans over to grab her bag and tosses her books inside. “Thanks for the coffee.”

I watch her stand up, not even hiding the fact that I’m staring at her ass. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Nah,” she says, spinning around and looking down at me.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not interested.”

“You’re stone cold now, Eliza Pierce.” I raise a brow. “But later, you’re going to think of this moment, and you’re going to blush.”

She pulls a pair of black sunglasses from her bag and slides them onto her nose. “I doubt it.”

“I don’t.”

“Bye, Junior.”

“Bye, Ellie.”

She twitches at the nickname but doesn’t stop her long stride across the grass towards Talon Hall. Her hips give an unnatural sway, almost as if she’s making the view worth my while but I might just be seeing things.

She tosses her coffee cup into the trash can outside and gives the front doors a hard yank, not even offering me a glance back as she disappears inside.

Shit. I’m officially late for geometry.

It was worth it.

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