Page 18 of Rebel Romeo

Flashes of the night of the party invade my thoughts. The way he kissed me. Dropped to his knees and put that sinful mouth of his between my legs.

A shiver tumbles down my spine.

“I thought so, too,” I admit to Jill. She might be the only person I would ever admit that to. “But he's back with Missy, and whether it’s real or fake, there’s nothing I can do about it,.”

“You can fight for him.” Jill leans back on the couch, as though this is the simplest idea in the world.

"I've been fighting, Jill. I’ve been fighting for him for five years. When does he start fighting for me?”

For a brief moment there, I thought that I was finally getting everything I wanted. A leading role in a Broadway show. And another chance with the man who had broken my heart.

"But she's wearing his grandfather's ring, right?” Jill reminds me… as if I could forget. “That has to be a sign, right? Like his way of telling you this isn't real.”

“I thought so too, at first. But then I saw them together at rehearsal. Saw them kiss…” I exhale heavily. “I don’t know now. Why in the hell would he be faking a relationship with her?”

Jill throws her hands in the air. “I don’t know! You’re the one who told me his dad is a nutjob. A total control freak. Maybe it’s because of that. Just… don’t rule it out yet. Keep an eye on them. If it truly seems like they’re back together and happily in love, sure. Maybe it’s time to consider moving on. But for now, keep your head down. Do the work. You earned that part.”

It doesn’t feel like I earned it. I felt dirty. Like this part was Holden’s pitied apology for how I got screwed over in undergrad.

I sigh. “I just wish I could talk with him. Have a few minutes alone to find out what the hell is going on.”

Jill’s smirk widens and she sets her mug down, reaching for her phone.

“What?” I ask.

Only she doesn’t answer me. She just keeps grinning in that terrifyingly maniacal way. “Oh my God, what are you doing?”

“Relax,” she says, pressing her phone to her ear. “I have a plan.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Holden

Five years ago…

I should be celebrating. I should be getting drunk, partying, and getting laid by some girl I won’t remember in the morning because we’d just won our football game. But all I could think about was Katherine.

Her eyes.

Her hair.

Her fucking panties.

Because she’d been here at the game. I caught her eyes in the stands.

What the fuck was she doing here? She hated sports, especially football. She’d made that loud and clear many times.

Was she here to taunt me? Tease me?

Sitting on one side of her was Jill. And on the other side, Nate.

Fucking Nate.

I hated that they were friends.

I hated that I spied them together at the coffee shop and cafeteria grabbing lunch after class.

I hated that he was becoming familiar enough with her that up there in the stands, they shared sips of a soda and nibbles of popcorn. How often did his knuckles brush hers in that popcorn bucket? Did he slide his hand around her waist?

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