Page 9 of Pages of Amber

LEXI

I told you I was dropping off textbooks in my locker.

BEVERLY

You’re not in trouble, right?

What was the surprise? Does it beat ours? I don’t think it can. I’ve been waiting for this forever.

AMBER

I’m sure it doesn’t. It wasn’t a fun surprise.

A certain someone’s name came up in the conversation.

LEXI

Are we talking about the ‘nemesis’ now?

BEVERLY

Oh, guessing game!

Does his name happen to begin with an N?

AMBER

Bingo!

She’d barely pressed send when she turned the corner and bumped into someone. The collision caused her to teeter on her feet and her purse slipped her grasp.

“Really, Amber? We’re going for clichés now?”

Why did it have to behim?

Amber glanced up, her glare at the ready. Noah fixed her with that dark stare, his brow quirked when she shrugged his hand off her elbow.

“What is this? Talk about the devil and he appears? Why are you everywhere?”

“You must talk about me a lot.”That infuriating blasé tone sent a flush across her cheeks.

Was he joking? He had to be. She sized him up, taking in his dark hair mussed over his head. His lips pulled to the side, his possibly contoured jawline following the movement. His arm gripped the satchel hanging on his shoulder, his jacket unbuttoned and tie loosened from its knot. The school day had barely ended and their stuffy student president had already let himself go. Any student who saw him like this would probably be shocked down to their toes. Thick brows hooded his dark eyes and lashes that had spiked envy in her more times than she could count. Seriously, why were they so long and pretty? The eyelashes, not Noah.

“Whatever. How do you even bump into someone in an empty hallway? You fishing for attention, Rhodes?”Amber held back her smug smile. She had been itching for the next round so badly, she wasn’t going to waste this. Better to get ahead now.

“Resorting to last name insults,Coleman?I thought you were smarter than that. Then again, all those leaves of absence must finally be catching up to you.”

“Those have nothing to do with how smart I am.”

“Yeah? What do your grades have to say about that?”

Low blow. She swore her eye twitched. A victorious gleam dawned in his dark eyes but there was no way she was letting him win this round. She could go lower. Tipping her chin, Amber summoned her iciest glare reserved for his truly.

“We know you get good grades, boy genius. Not all of us want to sacrifice our social lives. Oh wait, you don’t need to because you never had one in the first place.”She pointed downwards.“Be a gentleman and pick my purse. It’s clear I’ve won this round.”

The air grew stiff but Noah said nothing. After years of this little dance, Amber liked to believe she knew his tells. There was the tiniest ripple in his cheek when he knew he’d been bested. The slightest darkening of his eyes as he prepared to spew his venom and her favorite, the light flush that spread across his nose and made those dark brown freckles more apparent. Usually, the combination of those things made her smug. Today, they made her heat up.

Noah held her eyes as he dipped, his height slighted as he retrieved her purse. He stepped closer, bringing them nose to nose as he dangled her purse from a finger. It looked so tiny in his hold. Amber straightened. She would not be intimidated by his stare down. She swallowed roughly when a scent of honey met her nose. Why was he suddenly so close to her? And why was she noticing tiny flecks of gold she’d never seen before in his eyes?

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