Page 32 of Fire Fight

“Man, that sounded so much smoother in my head. Just ignore me… or pretend I said something devastatingly seductive.” He reaches across to press lightly on my knee.

I put my hand on top of his, waiting for a frisson of excitement to follow. Warmth spreads from his touch but that’s all. When he pulls away to put both hands on the wheel again, there’s no difference.

An uncomfortable sensation bubbles in my chest, accompanied by a low shiver of fear. Hudson is a real sweetheart. I try to think of anyone else who would have stopped to check if Drake and I were okay and can’t.

With his sunny good looks and gentle manner, he’s lovely. It disturbs me that his touch does nothing, yet the bully across the hallway treats me with disdain, and I get shivers.

My mother has a penchant for mean men.

I hate to think I’ve absorbed the trait by osmosis.

When we reach school, I take Hudson’s hand before he reaches for mine, linking our fingers. If an attraction to Drake’s darkness is a learned behaviour, about time I started rewriting that internal code.

“He really doesn’t like you,”Gretchen says at lunchtime. She appears amused by the observation as Drake saunters past, a grimace his only acknowledgement. “Did you steal his weed stash or something?”

“Maybe he hates blondes,” I say with a shrug, realising my error the second the words escape my mouth. “Not you, of course.”

Ugh.If there was a reward for conversational fumbles, I’d be leading.

Hudson walks through the door and I perk up, waving him over to our table.

“Got a crush on the gingernut, do you?” Rox observes, eyes twinkling at the prospect of gossip. “You gotta be careful with boys from large families. They get awfully needy.”

It’s not my experience.

If anything, Hudson seems far too responsible and independent for his age. But I notice a few sideways glances from the rest of the table as he hauls a chair over to sit next to me.

“Not there,” Gretchen snaps. “I’m saving that seat for Flick.” She waves a hand at the next table over. “You know the rules. Boys aren’t allowed.” When I raise my eyebrows, she elaborates. “Otherwise, we have to constantly watch what we’re saying and who has the time or energy for that?”

It seems to me the problem isn’t him being the wrong gender but being the wrong boy. Her eyes check on Drake every few seconds despite him ignoring her.

To be fair, he ignores everybody in his orbit. If he has friends, they’re not in this school.

We move to the next table over and Hudson gives me a rundown on every pupil in the cafeteria I haven’t yet met. His tone is light, but I can feel his eyes lingering on me when I focus on my plate. His foot finds mine under the table, nudging it gently while his smile broadens.

With the bell fast approaching, I take my tray to the bin, emptying the scraps into the green waste. Someone bumps meas I finish, and the plate tips towards me, spotting tomato sauce and mayo across my chest.

“Watch it,” I snap, spinning around to see Drake’s smirking face an inch away from mine.

“Oh, I fully intend to keep watch,” he says, admiring the stains from his handiwork before his gaze slowly crawls high enough to lock to mine. “Expect my eyes to be on you every minute of the day.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

DRAKE

When I walkinto the lounge after dinner, Cadence has her legs curled under her on the sofa. The phone in her hand absorbs her attention, a goofy smile on her face.

Fuck Hudson.

Bad enough that he cheated me out of my forfeit by chauffeuring her around today, but I had to watch as he played ‘footsie’ with her in the cafeteria all lunchtime.

Now he’s texting and as each new message arrives, her besotted grin grows wider. The pinch of irritation in my chest grows stronger.

The device buzzes again, and she gives a little snort, shaking her head, more animated than she’s been since arriving home.

And, as promised, I’ve been watching.

I lean on the back of the cushions, digging my chin into her shoulder, openly staring at her screen. She jerks, hunching as she tilts the device away from me, only relaxing again when I head for the recliner chair opposite.

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