Page 178 of Forbidden Lessons

It’s even brighter out here than it was in the ballroom. Parties shouldn’t be this well lit. It feels like an interrogation room.

And why the fuck is it so crowded?

Every living Hillsider must be at this country club tonight because I keep twisting to avoid crashing into couples as they stream through the entrance. And that makes my clothes wrap even tighter around me. How the hell am I supposed to enjoy myself when I feel claustrophobic in my own skin?

Ezra gives me a double take and steps away from the donation box he was standing beside.

Huh. Seems like Haven’s little pet project took off. Of the three donation boxes out here, only one of them is piled high. Cat food. Dog food.

They’ve even donated chew toys, collars, and leashes.

Ezra’s lips are curled into a smile, but the rest of his face is set in stone.

“Took you long enough,” he says, clapping a hand on my shoulder like we’re the biggest fucking buddies. I leave it there, because he gets really annoyed when I fend off his fake PDA.

He loves to pretend we don’t hate each other.

Kinda reminds me of someone else I know.

“What is it?”

“Stand here and smile. When someone drops something in a box, tell them thanks. And when they’re done coming in, bring the donation boxes around the back.”

“Thought that was your job.”

“My job is making sure things run smoothly. And right now, I’ve got a fucking problem to sort out.”

I grimace as I stare at the towns folk coming through the door, shoving a hand under the navy blue band around my waist. It was that, or gold. “Then let me deal with that. My face can’t handle all that bullshit smiling like yours can.”

If he’s offended, he doesn’t show it. “If you could have dealt with this problem, it wouldn’t be a fucking problem anymore.”

I’m frowning as I whip my head around to glare at him. “The fuck you on about?”

He dusts the sleeves of his tux and tugs them straight, his brown eyes taking their sweet time flicking up to meet mine. “You said she was gone.”

“Sh—Haven?” My heart seizes up for a moment before blood pumps again. “I’m working on it.”

“Time’s up, bro.” Ezra rolls the word off his tongue with so much disdain, he might as well have called me a loser. “You’ve had weeks.” He snorts. “Telling me she won’t dare set foot in Hillside again. And what the fuck did I just see?”

“She was at school today? I thought she didn’t have classes on a Friday?”

He rolls his eyes like he can’t believe he’s trying to explain something to a dipshit like me. “Here, Kai. Here. She just strutted past me like she fucking owns the place.” Casting a quick glance at the briefly empty entrance, he grabs the front of my tux in a fist and slams me against the nearest wall.

And when I see the look in his eyes, I’m kinda wishing the wallpaper’s going to swallow me.

“You’ve been fucking her, haven’t you?”

My voice hitches with panic. “Wh-What?”

Ezra’s eyes glitter with malice as he leans in, his fist pushing so hard against my sternum I’m struggling to breathe.

“You’re seriously going to drag our name through the mud just so you can rail some slut from Riverside?” He scans my face, contempt dripping from every word. “I don’t know what fucking spell that witch’s pussy cast on you when you were a kid, but you’d better snap the fuck out of it.”

I grunt in the pain as Ezra presses away from me with a shove to my chest. He runs a hand over his hair, sliding a strand of hair that escaped his slicked back faux hawk.

He gives my cheek a hard pat, forcing a smile as sharp as a fucking scalpel.

“I’ll handle this, just like I handle all your fuck ups.”

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