Page 38 of Vile Boys

He ushers his dad away, but not before his dad says goodbye to my mom.

Right before Caleb exits, he throws me a final glance, a warning of sorts, but I let it slide off my shoulders. I just stare back until they’ve disappeared through the door, and the bell rings again.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

I’m glad they didn’t order anything because the only free seat left is next to us.

My mom strides back with a gleeful smile on her face.

“What happened?” I ask. “You look like you’re radiating.”

“That man. Oh, he was so handsome,” she murmurs, and she practically falls into her chair, dreaming away.

“Mom.” I gently pry the paper towels from her hand.

She shoots up from her chair. “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie, I completely forgot.”

I chuckle while we both get on our knees to clean up the mess. “It’s fine, Mom, I get it. You got swept off your feet.”

She sniggers like a schoolgirl. “It’s been a while since I last hit it off. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all,” I say as we rise again, and I ditch the soaked towels on the table.

It’s been a while since my mom last dated anyone.

I mean, not since …

I swallow away the lump in my throat.

“It’s fine.” I wave it off like it’s no big deal even though I know full well who the man she just gave her number to is attached to. “When are you two meeting up?”

CALEB

A few days later

I chewmy cucumber stick vigorously, swirling my tongue around the stem while watching her intently.

The cafeteria is noisy today, but I filter through the chatter just to focus on the girl in front of me.

She’s wearing that same beige dress again from the night of our party at the Tartarus House, and the more I look at it, the more I remember it vividly from those few seconds I saw Ares approach her in the maze.

Crystal Murphy.

A girl so innocent yet …

That pretty blond hair and picture-perfect face are such a distraction that I’m starting to wonder if I should do something about it. Make it messy, with pretty pink lipstick and black mascara smeared all over her face while her hair is a bungled mess from all the cum.

My hard-on twitches in my gray sweatpants at the thought.

I normally never get so excited about girls. But I have to control myself.

She sits beside those bastards from the Skull & Serpent Society, the actual fucking leader Felix and his girlfriend, Penelope, along with some more friends.

It’s them versus just me. Blaine and Ares have classes.

But if I approach her now in front of all of them, they’ll probably kill me for even trying to get near.

No, I need to wait until she’s all alone.

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