Page 97 of Cruel Legacy

I’m sure I’m sporting one too.

Chapter45

Holden

Finn’s upset. I caught the flash of emotion on his face before he hid it away behind his mask. It’s not hard to guess that Thea is the reason behind it.

He was happy as hell when he walked into the dining hall. But he’s twitchy now after watching Austin maul her like a banana split. He’s been flipping his knife around for the last few minutes. I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she stokes his crazy in a way nobody else ever has.

The way she’s looking at him tells me she knows it, too. I don’t like the murderous look in his eye, and scan the table for someone else to direct his attention to. Not that I care if he stabs the football jock. But we really don’t need to be dealing with that shit right now. Not when we’re a just two weeks out from Mayhem Night. There will be a lot of alumni on campus for these next fourteen days. Including Finn’s father.

“Be right back.” Finn says, climbing to his feet.

I watch him walk towards the kitchen. Seconds later, an alert goes off, informing us the water has been restored to campus. A cheer goes up in the dining hall. When Finn sits back down, he’s smiling again. To anyone else, this is Finn’s M.O. He doesn’t stay upset long. But as his best friend, I know the change in attitude is because he’s up to something.

“The water issue was you?”

“Yup.”

And now it’s back on. Glancing back over at Thea, I deduce that whatever is going on has to do with her. “Are you sure you don’t still need it off?” I’m glad it’s on. I wasn’t looking forward to having to go to the frat house to shower. But if he’s gonna play with the plumbing again, I’d like a heads up.

“Nah. I’ve taken care of the issue.”

He’s smiling as he eats. Totally at ease and in a playful mood. He’s even smiling at Eloise, which I personally think is a bad idea. Giving that shrew attention affects us all. Come to think of it, why is she sitting here with us instead of at the future wives’ table?

I feel my sandwich turn over in my stomach when he lets Eloise kiss his cheek. He doesn’t even flinch. That means he’s heavily into plotting mode, and whatever he has planned is more sneaky and devious than turning off the water.

* * *

We run into Thea when we’re entering the dorm. She looks freshly showered and dressed like she’s going out.

“Did you enjoy your lunch, Thea?” Finn purrs.

“I did. I enjoyed the dessert even more.” She’s trying to get a rise out of him, throwing that stunt with Austin in his face. “Next time, try harder, Number Three.”

“Oh, Pet. You think you won this round? That’s cute.”

“I did win. I got your saliva off my face while the water was off, didn’t I?”

He rolls his eyes and drawls, “Yes. I bet Austin felt like a big man, with that dry ass kiss.”

“At least he got a kiss.”

“So did I.”

She chuckles. “Licking me, unwillingly, is not a kiss.”

“Pet. You very willingly swallowed my spit.”

“No, I didn’t. Never even came close.”

Finn smiles, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. I have an idea where this is going.

“Oh but you did, Pet. Complete with a little happy dance in your seat.”

Thea takes a step forward, her eyes flashing with anger. “What did you do to my drink? Did you spit in it?”

“No, Pet. I would never.” He says as if that’s the most absurd thing in the world, when we both know he totally has and would. “But I did lick around the rim of the glass, your utensils and your sandwich.”

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