Page 34 of Blood & Betrayals

He nods. “Yeah. I was planning to have the entire team do a dance, and then I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend. It was a whole thing.”

I blink. “Girlfriend? Absolutely not.”

Connor brushes his lips over mine, completely unfazed, as if he expected that exact reply. “Why not?”

I pull back, needing a little distance. “Because I don’t do that.”

“Do what?” he asks, brushing his fingers over my cheek.

“Relationships,” I reply plainly, leaving absolutely no room for misunderstanding.

He glides his thumb along my bottom lip. “Fine. How about we date?”

I laugh and shift a little, putting a bit more space between us. “I don’t think so.”

Connor pulls me back and rolls on top of me. “Hey.”

I look up at him, unsmiling.

“I get it. I like you.” He keeps that penetrating gaze on me, and while I can tell he’s trying to read me, I can also see that he’s not getting anywhere. “Do you like me?”

“No,” I reply, but there’s no bite in my words. Connor’s lips curl into a smirk, and there’s a slight twinkle in his eyes.

He leans down, biting my lower lip. “Do you want to know a little angelic trade secret?”

Connor nuzzles my jaw, and I tilt my head when he presses his lips to my ear. “We can taste lies.”

He trails his lips along my cheek, kissing me deeply when he reaches my mouth. I gently bite his tongue, pulling a pleasing groan from him.

Connor pulls back, rubbing his nose against mine. “So… dating? We can go super slow.”

“So slow that I don’t see you again for months?” I quip.

He smirks. “As in we date?—”

“Summer!” Alice’s shout comes right before she bangs on the door. “We have to go!”

I frown, glancing at the door. I want to tell Alice I’ll be down in twenty minutes or so. Morningstar and I can go another round before I shut this thing down for good, but something in her voice tugs at me. I push Connor off me and climb out of the bed. “Just a sec, Alice,” I call, pulling on the discarded jersey.

She bangs on the door again, and I am not mistaking the urgency in it this time.

Connor sighs and rolls out of bed to pull on his jeans. “What does she want?”

“Summer!” Alice shouts and bangs on the door again, making it rattle dangerously on its hinges.

“I’m coming!” I yell and open the door. Alice looks furious, and she throws a death glare at Connor over my shoulder. What am I missing?

She pulls out her phone and turns the screen toward me. Zach’sNexuspage is already loaded up, and a video is playing. It is focused on a door very similar to the one I’m standing beside. My stomach drops when I hear the moaning that’s coming from within the room beyond. Embarrassment shrouds my skin like a heavy cloak, and my cheeks heat with humiliation as the video continues to play.

Not again. Not again. How could I have been so fucking stupid to let my guard down so quickly?

“Connor is going for the species cup!” someone says off-screen. It sounds vaguely like one of the twins, but between the chaos of the party and the moaning, it’s difficult to decipher voices. I feel Connor come up behind me as I click on the comments. There are hundreds of comments already, and most seem to add to the not-so-secret tally being kept.

Connor tenses against my back, but if he’s about to say something, I don’t give him the chance. I look at Alice. “Let’s go. Now.”

I brush past her, not looking back.

“Summer! Wai—” Connor’s groan of pain replaces his words, and then Alice is at my side, sliding her hand into mine. Every pair of eyes is on me as I do some fucking, messed up walk of shame out of the house. All conversation has died, and the only sound is the booming bass coming from the stereo.

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