Page 66 of The Sweetest Revenge

A splash shattered the night's silence, and my eyes flashed open. Zaiden rose from the pool like something from a nightmare—or a dream—water streaming down his bare chest, the moonlight reflecting off the dark ink covering him.

"Can't sleep?" His trademark smirk appeared. "Or are you following me?"

"I didn't know you were—" The words died in my throat as he sank into the water. He was teasing me. "I needed air." My eyes followed a droplet of water as it trailed down his chiseled jaw. I forced my gaze to meet his. "What are you doing out here?"

"Swimming, I couldn't sleep either." His confession stopped me in my tracks. "Between this mess with my sister and you, I was wide awake." I turned slowly back to him.

"Me?" I touched my fingers to my chest.

The corner of his lips lifted in a cocky grin. "Are we still pretending there's not something between us?" I shook my head, but before I could respond, he continued. "Are you going to tell me you weren't in your room, pacing the floor, thinking about me?"

He was always so infuriatingly blunt. He'd always been like that, but it only bothered me now that he was calling me out. "I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about Kacie." I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip. "It had nothing to do with you."

"We both know that's not true…" I opened my mouth to argue, but there was no point. He was right. I was thinking about him and how fucked up I was for it after everything he'd done. "But what did you come up with?" My brows pulled together, questioning him. He chuckled. "What were your thoughts on Kacie?"

"Oh, right." I stepped forward until I was standing at the pool's edge. "I was actually wondering what happened to her phone?"

He leaned back, looking up at me. "We never found it."

My gaze lifted, staring off into the darkness surrounding the patio. Kacie didn't go anywhere without her phone. "I wonder what happened to it."

My gaze dropped as Zaiden's hips floated behind him. "Are you fucking naked?" I stepped back, immediately redirecting my eyes.

He laughed. "I don't swim with clothes." Water sloshed as he moved in my peripheral vision, and I realized he was getting out of the pool.

"What are you doing?" I turned my back to him. "Our parents?—"

"Aren't home." He finished for me. His bare feet slapped against the concrete deck.

"I'm going to go." I stepped forward, but his strong arm hooked around me, jerking me back against him. The water from his skin seeped through the thin layer of my tank top.

"So modest," he breathed against my ear. A drop of water hit my shoulder, and a shiver ran down my spine. "Like my cock hasn't been in your mouth."

"What the fuck?" I jerked away from him, turning and shoving him away. "What is wrong with you?" My lip curled into a snarl. "Why are you acting like we are going to be anything more than frenemies?" I shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on his. "After we figure out what happened with Kacie, I don't ever want to see you again."

"We both know that's not true."

My eyes narrowed. "You are delusional."

He stepped forward. "Come swimming with me."

I stepped back. "Are you not hearing me?"

"I hear you, but I'm not listening because you're not talking to me. You're talking to yourself." He invaded my personal space. I shook my head, holding out a hand like I thought that might stop him. "Because there's no way you're going to convince me you're not into me." He pinched my chin between his thumb and finger, holding my face in place.

I shoved him hard. "I never said that I wasn't into you, Zaiden. Iwasinto you. Iwasattracted to you." I blew out a breath, pausing for a moment. "I am attracted to you, and I hate that my body reacts the way it does when you're around, but you ruined any chance of anything ever happening between us." I took another step back to put more space between us. "Let's just figure out what happened to Kacie so we can end whatever this is." I ripped the towel off the table and tossed it to him.

He wrapped the towel around himself but didn't say anything. He obviously didn't believe me. Hell, I wasn't even sure I believed myself.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I'm going to bed." I didn't wait for him to say anything or try to stop me before I stormed into the house, closing the door between us.

CHAPTER33

ARIELLA

Sliding the coffee holder with three iced caramel Frappuccinos on the small round table outside the school cafe, I dropped into the chair. It was our first day back on campus since the shooting. The athletic hall was still closed until further notice, and all practices except football were canceled, but all classes resumed as normal today, and even though the campus had a different, almost eerie feeling, I was happy for things to get back to normal.

"Oh, thank God." Journey collapsed into the chair across from me, dark circles shadowing her eyes like bruises. She reached for her cup with grabby hands, dramatic as always. "Coffee."

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