Page 30 of Hate Game

“Who says they’re not?”

“Your mom.”

“Huh. Good thing my grades aren’t in the shitter, eh?”

“They are. You’re failing two classes, and the others are C’s or D’s.”

“Stop being a pessimist, Rue.”

Am I? I rack my brain, wondering if that’s the reason I don’t have a boyfriend. Or is it because I’m more of a friend than girlfriend material? I’m bopped on my nose. I blink. I’ve stopped walking, and Malice is blocking my view of his parents’ house, his gaze on my face.

“You’re thinking hard. Care to share?”

And humiliate myself? “No.” I pivot and head back to his place. The restlessness swirling inside me isn’t going away. “Three, you’re to do two good deeds. It can’t be a one-time thing. It must beconsistent.”

“Done.”

“Done, as in you’ve been doing good things?”

He nods.

I’m floored. “What are they?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

“Very mature, Malice.”

We walk side by side.

“Girls dig my maturity.”

I doubt it’s his maturity they find mouth-watering. His hand brushes mine. I cross my arms.

“Finally, get a job.”

“Holy shit, my parents made this too easy.” He whoops and hollers. “You’ll be out of my hair in no time, Regret.”

Wow, he doesn’t hold back his excitement, does he? “Once you have a job, you can have a girl over.” I glance sidelong at him and wish I hadn’t. He smiles wide, and my, oh my, Malice is handsome.

“Are you saying my biggest barrier is my grades?”

“Yes.”

“Done.” He repeats the word three more times. It’s like hearing a hammer strike a nail each time he says it.

Getting over him should be easy when he wants nothing to do with me. “Thanks for checking up on me,” I say.

“You’ll tell me when you leave again, right?”

He searches my face for answers, his face too close for comfort.

I shrug. He can't get me on a technicality if I don’t answer him with words.

“Rue.”

He blows out an exasperated sigh and does this mesmerizing and confusing thing with his hands, clutching and loosening his grip on my shoulders.

At what point had he put his hands on me? I can’t recall the moment. “Why do you care?”

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