Page 27 of The Casualty of Us
“What can I say?” He shrugs. “I’m good people like that.”
“I think I underestimated you, Graham.” I shake my head with amusement. “You know how to deal.”
His smirk grows to a genuine smile. “So what’s it going to be?”
I purse my lips, thinking it over for a moment before inspiration strikes and leaves me grinning. “Deal.”
He wastes no time in moving in after my acceptance, closing the space between us, and I keep my eyes on him until the last second. Waiting until he’s almost there to turn my head and give him my cheek, a grin still in place on my face as his breath hits it with a laugh.
“Well played, Ophelia Fitzroy, well played.”
He finishes the whisper with a kiss to my cheek, and I tilt my head back to him.
“You never said where.”
“He’ll still be jealous, trust me.”
“We’ll see.” I press my hands to the table and stand. “Be sure to text me the details.”
“As if I could forget.” He shakes his head, laughter still in his eyes. “Can’t wait to see you there.”
“Pleasure doing business with you, Graham.”
I wiggle my fingers at him before spinning on my heel and marching back over to the boys, purposefully not meeting any of their eyes while shaking my hands out to combat the sudden nerves. I slide back into my seat and pick up the tablet immediately, going right back to my notes like nothing big just happened.
“Well?” Holden prods next to me.
I shrug, sucking in a breath to toss out. “I got the invite.”
“Right,” Ollie scoffs, griping petulantly. “And how exactly did you manage that?”
I lift my eyes to him and narrow them warningly, snapping out, “I blinked my sad little kidnapped girl eyes at him, if you must know, Oliver.” He narrows his own back suspiciously, jaw twitching at me with what he’s probably holding in and makingme want to push him. “A thank you would be great, by the way. The next party is on Halloween.”
We stare at each other for probably a solid minute in the silence that follows, our own personal war ensuing in which he conveys that he can’t believe I just let some random guy kiss me, and I remind him that I’m not a child to be bossed around before his eyes finally let up on their narrowing and he sighs grudgingly.
“Thanks, O.”
“You’re very welcome.” I nod graciously before looking back down.
It’s not until after another long silence fills that table that Ollie mutters, “Bet you wish you helped me now.”
And Hayes’s instant whisper of, “You have no idea,” has me grinning down at my notes all through the rest of my studying.
Chapter Seven
OPHELIA - OCTOBER 2012
I pullthe last black tight up over my knee before smoothing down my costume and looking into the mirror, taking in the dark eyeshadow flaring out from around my eyes with a couple of silver crescent moons and the sparkly gloss on my lips. All of it is perfectly paired to go with the witch costume that Marley ordered with a screech the second I told her we were invited to the Ruins—her vampire costume chosen just as meticulously to go with our Gothic theme as well.
My eyes drift down to where the shiny faux leather corset I’m wearing is cinched around the outside of my holey black dress. Pulling the otherwise loose fabric in until it rest at mid-thigh to show off a sliver of skin before the stockings start below it. I reach up to mess my hair up some more before stepping into my wedged combat boots and zipping them up, careful to avoid snagging my draping sleeves on the way back up. My phone buzzes on the counter then, and I look down to see Graham’s name lighting up the screen with a message that has me going to grab it when a knock sounds on my bathroom door.
“Yeah, yeah,” I call out, lifting the phone to read the message. “Don’t start yelling at me, I’m already ready.” The door opens,but I finish reading the instructions before looking up with a grin that falls on my next breath. “Not Marley.”
“Nope.” Hayes leans against the doorframe with a small lift of his lips, messy black locks falling a little over his forehead and the skeletal costume makeup there. “Just the grim reaper.”
I flick my eyes down to the Doubtful Souls concert tee he’s wearing with some ripped up jeans before lifting them to his again. “Appropriate.”
“I thought so.” His dimples cut deep for a split second. “That your boyfriend?”
