Page 98 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
I’m taking that to be a sarcastic ‘ha’
you’d be taking it correctly.
it’s… probably not your scene
Mom
anywhere you are is my scene
leave the flirting to me,Romeo
Mom
why?? I think I’m getting better at it ;)
“Please,” Jade said, sharp enough that my focus pulled back in. “Who remembers? It was weeks ago. We pick who we think would fit best.”
“Wow, so Madison fits Peak in High School the best, then?” Lacey’s eyes slid to me as she tipped her head against Landon’s. “I guess you got us wrong, though.”
A small breath escaped me at the bluntness of her words, but it was funny.Madison fits Peak in High School the best.It didn’t hit me as hard as it had in the past. The words were not earth-shattering or humiliating. For some reason, in the moment that I was waiting for Logan to text me back, the label felt easy to shake off.
Maybe that exposure therapy was working.
Honestly, I understood a bit of Lacey’s barbed defensiveness. She was in a room full of people who could be snakes in disguise. I didn’t know her history with Ashton, but it was clear he was slithering around her ankles the same way Kyle was sitting at mine.
I’d never tell Jade, but yeah, I understood Lacey a little.
And when Lacey left to the kitchen to get a drink, everyone jumped in on Landon.
“So, Landon.” Jade crossed one leg over the other, zeroing in on him. “Why her?”
Landon frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ashton swung around the back of Gina’s chair, folding his arms across his chest. “C’mon, dude. It’s obvious.”
“I’m just saying.” Jade gave her head a slow shake. “You guys don’t seem that close.”
“Similar,” I cut in. The last thing I wanted was for things to getmoretense, especially since I had Logan waiting on me. A smooth getaway would be impossible if things blew up. “You don’t seem thatsimilar.”
Except Jade seemed dead set on things goingboom. “You’re only dating her because of the list,” Jade said, and tipped her head patronizingly at him. “We all know it, Landon. Don’t you think it’s alittlepathetic to stoop as low asLacey Churchill?”
Landon’s cheeks pinked, but for the first time since I’ve met him, it wasn’t with shyness—it was withanger. The fire blazed so obviously in his eyes that I did a double-take. I’dneverseen Landon angry before. Irritated after a bad game, annoyed with Ashton’s antics, but never angry.
“Don’t ever,” he murmured in a barely restrained tone, “evertalk about her like that. Say whatever you want about me, but keep her name out of your mouth.”
The room fell absolutely silent. I couldn’t even hear Kyle’s open-mouthed breathing. The cheerleaders on the couches huddled together, as if bracing themselves for the showdown Landon’s words almost guaranteed.
I looked over at Connor, hoping he’d diffuse the situation like he always did, but he simply looked down into his drink. Was hesmiling? Was hecrazy?
“What were we talking about?” Lacey asked as she waltzed into the living room, unwittingly bursting the bubble of tension as she returned to her seat on Landon’s lap, holding both of their drinks.
I could’ve slumped with relief, but of course Jade wouldn’t let things go. Not that easily. She was a dog with a bone, jaw locked on. “Have you two even kissed yet?”
Lacey didn’t even blink. “Of course we have.”
“Prove it. Kiss him right now for us.”
I opened my mouth, but Lacey beat me to it. “You’re into that sort of thing?”
