Page 137 of Cruel Elite (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 3)

The question of what we’ll do now that high school is over has been hanging over us ever since Penny got her acceptance letter to Northeastern.

But Penny hasn’t dared ask the question. She doesn’t want to pressure me.

“I’m going to go find Haley. I need to pee,” she says, spinning away from me and disappearing into the crowd.

Despite their past differences, Haley and Penny have grown closer the last few months.

J.C. suggested they could be having an affair, and I shut it down. That’s just his wishful thinking.

Spank bank material,as he would say.

As soon as Penny is gone, J.C. pulls me into a game of beer pong, the soundtrack to which is Caleb complaining about rings from the cups being left on the table.

We win two matches before I finally pull myself away and go to find Penny.

“This is our last party together,” J.C. shouts. “Can’t you forget about Penny for five minutes?”

I ignore him and head downstairs.

The party in the basement is more subdued than upstairs. The music is a distant thumping, and everyone is sitting around in a circle, chatting and drinking.

A few people wave to me, but I make it clear I’m not here to chat. I scan the room, searching for Penny.

Then, I see her, sitting with a few other girls on an L-shaped couch drinking a bright pink wine cooler.

May in Texas is already blazing hot, so Penny’s in a long, flowing sundress with two high slits up the front of both of her thighs. The neckline is low, revealing her perfect cleavage, and the whole thing is tied up with a cute bow right between her breasts.

She’s gorgeous. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

Every time I see her, it feels like the first time.

But this moment really takes me back.

Especially when Penny turns to me, her eyes searching before she even finds me, like she can feel me watching her.

Our eyes meet, she smiles, and it is freshman year all over again.

I walk towards her, purposefully, and she excuses herself from her friends and meets me halfway. “Sorry, I got caught up talking. Did you need something?”

“You.”

She flushes, and I pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger and press my lips to hers gently.

It’s not lost on me that the basement of Finn’s house is where Penny and I took the first baby steps of our relationship.

Being here again, with her, feels like coming full circle.

“Truth or dare?”

Penny pulls back and looks up at me, a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of her pink mouth. “Dare.”

“I dare you to go with me into that storage closet.”

I don’t need to point out which one. Penny grabs my hand and pulls me across the room into the closet.

The light that illuminated the space four years ago is still there.

With the door shut, blocking out the noise of the party, and the red mood lighting, I feel just as giddy as I did back then.

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