She slides upright, blankets falling from her slim shoulders. Christ. Just the sight of her skin makes me hard.
She notices. And pats my shoulder. "I'll have to do something about that just as soon as Mr. Langley finishes droning about biological functions."
I yawn, jerking my chin downward. "That's a biological function I hope no one will ever drone about."
"Only rave about."
And with that, she's gone, and with her the lightness in my chest that accompanies her presence. And I remember who I am. How much I don't deserve her.
How little I now care.
She's mine, and I don't
know how I'll ever let her go.
TANNER
I'm not as much of an idiot as I seem.
Well, okay, I'm a pretty big idiot. But not so big that I don't realize what's going on between May and Sebastian. That I don't realize it's big. We're talking about the girl who's sworn off love since she was thirteen, who can't go to romance movies because everyone in the theater gets annoyed at her derisive sni
ffing through the whole thing.
Possibly everyone including me. Hey, I'm a romantic guy. I like the cheesy plots and
cliché endings. Mostly because the girl always ends up with the guy who's been there for her all along. Like she suddenly realizes what she's missing.
I never expected that to happen for me.
I guess my problem is that I accepted May wasn't into love. Not so much the fact that it might be just me she isn't into.
It's just, Sebastian? Does it have to be him? The classic brooding douchebag? I'm gonna go ahead and hope that there's
more to him than meets the eye, because the only thing that meets my eye is pure unadulterated asshole.
But May's always been able to see the good in people like that.
I'd be a dick if I didn't support her. I'm her one good friend, and I'm not even flattering myself, which I admit is a habit of mine. Yeah, I refuse to be a shitty friend. I'll just find a new stress-relieving hobby to start up whenever I see them together.
Maybe knitting.
My thoughts are getting so stupid that I force myself out of bed, scratching my bare chest. It's almost time for dinner. I'll text May and maybe she'll invite Sebastian and maybe I'll be able to keep from whacking him in the face over cheeseburgers. That would be a success.
I'm just about ready for some success.
Barely five minutes later there's a knock on my door and fate must be pissed at me, because May is standing right there, smiling at me.
I try to act like I wasn't just fantasizing about shoving her boyfriend's head through a wall. "Yo. I was just about to text you. Dinner?"
"Actually, I was hoping we could talk first." She pushes inside, her face flushed and nervous.
Oh. It's that, then.
She hooks and unhooks her pinky fingers together, a gesture she's had since she was five. "Look, Tanner, I wanted to come out and tell you because I didn't want you to hear it somewhere else, and I know why this would be hard—”
"Cut the movie buildup," I say, as nicely as I can, because I just feel sad. "You're dating Sebastian?"
She makes a confused sound. "Is there a point when you call it dating? I kind of have no clue how this works."
"Nobody does." Least of all me. "But you're dating. I see how he looks at you." And how you look at him.
She looks down and then up. "I feel shitty knowing this is probably shitty for you."
"Don't feel shitty." I yawn, scratch my chest again. Casual. "You're my friend. First and foremost I want you to be happy. And you're not obligated to have a thing for me just because I had a thing for you."
"Had?" she asks. I try not to notice the hopeful note in her voice.
"Yeah. I'm over it." I can talk myself into that. "
Opal's kind of cute, actually. Been thinking of seeing what's up in her life."
May brightens like you wouldn't believe. "We could go on double dates."
Somehow I cannot picture that ending well. "Maybe we'll take it a little slower than that. Like I'll start calling him Seb first."
"I think that might annoy him," she points out.
"Good. I mean, uh, just kidding. I'll stick to the three syllables. Even though, if you ask me, three syllables is too many in a name for a guy who mostly answers people with one."
"He's shy." She folds her arms. I realize how ready she is to defend him. That alone makes me figure there's probably something in him worth defending.
Maybe this won't be so hard.
But I can't make it totally easy. "Shy. That's a word for it. A shy wallflower. With a glare that can melt stone."
"Luckily you're not made out of stone." She swallows. "Which is why you'll be nice to him. As a favor to me. Not many people are."
"Because he's—”
"Don't say it's because he's not nice to anyone. Because I know that makes sense. But all he needs is a chance." She taps her cheek, thinking. "I'll buy you beer for—”
"No bribes." I hold up my hand. "Of course I'll be nice to my best friend's boyfriend. And save the beer for yourself. You'll need it, all the stares you'll be getting when this campus figures out who you're dating."
"Stares are fine. I don't care." She flaps a hand. "You are a really freaking great friend. You know?"
"I'm a really freaking great everything. But I'd be even better with food on a plate in front of me right now. You know?"
"Okay," she laughs. "Dinner, then. I'll invite Opal."
“Not your new boyfriend?” I hold my breath, realizing what I’ve invited.
She looks at me carefully before smiling. “And my new boyfriend.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SEBASTIAN
At dinner I manage a polite smile at five of Tanner’s stupid jokes. A record for me. It seems to make May happy, which makes me happy, although
Opal’s presence makes me uneasy. I can’t forget what she said to me when May disappears. And when May’s not looking, I catch her staring at me with a strange expression. Almost hungry.
By the end of it I’m exhausted, though that’s due more to the fact that I’m not used to this much conversation. Not used to this lack of hostility. It’s odd, but not entirely unpleasant. Mostly it just makes me want to sleep.
Which I do. I don’t wake up until late next morning, when three sharp raps at my door make it impossible for my eyes to stay shut. I yank on a shirt and then wonder if that was a mistake—if it’s May, she might be here for something that requires a lack of clothes.
But it’s not May.
It’s my father.
The shock roots my feet to the ground as he pushes past me like he always does, trailed by two of his bodyguards—unsmiling men I remember from an unsmiling childhood. They look like each other. My father looks like me. An older, harder version. His hair shorter. His temper, too.
There is absolutely no reason why my father would take time out of his schedule to come to my school, to reinsert himself into my life. Unless—
“Sebastian,” he says curtly, scanning my room for disorganization instead of looking at me. “This is not a frivolous visit.”
Nothing he does is frivolous. I keep my voice even. “My grades are still flawless. I would think the fact that you’ve been sending Renée to check up on me would confirm that.”
“But René
e hasn’t been telling me everything.” The disgust in his voice is palpable. He still won’t look at me. He hasn’t, not really, since Mom died. “A fact I’ve discovered recently. Fortunately I have other ways of keeping an eye on my assets.”
It takes me a second to realize he’s talking about me.
“So why are you here?” I say coldly.
“Don’t take that tone with me.” His voice drops low, vicious. “You know why I’m here.”
As a matter of fact, I do. But I don’t want it to be true. It’s the one thing I wanted to avoid, though I knew it was impossible. The real reason I should have stayed far, far away from May Young.
My father keeps his tone tight, controlled. His bodyguards stand by silently. “You know what you are. You are my only heir. You know what I’ve raised you for—to take over the company when I need you to. I’ve put a goddamn lot of work into that company. I’ve put a lot of work into you.”
“I’m not any different now.” Possibly the biggest lie I’ve ever told him. “I’m still prepared to—”
“Prepared?” He lets out a dry snort. “If you’re wasting your time messing around with a girl so pathetic she doesn’t have a cent to her name, you’re not prepared for what I’m talking about.”
Fire forces the words out of my mouth. “Don’t you dare talk about her that way.”
My father sweeps his arm in an outward motion, like I’ve just presented the deciding evidence in a courtroom, but his teeth are gritted. “See what you’ve become? Insubordinate. Ungrateful. Willing to throw everything away for a common brat.”
I try to wrestle my breathing under control. “If you just met her—”
“What the hell does it matter what
she’s
like?” He spits
she
like it’s a dirty word. “She’s ruining you. All the effort I’ve put into making you what you are.”
Were,
I want to correct him. And what I
was
was a monster. A heartless machine. I don’t want to be that way again. But with his every word, I can feel myself closing off—hardening to protect myself.
“Have you forgotten what you’re like?” His lip curls. I wonder if
I’m capable of looking that cruel. “Other people don’t want to be around you. You’re frightening. Poisonous to others. They’re afraid of you. You’ll always be alone, Sebastian, but that’s the way it should be, because it means you’re right for this job.”
I close my eyes momentarily. “That’s not how she sees me.”
He’s startled. I can see it in the way the fury locks up his features. “And does she know the truth about your mother? How all she did was love you, and you got her killed?”
A cold chill runs through me.
“Learn from your past. People who love you,” he plants a finger against my chest, sneering, “are stupid.”
“What are you going to do?” I hate the way my voice comes out—robotic, but I can’t fix it.
“Make sure this girl never speaks to you again.” He straightens his jacket. “I’m good at getting people to believe what I want them to, you know. It’s how I climbed to where I am now. I’ll just remind her of who you are. What you’ve done. She’ll want nothing to do with you.”
A month ago, I would have believed him entirely. But now I know May. “That won’t work on her.”
He darkens at the contradiction. “Then I’ll use the resources at my disposal to
convince
her otherwise.”
He means he’ll threaten her. Threaten her family. Hurt her. I can’t let that happen. I promised myself I wouldn’t let her get hurt because of me.
This is all my fault. I knew what he would do if he found out. But I let myself get close to her anyway, like a selfish, spoiled brat.
I step forward, and as I do, I realize that I’ve grown taller than him. My voice comes out so threatening it’
s almost unfamiliar. “Don’t go near her. I won’t let you.”
This time, he’s so surprised that he loses
his grasp on his expression for a second. His eyes actually widen.
Then he strikes me across the face. The blow knocks me backward onto the floor.
For a moment I gasp, dizzy, and then my vision clears.
“You can’t stop me from doing anything,” he says coolly.
Then he turns and goes, gesturing first to his bodyguards, who close the door behind him and stand like they’re carved out of granite.
I eye both of them and crack my knuckles. Granite or not, I’m getting out of here.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
MAY
Opal leaves early for class, so I have the room to myself. That’s the nice thing about taking a lot of evening classes. I’m about to call Sebastian and ask if he wants to take advantage of the empty space, but right as I’m reaching for my phone, it rings. The number is unfamiliar—so is the area code.
“Hello?”
“Is this May Young?” The voice is cool, clipped, but somehow familiar.
“Yeah, that’s me.” I reach for my comb and rake it through my hair, waiting.
“This is Anthony Crane. I understand you’ve become acquainted with my son?”
If I expected anything from Sebastian’s father, it wasn’t this. Everything I’ve heard about the man jolts to the forefront of my mind.
My hand freezes halfway through my hair. “You could say that.”
“I’m sure I could,” he says dryly. Then he clears his throat. “I wanted to invite you to brunch with me today. It’s not often I can get away from work to visit Sebastian, but it seemed important that I meet you. I’d love a chance to get to know the girl he’s taken an interest in.”