Page 60 of The Secret Girl (Adamson All-Boys Academy 1)
January in the Northeast is freaking cold. That brief little stint back in California took away any residual resistance I had to the weather. The big stone hallways of Adamson Academy feel like ice caverns as I shiver my way from the last class of the day to the Culinary Club meeting.
“How long is this damn heater going to be out?” Spencer snaps, slamming some pots and pans on the counter. “Those assholes have been working on it all day.”
“For the amount the school's paying them, you'd think it'd be done already,” Church adds mildly, sipping a cup of coffee as I hip bump my way into the room. His amber eyes catch on mine as I chuck my backpack onto the floor, and pull the new North Face jacket I got for Christmas a little tighter around me. It's the only good Christmas memory I came back from California with.
“That's the problem with you upper crust types,” I say as I pull a cookbook close and pretend not to care that Ranger's watching me with narrowed, sapphire eyes. The twins have been teasing me all day, but it's a light, mild sort of teasing that doesn't really bother me. What sort of game they're playing, I don't know, but it's better than having a jar of spiders dumped on me, so I'll take it. “Those men are out there in the freezing cold busting their asses to fix a boiler system that's been around since the turn of the century. Cut them some slack.”
“Wow, you sure came back with an extra bite of asshole,” Spencer snaps, but I keep my gaze focused on the cookbook in front of me. I can't look at him, not after all the daydreaming I've been doing about his kisses. Those turquoise eyes, that silver ash hair, the heat of his hands. “You must've had a good time with your girlfriend, huh?”
“They broke up,” the twins announce as I fling the kitchen door open with gusto. “We witnessed it.” They both hold up their hands and shrug in a placating gesture.
“Actually, Tobias punched Cody, the guy Monica was sleeping with,” I say, flipping the pages and looking for some sort of casserole dish that I can make to stay warm. Now that I know we're actually earning extra credits for this class, I'm trying a bit harder. If I play my cards right, I won't end up in summer school again this year.
“Are you fucking serious?” Spencer asks, and I glance up to see him looking between the twins and me in confusion. “You were all together for break?”
The twins both sigh and exchange a look before turning back to Spencer. When I flick a quick glance over my shoulder at them, I know right away that Micah is the one on the left.
“Our mother works in Santa Cruz.” They point at each other again, and it reminds me of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Very whimsical. But then Micah gives a cruel smirk and ruins the illusion.
“How do you think his dad got the job?” He points at me next, and then comes up to stand on my left while Tobias takes up a spot on my right. Tobias flips over to a section on souffles and taps one with his finger.
“Let's cook this.”
“It says difficulty level challenging,” I say, trying to ignore that sweet-tart scent of theirs. If I were the poetic type, I might say they smell like insatiability. Yum. I mean … no. No, thank you.
“Don't be a wuss,” Micah purrs, whipping the book away from me while his brother goes to the fridge to grab the ingredients. Spencer is staring at me like I'm from a foreign planet, and then … his mouth twitches, and he lets this lascivious little smile take over his lush lips.
“Did you do what I asked? Did you compare my kiss to hers?”
The twins both pause to look at me. Hell, even Church glances my way. Ranger just turns away, dressed in a frilly white and blue gingham apron that makes him look like Dorothy from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
“She was cheating with Cody.” And that's the truth right there. They both cheated on me in a way. And I did friend-breakup with Monica, so technically I'm not lying. “Anything else that happened was irrelevant.”
Spencer slams his palms on the counter and makes me jump, smirking at me like a wolf that's just scented prey.
“Bullshit. If you didn't like the way I kissed, you'd tell me. You're a too honest for his own good sort of dickhead, Chuck Carson.” He comes around the counter, handsome as all hell in his blue blazer, champagne colored tie, and slacks. But also … a little bit scary.
Scary because I want him to touch me so bad that I know if he does, I'm in trouble. He'll touch me, and I'll forget to keep my secret, and he'll keep touching me until he finds out.
