I mean, not because Spencer wears it or anything … I just like the smell.
Yep, that's all there is to it.
“You really want the truth to come out?” he teases, raising a dark brow. The seductive curve of his mouth does all sorts of horrible things to me, and I shiver. When I go to beat a hasty retreat however, he grabs on and holds me there, pressing his mouth hard against mine.
Heat races through me, and I shiver. There's something about the taste of this boy's mouth …
“Aww, look, Spencer's gone gay,” a passing student says, and his friends snicker. “But seriously man, there are way hotter guys here if you want a taste.” The dude grabs his junk and Spencer flips him off, grabbing onto the back of my head to stop me from ending our kiss. Part of me is embarrassed to be seen smacking lips with Spencer Hargrove, and the other half … loves it.
“Come on, man,” Tobias grumbles, and we pull apart. Our eyes meet, and a shiver travels through me that has nothing to do with the weather. I glance over and find the twins watching us. Micah smirks, like he's scented a challenge, while Tobias frowns.
“This symbol looks so familiar,” Ranger grumbles as Church takes a picture with his phone and does a reverse image search. He narrows his eyes as he scrolls through photos. “I swear I've seen it somewhere before.” Ranger reaches up and puts his fingers to his forehead, sapphire eyes watching the woods just beyond the path.
We're sitting outside on a cluster of large, decorative rocks near the sign that directs students to the academy's main building. You'd think they were just, you know, rocks, but dad said he had to approve a landscaping bill for several thousand dollars to have them delivered.
We figured we may as well enjoy them.
“Nothing's coming up for me,” Church says, backing out of the page he's on and typing in a description of the symbol into a search engine. W-shaped rune is what he taps out. Not bad. It looks a bit like a trident to me. “It’s a little like the Greek letter psi, or maybe even the old Norse rune algiz.”
I back up off of Spencer's lap, and leave his, uh, boner to deal with later.
He watches me go and then takes a bite of a green apple, eyes taking me in as I sit back down on my own rock. I can still hardly believe he's back, that he's alive. That we’re dating, all official like. I wonder how long it'll take to really sink in.
“Okay, but if it is either of those things, what's the point?” Spencer asks, pausing to take another bite of his apple. “A Greek letter? A Norse rune? What the hell does any of that have to do with Jenica or Chuck or Eugene, for that matter?”
“Maybe it doesn't mean anything?” Micah says, taking the rock back and studying it. “Maybe we're reading too much into this? Obviously some old money assholes didn't want Jenica attending their precious boys' school, and it's the same with Charlotte.” He goes to toss the rock and Ranger stops him, snatching his wrist and taking the stone back.
“I've seen this before. I don't remember where, but give me some time and I'll figure it out.” He stands up, this big, dark figure with razored black hair and the most intense blue eyes I've ever seen, and then he spins around with an expression so serious I almost recoil. “Now get up. We're making a Baked Alaska for Eugene's memorial tomorrow.”
Ranger turns and takes off toward the academy, and the rest of us exchange looks.
“He's not going to strip down and wear one of his fluffy aprons, is he?” I ask, and Micah smirks.
“He just might. Why? Did you want to see?'
Spencer makes a scoffing sound under his breath as I stand up and stretch my arms over my head, yawning. When he rises to his feet, towering over me with a smile, I feel my heart start to thump. His turquoise eyes sparkle as he leans in close and puts his cheek near mine, lips brushing up against my ear.
“Let's hang out together, just you and me. You know, after Culinary Club.”
“Spencer,” I start, but then the twins are grabbing him by the arms and dragging him down the path. I bite my lower lip as I think about what Tobias said to me in the closet the other night.
“I wasn't going to say anything out of respect for Spencer, but I kind of have a crush on Charlotte. When he comes back, he might have to fight me for her affections.”
Wow.
I twist my hands together and follow after the boys, heading up the stone steps in the academy building to the kitchen where we always have our club meetings. Hard to believe these asswads dressed in robes and threw spiders on me just a few months ago, huh?
