“Of course you do,” I say, trying to keep my voice soft. “You have big feelings.”
Spencer thinks for a moment, and then smiles.
“Yeah, I guess I do?” he says, pausing as a student approaches us warily. “If you’re trying to buy from me right now, it’s not happening. Not until we win the elections.”
“Cheap ass!” Mark calls out, snickering, like we didn’t catch him trying to abduct me in London. What a piece of work. He seems to think he’s untouchable, but I know better. It’s just a matter of time before he gets his. I don’t know what the boys plan on doing about it, but they’re not going to let it go.
Not a chance in hell of that happening.By Friday, there’s a buzz humming through the school that I can’t quite puzzle out. Mostly because nobody likes me. Partially, I blame the boys for that. They’ve been super overprotective, but considering I’m being hunted by a murderous cult, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.
“What is going on?” I whisper as Spencer walks me down the hall, squeezing a stress ball in his right hand. I’m not gonna lie: it’s a sperm stress ball. Like, it looks like a giant white sperm. They gave them out for free in health class, and everybody thought they were hilarious. I keep seeing white sperm stress balls everywhere.
“You’ll see,” Spencer says, grinning as he glances over at me. “Church isn’t the only one who can scheme and throw his weight around.”
“Meaning what?” I ask as we head in the direction of the auditorium to cast our votes. They’ll be tallied up by volunteers from the Adamson staff—including my father, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Dave—and the winners will be announced at a special ceremony at the end of the day.
Frankly, I’m not all that hopeful, but none of the boys seem concerned, so I’ve been trying not to let it bother me.
“You’re a real hard-ass, Hargrove,” a boy in a junior’s uniform says, flipping us off as he passes by.
Now I’m really curious to find out what’s going on.
“Chuck-let,” Spencer says, turning and pushing me gently into one of the decorative alcoves that lines the walls of the school. It’s this big stone archway that’s just deep enough for two people to hide in … I mean, if anyone walks by and glances over, you’re screwed, but there’s at least some privacy here. We’ve tested out six or seven of them for, like, research purposes. And obviously at this point, you know that by research purposes, I mean make-out sessions. “Don’t you like a little mystery in your life?”
“Do you?” I retort, letting my bookbag fall to the stone floor, so I can put my arms around Spencer’s neck. He leans over me in that way I like, one of his arms above my head, his lips curved into a feral grin. “Because last time I surprised you by telling you my dick was actually a vagina, you freaked out.” He rolls his eyes at me, but he can’t argue that point, now can he?
“This isn’t a lie though, just a surprise.”
“A surprise that’s going to win us the elections?” I clarify, and the grin is back.
“As soon as we do, we’re going to rain terror down on Mark and all of his idiot friends. Oh, and that Aster chick, too. Either she’s sleeping with a creep or she is a creep herself, I don’t know, but I don’t like her.”
“What are you planning on doing?” I ask as Spencer tucks the sperm-y stress ball into my pocket and I make a face.
“Besides kissing you, you mean?” he pretends to clarify, sliding the fingers of his left hand along the length of my jaw. He cups the back of my head and then moves his other hand to the opposite side, holding me still and stroking his thumbs down my throat. “We can do all sorts of fun things to them. Move their lockers, change their class schedules for next semester, swap their dorm room assignments. Never underestimate the power of petty bullshit. Mark’s already like an ugly pimple ready to burst. If we poke and prod, he’s going to fall apart, and we’ll be able to get him.”
“And by get him …” I start as Spencer laughs, low and throaty, making my toes curl in my shoes. A man shouldn’t be able to smell so good, by the way. It’s making it freakishly hard for me to concentrate.
“Bury him six feet under, in the dead of night, in the old cemetery by the railroad tracks,” Spencer whispers, and then he laughs, moving away from me. I grab onto his blazer and yank him back, kissing him on the mouth and opening my lips for his tongue. Several minutes later, we come up for breath, and he smirks. “Your mouth is a good motivator, Chuck-let, you know that?”
