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“No harm in me talking to Will here.” His smile reaches his eyes and they’re sparkling when they meet mine. God, he’s handsome. He has a nice smile. Straight white teeth. “See ya later this afternoon?”
“Maybe,” I tell him, nibbling on my lower lip.
“A girl of mystery. I like it.” He starts walking backward, heading away from us, his gaze never straying from mine when he says, “See you around, Lancaster.”
He finally turns and strides away, his steps brisk.
Iris remains quiet until there’s plenty of distance between us and Rhett before she finally says something.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing.” I start toward the creative arts building, where my next class is. The lunch period is practically over anyway so I may as well head on over. “We were just—talking.”
“Flirting?”
That single worded question fills me with disappointment. The fact that she automatically assumes he was flirting with me tells me he does this often. “Not really.”
“He’s a giant flirt. Player. Whatever you want to call it. Just watch out for him. He’s already got a reputation.” Iris laughs, shaking her head. “He had one within the first couple weeks starting here last year.”
“Seriously?” I don’t want to know anything about this.
All lies. Of course, I want to know.
“Yep.” Iris nods.
“Did he date every girl on campus or what?”
“The minute he showed up, all of the senior girls were on him. You know how it is when there’s new meat.” Iris rolls her eyes.
I sort of do. I experienced it myself when I first arrived at the school in Italy. Plenty of the boys were interested in me, but that wasn’t my intention when I was there. I was all about being a serious student, learning more and focusing on my classes. Oh, and making friends, which I did.
Get a boyfriend though? Not really. I had a few makeout experiences with boys when we would go out to the nightclubs, but nothing major. No boy made me feel all shivery inside—those kissing sessions were more exploratory and I was always worried I was doing something wrong. When I tried to explain it to Iris, she told me I was too much in my head, and I’m sure she’s right.
I’ve never had a kiss that made me forget all my thoughts. Where I could just lose myself and … feel.
“Rhett went out with a bunch of senior girls?” I try my best to keep my voice causal. Like I don’t really care, even though I totally do. I want all the details. Why, I’m not exactly sure. To torment myself?
He’s not my type, but he is pretty to look at.
“I don’t know if I would define what he did with all of those girls as ‘going out.’” Iris makes air quotes and she knows how much I hate that.
“What do you call it then?”
“Hooking up? Fucking around? Getting laid?” Iris starts to laugh, no doubt thanks to the horrified expression on my face. “Stop acting like a prude.”
“I’m not a prude.” My face is warm and I wish I wasn’t so prone to blushing. “I just can’t believe he would hook up with so many girls.”
“You know how rumors can be. The number is probably inflated. He’s really charming though. Like, he knows just what to say.” We slow our steps as we draw closer to the building. “You know we’ve never discussed in depth what happened when you were in Italy.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t that big of a deal.” I shrug. “You know pretty much everything that I did.”
“Did you have sex with anyone over there?”
“What?” I swivel my head left and right, making sure no one is nearby to hear her ask that question. “No. Of course not. You’d be the first person I told if I did.”
“I was kind of hoping you were keeping a dirty little secret.” Her disappointment is obvious. “What a bummer.”
“Did you—have sex when I was gone?” I’m whispering so low I can barely hear myself.
