Page 40 of White Hot Kiss
“I do, don’t I?” Stacey sighed dreamily. “Mom didn’t screw up my coffee like she always does. You know how I get when she does, which is almost every freaking morning, but today. No. Today was hazelnut day and my world is bright and shiny. Anyway, what did Zayne do?”
“What?” I lifted my head, frowning.
Her stare was sympathetic. “Zayne is the only person who makes you cry.”
“I wasn’t crying.”
She brushed her bangs back. “Whatever. You need to get over him and get with a hottie.” She paused, nodding at the door. “Like him, for example. He’d leave you crying for a whole different reason.”
“I wasn’t crying over—” I cut myself off when I realized she was gesturing at Roth. “Wait, how would he make me cry?”
Stacey’s eyes widened. “Are you for real? Do I need to spell it out for you?”
I glanced back at Roth. Like Stacey, my classmates had stopped what they were doing to just watch him. There was a natural swagger to the way he walked. Suddenly I got what Stacey meant. Turning beet-red, I turned back to my book.
She giggled.
It was a lab day. We were partnered with Roth, much to Stacey’s delight. Surprisingly, he ignored me for most of the class and chatted with Stacey. She told him everything except her bra size, and I sincerely believed that if the bell hadn’t rung, she would have told him that, too.
My craptastic mood followed me through the rest of the day. At lunch, I pushed my food around my plate while Stacey engaged Eva in an epic stare down.
Sam poked me with his plastic fork. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you know every northern state has a Springfield as a city?”
I felt a grin tug at my lips. “No, I didn’t. Sometimes I wish I had half the memory you do.”
His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. “How long do you think Stacey is going to give Eva the stink eye?”
“I can hear you,” Stacey responded. “She’s been spreading some nasty rumors. I think I’m going to break into her house later and cut her hair off. Then maybe glue it to her face.”
Sam grinned. “That’s kind of an odd form of retaliation.”
“Yeah, that is weird.” I took a sip of my water.
Stacey rolled her eyes. “If you heard the shit she’s been saying, you’d sign up for the face-gluing.”
“Oh, is this about me putting out after one beer or being a servant in my own house?” I twisted the cap back on the water bottle, briefly considering chucking it at Eva’s face.
Sam took his glasses off. “I hadn’t heard this.”
“That’s because you don’t hear anything, Sam. Eva’s been saying some vicious stuff about Layla. I’m not down with that.”
A fine shiver ran down my spine, cutting off my response. I looked to my left, shocked to find Roth standing there. This was the first time I’d seen him in the cafeteria. For some reason, I didn’t think he ate.
Stacey didn’t even try to hide her surprise. “Roth! You came!”
“What?” I felt as confused as Sam looked.
Roth dropped down in the empty seat beside me, a smug grin on his face. “Stacey invited me to lunch during bio. Weren’t you paying attention?”
I shot Stacey a disbelieving look. She just smiled. “How nice of you,” I said slowly.
Sam’s gaze bounced between Stacey and me before settling on Roth. He stuck his hand out awkwardly. I wanted to knock it back. “I’m Sam. Nice to meet you.”
Roth shook his hand. “You can call me Roth.”