Page 96 of Illicit Education
But, now that I was down here, I had to do something. Pretending to sort papers in the cabinet, I prayed she’d leave. Or just head straight to the ivy-covered door and disappear into the underground.
She cleared her throat.
Punch me. I plastered a smile on my face and rose to my feet. “Hi, welcome to White Rabbit. How can I help you?”
Scary Stella’s eyes widened in surprise, then they tightened.
I nearly whimpered beneath her death glare, but instead, I squared my shoulders and remembered who the fuck I am.I don’t whimper because of mean girls, thank you very much.
“It’s you,” she said, something in her voice I didn’t recognize. Sadness? Melancholy?
I smiled wider, raising my hands in a lackluster ta-da motion. “It’s me.”
“No.” She shook her head, bringing her fingertips to her collarbone. “It’s you. You're the reason he…” Her words trailed off and her gaze dropped to the counter, then she flicked her eyes back to me with renewed anger. “You’re the reason I’m not allowed to come here.”
Oh shit.My smile fell.
He’d told me he’d stop seeing her if I wanted to move forward with him downstairs, but…
He also said they weren’tdating. He was pretty clear that he didn’tdorelationships. Or girlfriends.
Had he just said that to me because he didn’t want thatwithme?
Confusion made my mind race. “I’m sorry. I don’t…”
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” She scoffed. “Right.” Stella shook her head, assessing me as if this was the first time she was really seeing me. “I should have known. The clothes.” She motioned to my hair, which was still down. “The hair. He hasn’t looked at me since the day you walked into Reed Tower.”
I pushed that statement aside to focus on later. This was not the time for a happy dance.
Her nostrils flared as she glared at me and I registered the redness around them. The swollen eyes.
She’d been crying again.
Or still.
“How long…” She frowned, then gave her head a subtle shake. “Were you fucking him before or after you won the internship spot?”
I gasped. My body rocked back from her words. “I’m not. I didn’t…” I shook my head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I earned that internship.”
She barked out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I bet you did.” Shaking her head, Stella turned, and instead of heading toward the secret entrance to the Rabbit Hole at the back of the shop, thank God, she strode toward the front door, her high heels clicking with each step.
As soon as she was out on the street and the door had closed behind her, I sagged onto the stool.
An hour later, promptly at ten o’clock, the door opened again, only this time, a beautiful man strode inside. After he quickly scanned the store, he closed the door behind him and twisted the lock, then pulled the string attached to the neon sign, turning off the bright pink “We’re Open” sign.
When he turned back to face me, I took him in.
He’d changed out of his three-piece suit and into a deep green, V-neck sweater paired with dark gray jeans and clean white sneakers.
Cabot stalked toward me, kicking up an entire dance troupe of butterflies in my gut.
“Someone could still be in the dressing room,” I said, tilting my head toward the line of dressing rooms on the back wall opposite Mina’s office.
His gaze flicked past me. “Well, that would be a problem. Let’s go look.”
I stepped backwards and he stepped forward, matching each step of mine with one of his own until my back hit the faux-ivy wall. He stopped so close the toes of our shoes nearly kissed. With his eyes locked on mine, he lifted his hand to knock on the only closed door. When no one responded, he cocked an eyebrow.
“We should probably investigate.” I shrugged.