Exaltation (Insight #11)(32)

River liked the alpha males mean, and strong. The hotties that would be all badass in front of the world, stoic even—then downright drool worthy sweet when they had their girl all alone. Conundrum, a challenge—River’s type hands down.

Kade wasn’t any of those things, he never had been, and even right now he was taking too much direction from the boy next to him, who was in fact River’s type. Hawt.

Raven pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t smile, impossible not to do when something clicked for her. “You said you’re hooking up with Kade, right? Who’s that other guy?”

River bit her lip, and angled her stare down at Raven.

Yep, pegged that one.

“Kade asked me to watch him race...he said a friend of his, Dagen, was going to make his car a boss on the track. He was amped about it.”

“Amped. About his friend?” Raven’s grin was nice and slow. She had hope for her girl, hope that she was going to kick up a little dust and have some fun, let the demons of her past rest for now. “Who else has his friend amped up?”

River raised one brow. Her eyes glinted with appreciation as she gazed forward, and continued to dissect the mystery of this Dagen boy that no one knew anything about—not even Kade.

Raven could still hear the music inside so she had every reason to dance in place. River looked down at her from her seat. “You’re high as a kite.”

“Did you see it? I didn’t fall,” Raven said, with a proud smirk. She had never worked so hard on mastering anything before. Spins were the death of her for a hot second. She always let go of Soren and crashed, hard. “Your tolerance for pain is ridiculous,” was Soren’s constant comment when he picked her up each and every time.

“I saw it and I hate you for it. Damn, that boy is criminal—it cannot be legal to look and dance that good,” Kimberly said with snicker.

“We need to get Ash to take him off the regrettable list,” Raven said to River.

She only nodded once. She was really focused on the Firebird.

Raven spun in place and right as she did she stopped cold. What is it with this guy and dark places and crowds? “Mystery man is here.” Right as Raven spoke he edged around the wall so you could only see half of him—not that the move made him look less hot, mind you. He was fit like Soren only taller, thicker. His hair wasn’t as long but it wasn’t short either.

“Where?” River asked as she glanced from the Firebird to Raven.

Raven spun back around. “The corner wall right where everyone and their momma are walking by.”

River furrowed her brow in his direction but then someone revved up an engine and her attention moved back to the firebird. “I told you to kiss him and put him in his place. Prey or predator—there are only two choices in this game, Raven.”

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes, games—screw games.

“Do what? What am I missing?” Kimberly asked.

“Nothing. I have to pass under the school to get to two of my classes and I always end up against this senior and he has a good time with that fact.” I kinda do too.

“Does he, like, grope you or something?”

“Not bad. I mean we are slammed into one another down there, but he’s put his hand on my hip and smelled my hair.”

“Do what?” Kimberly almost shouted.

“Yeah, he knows he’s cute.” Walking sex.

“Which is why I told you to kiss him,” River said again, only partly paying attention. “You walk up to that boy and take control and he will get an attitude adjustment.”

“I don’t get you two,” Kimberly said. “Kissing a boy to punish him?”

“It’s the power struggle. Boys like him think they know a thing or two and just have to make us giggle to give them an in. You show them they don’t and they stop the BS. Then they’re the ones with the goose bumps and can’t think straight.”

“You want to handle this for me? Because I’m not about to make a fool of myself,” Raven said. “I don’t claim to be a master in that department.”

Kissing Soren was one thing. It was an act. Teasing a boy? She wasn’t mean enough to do that.

“Who does?” River said with a sideways glare. “It’s not how good you are, it’s the way you do it.”

“Exactly. Do you want to do this for me?”

“All right here’s the deal,” River said, leaning down to look eye to eye with Raven. “Once we go back to normal on Monday you might not even pass him anymore, which means he had the last laugh. Part of the speech I got today was about making sure I let you rise up when you needed to so in turn you would be able to protect me. Deal with him. Close the chapter.”

“Now I’m totally lost,” Kimberly said.

No one answered her. River was focused on the race which was about to start, and Raven was halfway considering the dare. She was still flying high on adrenaline and half the reason she didn’t do it before, beyond being a chicken, was because he was so freaking tall. On her skates she could control the situation, at least reach to pull him down.

“No weird vibes?” Raven asked.

River glanced to the wall but he had moved to the side more, you could only see his arm, his very well defined, cut with lean muscle arm. It was almost like he was moving away from the girls who were crowding him.