Toxic (Denazen #2)(21)

Jade gave him a dismissive glare, then turned to Kale, smiling. “I’m qualified for all kinds of things.”

Oh. Yeah. We were gonna come to blows.

“You’re the ex, right?” Jade leaned back, grinning at Alex. “You and Dez make a cute couple. I can totally see the sparks between you two.”

“Yeah,” I said, letting my head fall to the table. “And hopefully they’ll set Alex’s head on fire.”

“Ouch,” he gasped, banging a fist against the tabletop. “Brutal, Dez.”

Kale’s lips twisted into a snarl. “There is nothing between Dez and Alex.”

Maybe I should have stayed in bed. The four of us locked in the same room for six hours, five days a week?

This was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.





8


By what would have been fifth period, my concentration was shot. All I could think about was Kale. And Jade. And Alex. Our weekdays were going to make one hell of a soap. And probably a messy bloodbath.

“You can take a thirty-minute break. Stretch your legs, grab a drink.” Ginger pointed to me. “But stay inside the hotel.”

Crap.

Obviously, I was stuck here. Turning to Kale, I said, “I’m gonna grab a coffee from the kitchen, then meet you in the common room?”

He hesitated but nodded and turned to Jade, who was trying desperately to get his attention by chattering about the thing he was most interested in. Gaining control over his ability. She couldn’t wait to get started and knew he’d pick it up right away. Blah blah blah.

Lingering in the doorway, I watched the two of them for a moment. Tabs. I was keeping tabs on my boyfriend. When the hell did I turn into one of those girls? On one hand, considering the situation, I could argue that it was for safety’s sake. Something about Jade didn’t sit right with me—and not just that she was hot for my guy. When she wasn’t eye-humping Kale, her eyes darted every which way, almost like she was casing the place. Or committing the hotel’s layout to memory.

On the other hand, it was obsessive. Sparked mainly because of Jade and her obvious drooling. Seriously. The girl needed a damned bib and bucket.

Jealousy. I’d never been jealous of anyone before. There’d been that girl with Alex at Roudey’s, but that was more hurt than jealousy. Jealousy stemmed from insecurity, and that had never been me.

I left before I could do or say something stupid. When I passed the lobby, Rosie was standing by her desk, arms folded. She gave me a quick shake of her head and pointed toward the kitchen. What, did they think I was going to try to bust my way out? They had to guard the exits? Jeez. Talk about trust issues.

Then again, I did have a reputation.

Ignoring her, I made my way toward the kitchen. Rosie smelled like something from the deepest recesses of a cheap department store perfume counter and might not be the most personable human on earth, but the girl was a coffee addict. The good stuff, too. She kept a stash hidden in an old Folgers jar under the sink. When I got to the kitchen, I couldn’t help smiling. For all her bristling and bitchy demeanor, there was a pot of her secret stash waiting for me, my XtreamScream 2010 mug sitting next to it as if in invitation. I poured the coffee, inhaling its calming aroma, then fished my cell out.

“O.M.G. I heard the news before I left for class this morning. Rosie told me. She was in total Bitch Heaven,” Kiernan gushed into her cell before I could even speak. “She went on and on about how Kale had finally met a nice girl.”

I leaned against the counter and dumped the sugar shaker over my cup, trying hard not to snort. Rosie knew damn well Kiernan would tell me what she’d said. “Tell me about it. Total nightmare. This expert Ginger brought in? She’s all over Kale.”

“Are you serious?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Please tell me she’s a woofer.”

“So not. Total hottie.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”

“So she was, what, dribbling on him right there?” Kiernan whispered into the phone.

“Drooling,” I huffed. “Like a damn faucet.”

“Not cool! What’re you gonna do?”

I eyed the doorway, eager to get down to the common room, but I needed to vent. If I kept this bottled up, there was a chance Jade wouldn’t survive the day. “What can I do? She’s here to help Kale.”

“Sure she is. And I’m Ke$ha.”

“I trust him.”

“Oh, no disagreement there, chickie. That boy thinks you invented air.”

I knew Kale only had kisses for me, but hearing someone else say it made me feel a little better. “I’m just gonna have to suck it up.”

“Well, you know I got your back, girl. Right?”

“I know.” I lifted the cup to my lips and took a small sip. Not enough sugar. I tipped the shaker over again and sighed, watching a stream of white grains disappear beneath the dark liquid. “It gets worse. Alex is here.”

“There as in, at the hotel?”

Satisfied with the sugar content, I made my way into the hall and out to the lobby. “Here as in, he made up some bullshit excuse to finish high school, and Ginger is letting him sit in on classes.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “Even after everything that happened at that party in June? How’s Kale taking it?”