Untouched (Bay Falls High, #1)(37)

“Night, night, girl,” he whispered.

The corner of his lip touched the corner of my lip.

And then he was gone too.

Leaving me alone with Barr.

Without warning or question, Barr reached across the seat and slipped his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me toward him.

My lips parted with a sigh.

Don’t fucking kiss me.

Oh, fuck, who am I kidding? Kiss me.

Let all the bad boys kiss me.

Let them ruin me…

I’m not staying forever, right?

Barr was close enough that I could taste the smoke lingering on his lips and tongue.

“I’ll give you that ride home, love,” he whispered. “But first tell me you’re staying.”

I swallowed hard. “Tell me why you want me to stay.”

“You’re the one without gas,” Barr said. “You’re the one who needs a ride home. That means you do what I say.”

“Leave then,” I whispered. “I’ll ask Kip or Pres for a ride. They’d do it.”

“No, they won’t.”

“Maybe I could convince them.”

“Maybe you could convince me.”

Tinsley Jane Ditkiss… flirting with this asshole of a guy… well done…

Barr dug his fingers a little more into the back of my neck.

He inched closer.

A sense of reality finally smacked me in the mouth.

“I’m staying,” I blurted out. “Okay? I’m staying.”

Barr smiled.

I hated that he was so fucking hot.

I hated that all three of them were so fucking hot in their own fucking way.

“Hope you don’t mind that I have a smoke on the ride home,” he said.

Barr left the SUV.

And I sat there alone again.

I caught my breath and felt my teeth chatter.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

“No, I don’t mind… I don’t mind at all…”





twelve





I shuffled into the kitchen where Claire sat wearing thin glasses slid down the bridge of her nose as she read the newspaper. I never thought in my wildest dreams rich people would read the newspaper. Everything was online.

“Eat up,” Claire said.

The island was covered in food.

Again, a meal fit for ten or twenty people.

I made a small plate of food.

“Claire, I don’t have your SUV,” I said.

She lowered the newspaper and took off her glasses. “What?”

“I had to leave it somewhere. Last night.”

“Were you drinking? If so, just admit it. Because I’d actually be a little proud that you were smart enough to not drive than do something really stupid.”

The word stupid made me think of them.

Pres’s lips to my cheek. Kip’s fingertips to my arm. Barr’s hand at the back of my neck.

I shook my head. “I wasn’t drinking. I think maybe I wish I was though.”

“Why’s that?”

I licked my lips. I was nervous. My entire life was hanging on by a thread. With Claire’s command I would be back in that apartment. No more rich life. No more of the Rulz.

“I ran out of gas,” I whispered.

“Ran out of gas?” Claire asked. “Where did you drive to?”

I chewed on a piece of cantaloupe.

Then I put the plate down.

“I was going to go home. I mean, back home. I was going to leave.”

“Leave? Why?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just a lot at once. Looking for something familiar. I guess I ended up wandering around and next thing I knew I was out of gas.”

“Why didn’t you call for help?” Claire asked.

“I didn’t want to burden you.”

“Burden me? You can never be a burden to me, Tinsley.”

“I got a ride home. I’ll figure out how to get gas. It’s my fault, Claire. It’s not…”

Claire had her phone in her hand. Her fingers moving faster than a teenager texting about drama and hot boys.

“There,” she said. “Done.”

“Done?”

“Done,” she said again.

“Okay then,” I said. “I’m really sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” Claire said. “Forget about it. It’s done.”

I went back to eating.

Preparing myself for what I needed next.

Which was another vehicle to take to BFH.

Unless I skipped the day and just hung around the house. Or the beach.

I bet if I texted Gi or Beth they would skip and hang with me.

But not together though.

They hated each other.

Which seemed to be the trend at BFH.

Everyone hating each other.

I slipped out of the kitchen to go get dressed. I’d play the dumb card.

Oh no, how am I going to get to class today?

As I finished washing my face in the bathroom and picking out every little flaw I could find on my face, I heard someone knocking at the bedroom door. I wiped my face and walked through the room.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Tinsley, it’s Claire,” she said.