Jaded (Jaded #1)(21)

“And I don’t pant after you and I don’t pin my heart on my sleeve.” Here we go, a conversation about the two of us was now on the table. The game was over.

His eyes whipped to mine and stayed there.

I sighed and stood. I moved to the closet and grabbed some clothes.

“What’s your problem?” Bryce asked as he moved to the doorframe. He watched me strip down and step into the shower.

Over the water, I said, “Nothing. I’m just kinda tired of having to be nice to those girls. They’re around for, like, two minutes and then he’s got another girl over.” If he wasn’t going to say anything about ‘us’, then two could play at that.

“Are you serious? You’re actually mad that Corrigan plays these girls?”

“No,” I said tightly and finished rinsing my hair. I held Bryce’s eyes and knew we thought the same thing. Bryce played the same games, but he played them when I wasn’t around. And I did my own thing.

Bryce sighed and moved from the doorway. When I dressed in my bedroom, I heard the front door slam shut.

I wasn’t planning on going to school, but I’d already gotten dressed so I figured…

Outside, just as I climbed into my car, I braked suddenly. Mena stood on her house’s patio with a blank stare on her face. That was odd. I frowned, but reversed and drove to school. I wasn’t about to put much thought into Mena’s life when I barely thought about my own.

When I walked into school, I saw a group of guys surrounding Bryce at his locker. He was turned with his head bent as he listened to whatever Chet was saying.

Corrigan stood on the outskirts with a girl with dark brown hair that fell to her waist. She was short, but had exotic eyes. They glowed when she looked at Corrigan, but she still looked awkward.

My guess, this was the girl from last night. And I smirked when I saw that Becky Lew stood on his other side, just behind him. Becky chatted with her friends while New Girl glanced self-consciously around. She hugged her books to her chest and averted her eyes when they trailed and met mine.

Holster nudged Corrigan and nodded in my direction. Corrigan immediately left the group and fell in line beside me. He threw an arm around my shoulder and said, cockily, “So what do you think?”

“I generally try not to think.”

Corrigan laughed and tightened his hold around my shoulders.

“No, about Logan. What do you think about her?”

“Are you serious?” So that was her name.

“Yeah. Why?”

I kicked my locker open.

“Because,” I murmured as I reached inside, “you just ignored the girl.”

“Well, yeah, but…it’s the first morning. You know how it is.”

“The school hierarchy, you mean. If you’re all into her, everyone might think you have a girlfriend and they can’t think that.”

“Yeah.” He said like it made perfect sense.

“Sometimes,” I started and leaned against my locker, “being the arrogant womanizer that you are might bite you in the rear.”

“What do you mean?” He shifted on his feet, but listened intently.

I shrugged.

“Corrigan, someday you’re going to meet a girl that’s going to know her place with you and not be alright with that.”

“Huh?” he questioned.

“Look, you know me. I don’t care about these girls as long as you don’t ask me to be nice, but one day one girl that you’re going to actually want won’t be okay with your chain of command.”

“Not following.”

Bryce walked to us just then and punched Corrigan in the arm.

Corrigan ignored him and asked me, “Seriously. What do you mean?”

Bryce glanced between the two of us.

I saw Becky Lew pass behind us. She skimmed her eyes over all three of us and her mouth tightened.

“Do you really want a girl that’s okay with all the other girls you got going on?” I continued.

Bryce went still beside me.

I ignored him and waited for Corrigan’s answer.

He shrugged.

“Not really thinking about that right now, you know,” he responded thoughtfully.

The moment vanished when the first bell rang and self-assured Corrigan fell back into place.

He threw an arm around my shoulder and walked beside me.

Bryce disappeared in the opposite direction.

“Seriously,” Corrigan asked, “should I take Logan, Mena, or Becky to Harris’ party?”

“Since when do you take girls to the party? You usually just show up and pick.”

“That’s right.” He laughed. “That’s why we’re friends. Sure you don’t want a ride with me?”

“A ride?” I teased, my eyes darkened. “Or a ride?”

Amusement leapt to Corrigan’s eyes and he smiled slowly.

“You know which one.” He nudged me with his shoulder and patted my ass as he left for his own class.

I stayed in place and watched as he passed his first period classroom.

Corrigan didn’t go to classes. That was a universal law. And someday, sometime, that law would come back to bite him in the butt.

Leisha smiled warmly as she approached the classroom and asked, “No Corrigan this morning?”