Chapter 23
Reece
I’m already leaning against the brick wall near the school lot when Red pulls in. Her small car coughing its way into the lot as if it’s just as nervous as she is.
She texted me three times already this morning.
Sam: Are we doing the right thing?
Sam: Maybe we should wait.
Sam: People are gonna talk.
I didn’t reply. Not because I didn’t care. She was already lost in her thoughts, twisting herself in knots, dissecting every damn message. The last thing she needed was a text from me to make her overthink. What she really needed was me.
Right here.
Showing the fuck up and making it clear I’m not walking away from this.
I watch as she pulls into the space, kills the engine, and sits there for a second, hands still gripping the wheel. Her hair’s caught in the light, the sun turning it to wildfire. All fire, trouble, and temptation.
When she finally steps out, her eyes scan the lot and lock onto me.
She pauses for a breath, then another.
Next she moves. Head held high. That stubborn chin lifted. Every step defiant. Fierce and absolutely gorgeous.
The noise fades as she approaches me.
I barely hear the laughter, the whisper. The low, drawn-out “fuuuck” from some loser who’s staring too long. A few fuckers too slow to look away. I see one of them tracking her hips, and my hands curl into fists instinctively.
Don’t they realize I’ll tear their fucking eyeballs out?
I stop breathing as she walks to me. Her hair’s catching fire in the morning sun, and every step she takes lights me up from the inside out.
She’s a slow burn that becomes a raging inferno.
Her hair’s half-up, some strands spilling loose. A black tank top hugs those curves I already know by heart. Faded denim shorts that make my brain short-circuit. Skin I want to taste, freckles I want to count, and I’m so fucking gone for her it’s not even funny.
I don’t wait. I meet her halfway, my hand sliding to her waist. She’s warm under my palm, her body already leaning into mine, her breath catching the second I pull her close.
Her eyes flick upward. Her fingers grip my shirt.
“Hi,” she says softly.
I grin. “Were you worried I wouldn’t show?”
“No,” she lies.
But she’s already melting into me, and I’m already hard. Shit. This girl’s gonna be the death of me. And I’ll thank her for every second of it.
I kiss her like I fucking mean it. Deep and dirty. Tongue sliding in, hand running up her back to tilt her mouth closer, until there’s no space between us. Just her lips, her taste, her body pressed tight against mine while I lose my damn mind.
We break apart, gasping.
She glances around, flustered, as she tucks her hair behind her ear.
“Let them fucking look,” I mutter, dragging my thumb across her cheek, slow and sure. “Did you tell Lola or Aubrey?”
She shakes her head, teeth biting into her bottom lip. “No.”
“Do you feel bad?”
“A little. Liz left yesterday, but still, they’re my friends. I probably should’ve said something.”
I don’t answer. I grab her hand and thread our fingers tightly, not giving her a second to overthink it.
Her fingers twitch in mine, but she doesn’t let go. Not when the first heads turn or when the whispers start curling through the air.
It’s almost nine, and this place is already crowded.
I can sense her nerves. Shoulders are tight. Her steps are quick. She’s holding her breath too long. But I stay steady, anchoring us both through it.
The moment we cross the gates, everything changes. Every stare feels more intense. Every new glance cuts deeper.
And when we reach the hallway, it gets worse.
Eyes turn to us. Girls whisper behind their hands. Half of the football team pauses, jaws slack, heads turning. Nicole’s frozen at her locker, mouth half open. Tia’s caught mid-step on the stairs, staring as if we’ve broken something sacred.
I won’t stop. Let them choke on it. Let them see what’s really happening.
Up ahead, I see Noah and Jace in our usual corner, talking shit with Aubrey and Lola. Just another Thursday morning lineup... until the hallway goes quiet.
It’s subtle at first. The kind of silence that sneaks in when something’s about to happen. Heads turn. Voices quiet down. And that’s all it takes to grab their attention.
Noah sees us first. His eyes land on our joined hands before flicking back up. That bastard’s been watching every move I’ve made this week. Every glance. Every accidental brush.
Aubrey’s next. Her eyes widen, her mouth parting in surprise. Then Lola turns, and Red stiffens next to me. Her fingers grip mine tighter, nails digging into my skin
Jace leans against the lockers, arms crossed. But I notice that spark in his eyes, the curl of his mouth. He’s already got some bullshit locked and loaded.
The instant we stop in front of them, I feel it. Red’s hand twitching in mine, her fingers stiff, her body going still.
Lola looks down at our hands. “No fucking way.”
Aubrey stares. “You two…”
Jace lets out a low whistle, already grinning. “Well, fuck me. You finally dipped your cock in the Red Sea, huh?”
Red jerks beside me, eyes flashing to mine. Mortified. Pissed. Feeling a mix of both.
“Jesus, Jace,” Lola snaps, stepping in front of him. “Do you ever stop being a giant fucking asshole, or is it your full-time personality now?”
He shrugs, completely unfazed, and tips his chin at me. “Pretty sure I owe this dickhead two hundred bucks.”
Sam freezes.
I do too.
Aubrey’s frown hardens. “What the fuck are you even talking about?”
Jace shrugs, all innocent bullshit and dead eyes. “We had a bet,” he says, tipping his head toward her with a smirk that makes my jaw clench.
Red yanks her hand away from mine.
My stomach drops.
“There was no bet,” I snap, heat rising under my skin.
Jace snorts. “Sure. I just imagined you asking for a bonus if you finger-fucked her on school grounds?”
Sam jerks back as if he’d actually slapped her. Her eyes flick to mine, and I see the hurt, the rage, all of it.
“That never fucking happened!” Fury tears through me like claws.
Jace raises his hands, smug as hell. “I’m saying I can’t pay it all at once.”
“Jace,” Lola snaps, “shut the fuck up for once in your miserable fucking life.”
But it’s already too late. Red’s walking away before anyone can stop him, jaw clenched, shoulders tense.
“Red,” I call out, panic rising in my throat.
She doesn’t slow down. She rounds the corner and disappears, yanking the air from my lungs with her, leaving me standing there feeling stupid, hollow, and completely alone.
I take one step after her, and then Jace opens his mouth again.
“So?” he calls out, loud and smug. “Is she any good?”
Something snaps.
I don’t plan on it. I just turn and swing.
My fist hits the bastard’s face with a loud, brutal crack that echoes down the hall.
He falls hard, his back slamming into the lockers, his ass hitting the floor.
Blood pours from his nose, and shock is clear on his stupid fucking face as he stares up at me.
I stand over him, chest heaving, fists clenched, every nerve ablaze.
“You don’t get to fucking talk about her,” I snarl. “Ever.”
He wipes the blood under his nostril with the back of his hand, smearing it across his skin, still grinning through it because he never fucking learns.
“Help me up, Bells,” he mutters, hand reaching out.
Lola stays still.
“What is wrong with you?” she snaps, eyes blazing. “You open your mouth and somehow make everything worse. You don’t get to joke about her, Jace. You don’t get to fucking talk about her at all like that.”
Lola turns away.
Noah’s voice cuts in next. “You’ll never fucking learn, will you, Jace? One day someone will not stop at one punch.”
I’m already gone.
My feet hit the floor forcefully as I move, heart pounding, lungs burning.
I don’t care about the looks or the whispers flickering to life behind me.
All I see is her face when she pulled her hand away from mine.
She looked hurt, disappointed, as if I’d just confirmed every fear she ever had about me.