Chapter 15
15
A ll week, Heath played his role as my boyfriend like he was trying to win a freaking Oscar, but in his defense, no more sordid rumors swirled about me and literally any guy I spoke to on campus. So…either his idea worked, or I had read too much into those initial gossip threads.
And truthfully…I was having fun. So I didn’t read too hard into the flimsy motivation and ignored all the orange flags when he smoothly dodged my questions. It was stupid, and I actively acknowledged that fact, but I’d developed a bit of a crush on Heath.
How could I not? He was funny, charming, thoughtful, and so fucking sexy it should have been illegal. It was all too easy to forget everything I’d read in Abigail’s diary and pretend that nasty initiation mess never happened, especially considering the inconsistencies between her experience and mine. No one had actually jumped from the peak itself during my ordeal, nor had anyone died.
“I was thinking,” he said as he escorted me to my Language Acquisition and Literacy Development class on Friday morning, “we should go to dinner tomorrow night. Have you even been into Prosper yet?”
I shook my head. “Not since the wedding.” Which reminded me of the ambush during the rehearsal dinner, and that memory soured the sweet buzz of the moment.
“Okay, so I’ll take you out,” he announced. “I have to go to a thing tonight but maybe we can?—”
Whatever he was going to say cut off abruptly and I followed his line of sight to see Carter sauntering across the lawn with a sly grin on his lips.
“Good morning, lovebirds,” he purred as he approached. “How’s the fake relationship treating you today? Bored of it yet?”
Startled, I jerked my gaze up to glare at Heath accusingly. “You told him?”
Heath sighed, and Carter snapped his fingers.
“Gotcha!” Carter crowed. “Royce owes me a hundred bucks.”
Heath gave a frustrated groan, looping his arm around my waist and pulling me close. “What do you want, Carter?”
The smug bastard just grinned like the cat who got the cream. “I came to steal your girl, of course. What the fuck else would I be doing awake at this time?”
“Excuse me?” I spluttered, confused as hell.
He turned that dazzling grin my way. “You heard me. We all have to attend a gala tonight”—Heath stiffened noticeably beside me, his fingers digging into my hip—“and you’re my date, Spark. Do you have an evening gown to wear? Hmm, probably not. I’ll send something to your room.”
“She’s not coming to the gala,” Heath growled, practically vibrating with anger. “We already decided.”
That made me pause. “Excuse me?” I was echoing myself like a damn parrot but that was how fried my brain was.
Heath gave a frustrated sound as I stepped away from him, causing his hand to drop away from my hip. “It’s a society event,” he admitted from between gritted teeth, “and you don’t want to be involved with the society.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That’s a conversation you should have with me , not about me.”
“Uh-oh,” Carter sang, “looks like trouble in paradise.”
“Shut up, Carter,” I snapped, dismissing him to focus my anger on Heath.
Bad move.
Carter’s jovial mood vanished faster than a lightning strike, and in the space of a gasp, he had me slammed against the nearest tree with a hand around my throat.
“Do not speak to me like that again, Spark,” he murmured in my ear, his voice the thunderclap to match his movement.
“Carter!” Heath shouted. “Let her go!”
But Carter just met my eyes, his thumb stroking my jaw in threat…or promise. He didn’t blink, and neither did I, until Heath barked his name again.
Smooth as silk, Carter’s dark storm clouds faded and his expression softened with a touch of a smile on his lips. “My apologies, Ashley, how very rude of me.” And yet, he still didn’t release my throat. His grip wasn’t tight; it was just there . “I’ll pick you up at seven, all right?”
Dumbstruck, I just nodded, my heart racing.
“Good,” he purred, and I’d swear there was a silent, implied girl after that that made parts of me tingle. Jesus Christ, Carter was something else.
“Okay, enough,” Heath snapped. “You’ve scared her into doing what you want, now let her go.”
Carter ran his tongue across his lower lip, his dark blue eyes dancing with mischief that I was inexplicably drawn to. “You’re not scared, are you Spark? You’re curious . That’s why I picked you as my date for tonight. You should ask your boyfriend who his date is.” As abruptly as he’d grabbed me, he let go and stepped away. “See you tonight, partner!”
I raised a hand to my throat, watching him walk away with a little bounce in his step. “What the fuck just happened?”
“Carter Bassington just happened,” Heath muttered, still fuming. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
I hesitated, licking my lips. “Is that something he would do? Hurt me, I mean?”
Heath’s arched brow was all the answer I needed. Yes, he would.
I swallowed hard and shook my head. “No, I’m not hurt. But what just happened? A gala? What did he mean about asking who your date is?”
Heath winced. “It’s not…ugh, fucking Carter is such a dick. We all have to bring a date to the gala, another DB. Every pair becomes a team for a game.”
“Okay…and who is your date?” I was hurt, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. Maybe because I was crushing on him and he was just acting the part I asked him to act?
Heath ran a hand over his face, clearly frustrated and uncomfortable. “Jade.”
My lips popped open and my eyes widened. “Oh. I see.”
“She’s devious,” he explained, grimacing.
I nodded slowly. “No shit. I guess everyone must know this thing between us is fake, then?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I just…I want to win.” He spread his hands wide, exasperated.
“Right. And Jade is the best option for that? Got it.”
“Why are you upset right now? I thought you didn’t want anything to do with the DBs?” His brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle his way through my reaction.
Good luck to him when I couldn’t even work out why I was upset myself. Come to think of it, no one had even told me the outcome of their elders meeting. Was I still initiated or not? Why all the secrets?
“I don’t!” I shot back, folding my arms under my breasts. “But fuck , Heath, why did you ask—” I cut myself off, swallowing my words before I could sound like I was hurt . “Forget it. I need to get to class.”
“Ash, wait!” he called after me but I was already striding away, heading for my class that I was probably late for.
I had a lot of self-reflection that I needed to do, and yelling my thoughts at Heath in the middle of campus was not the place to do it. I’d embarrassed myself enough without admitting I’d caught feelings in the span of one short week. Damn it all to hell.
Sliding into my class right as the professor started a PowerPoint presentation, I shoved Heath, Carter, the Devil’s Backbone Society, and all my mixed-up emotions from my mind. I’d focus on my classes and deal with that all later.
For the most part, I managed to do just that. Until I realized the pattern I’d doodled in the margins of my textbook echoed the tattoo on the side of Carter’s neck.
At the end of my day, I headed straight for Carly’s room and let myself in after the briefest knock.
“What happened?” my friend immediately asked, looking up from her study notes spread out on her desk. “What’d he do?”
I glowered. “Which he ?”
Carly winced. “I meant Heath… Did you have another run-in with Nate?”
“Thankfully, no. Carter. Are you going to this gala thing tonight?” I glanced around and noted the dress bag hanging from her closet door.
She turned right around in her seat, taking off her reading glasses and giving me a long look. “Are you ?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. What is it?”
A goofy smile touched her lips. “It’s a gala. You’ve never been to a gala?”
I glared. “I think you know I haven’t, smarty-pants, and despite that fact I do in fact know what a gala is…I want to know what this one is and why it’s part of your creepy secret society.”
“Okay, A, it’s not creepy, it’s historical, and B, it’s still just a gala. The Founding Families Gala Dinner to be exact, where they invite a bunch of rich and influential families and squeeze them for hefty monetary donations to the school.” She sat back, tucking one foot up on her chair. “So all the DBs go because we’re basically all rich and influential families. It makes it an easy setting for, you know, shenanigans.”
I blinked at her a couple of times. “Shenanigans?”
She nodded. “Quite so. So…what are you wearing? It’s a white-tie dress code, and not being an asshole but I’ve seen your wardrobe.”
“Seriously? I knew it’d be formal but white tie? Fucking hell. Um…can I borrow something?” I looked hopefully at her closet, but Carly laughed.
“Unless you’re a secret seamstress or you’re in twelve-inch platform heels, none of my evening gowns will fit, girl. No offense but you’re short as hell.”
I groaned but she was right. “True. Don’t worry, I’ll sort it out.” After all, Carter had said say he’d send something over. “But just tell me, is it a dumb idea for me to come to this thing? Am I going to end up stripped naked and duct-taped to a flagpole?”
Carly wrinkled her nose, shaking her head. “What? No. I think maybe you’ve got the wrong idea about what the society is all about. You’ll see tonight, Ash. It’s actually really fun.”
She seemed sincere and I was deep in the grip of curiosity once again so I sighed. “Okay, I trust you. I guess…I better shower, huh?” I didn’t want to go for a myriad of reasons, the biggest being I couldn’t deny I was worried about what could happen to me if the diary was true—but at the same time, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to learn more about the society itself.
“Please do, I can smell you from here,” she teased, holding her nose.
I laughed and flipped her my middle finger before leaving her room. Knowing Carly would be at the gala did make me feel a shitload better about the whole thing, even if I was going with Carter instead of Heath… and that Heath would be there with Jade.
Carly wasn’t wrong about my wardrobe, but when I got back from the shower, there was an enormous box sitting outside my door. The card tucked under the ribbon just held my name Ashley in fancy cursive and was signed C .
If nothing else, Carter was a man of his word.
I carried the box into my room, closing the door behind me and setting it down on the bed. Inside, not only did I find a stunning red satin gown, but also a pair of black strappy heels and some long black opera gloves.
The whole set was breathtaking, and I wasn’t even a little bit surprised to find the dress and shoes fitted me as though they’d been made to measure. Carter was just that sort of creep.
“Holy shit ,” Carly exclaimed with a whistle after letting herself in. “You just had that lying around?”
I grinned, tugging on one of the gloves. “You look pretty amazing yourself.”
Carly wore a princess-style taffeta gown of soft greens with dozens of intricate applique flowers all down one side. She too wore opera gloves, but hers were a dusty purple to match some of the flower detailing.
“Thanks,” she replied, giving a little twirl. “Is Heath coming here to get you?”
My lips parted, and I realized I hadn’t told her about our little argument. Turned out, I didn’t need to explain, because Carter chose that exact moment to knock on my open door and my mouth went dry.
He was in a full tuxedo with tails, but his shirt was ink black and his cravat a rich red that matched my dress perfectly. He looked incredible . Like every rich bad boy fantasy ever dreamed up.
“Ready to go, Spark?” he asked, giving me a lingering once-over. “You look lovely in that dress.”
“Um…?” Carly glanced back and forth between us in panic. “What’s happening?”
Carter grinned. “War games, Carly dear.” He looked at me. “Shall we go?”
I swallowed hard, then tugged my second glove the rest of the way up over my elbow. “Yeah,” I replied in a breathy voice. Then, like an idiot with no sense of self-preservation, I took the hand he offered.