Chapter 52 #3
“Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind,” I said, tucking the card into my purse.
“Cool.” She smiled brightly. “Anyway, have a nice day.”
The girl went to turn away, but I took a slight step forward and spoke up again. “Sorry, I was just wondering… do you know that guy you were talking to before me?”
Her brows puckered. “What guy?”
“Tall. Sandy-blond kind of hair. Black sweatshirt.”
“Oh, him.” The girl wrinkled her nose and waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t know him. I was just trying to get him to sign up for the charity. But he said no after wasting my time trying to flirt for ten minutes.” She sighed, eyes rolling upward. Then she cocked her head. “Anyway, why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to say—if you happen to run into him again, be careful. I know him, and he’s a bad guy. A really bad guy.”
“Oh. Wow. Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”
“No problem.” I glanced at my watch. Shit. I was really late now. “Sorry, I have to be somewhere. Nice to meet you, and thanks for the tip about the finance center!”
I made it to the West End Café five minutes later. Tessa, Bree, and Sloane were at a table by the window, chatting over mugs of coffee and plates of pastries.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, sliding into a chair next to Tessa. “I got caught up talking to someone outside the library.”
“No worries. I got you a pumpkin cream chai.” Tessa nodded toward a tall mug and pushed it closer to me. “But it looks like you might need some water too. You’re literally sweating, babe.”
“Yeah, I ran all the way here,” I said with a rueful smile.
“You didn’t need to run!” Bree said, grinning at me. “You aren’t that late.”
“I know, but I was also kinda worried about running into you-know-who.”
“Oh my god, did you finally see him?”
“Yup.” I grimaced. “This is so embarrassing to admit, but I hid from him. Like, full on crouched behind a column. I must’ve looked crazy to anyone who went past and saw me.”
“Girl, we’ve all been there,” Sloane said, brows rising. “No judgment from me.”
I sighed and wrapped my hands around the warm mug in front of me. “I guess I just need to get used to it. Now that we’re here, we’re bound to keep running into each other.”
“Yeah, it really sucks ass,” Tessa replied.
Bree and Sloane nodded, but their eyes were now focused somewhere over our heads.
Tessa and I turned and looked over our shoulders to see a tall, dark-haired guy in jeans and a dark green Henley striding into the café.
The tight shirt showed off his Greek-god physique, attracting lusty stares from every single woman in the spacious café.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course it had to be Rhett.
He caught sight of me and smirked, brows rising. Then he gave me a mocking wave before striding away to the other side of the café.
I groaned and turned back to face the others. “I guess today’s the day where I meet my quota for running into assholes,” I muttered.
“You know Rhett Sinclair?” Bree asked, brows shooting up.
“Yeah, why did he wave at you?” Tessa added.
“I don’t really know him. I just ran into him on my first night here.”
“Wait, Rhett is the Wilder you got into an argument with in that tunnel?” Sloane asked, leaning closer. “The one you told us about?”
Tessa lifted a hand, flashing me a guilty look before she addressed the other girls. “The one I told you about,” she said. She turned back to me again. “I didn’t know it was Rhett, though. Was it actually him?”
“Yup.” My nose wrinkled. “Do you know him?”
“Not really. I know of him, though. He’s like, the hottest senior at Hollingsworth, bar none. And he’s also the head Wilder, I guess.”
“At the collegiate level, that is,” Sloane added. “I’m pretty sure The Wild Hunt is a lifelong membership thing.”
“Oh. Right.”
“It’s not exactly a secret who the members are on campus,” she went on. “All the uber-rich guys, basically. Like, the ones from billionaire families. They share a house off-campus, and they all wear silver skull rings.”
“How is it a secret society, then?” I asked, brows furrowing. “If all the members are known.”
“It’s more about what they do. No one knows.”
Bree nodded. “A friend of mine dated one of them for two years and he never breathed a single word to her about any of it,” she said. “There are rumors, though. Based on the name.”
My interest was really piqued now. “Like what?”
Bree lowered her voice. “I heard they run some sort of sex club where they hunt down women and fuck their brains out.”
“No way.” Sloane scoffed. “Someone would’ve talked at some point, if that was what they were getting up to.”
“Maybe they make the women sign NDAs,” I said, raising a brow.
“Honestly, I think they’re just assholes who like to shoot deer,” Tessa said. “Like, actual hunting.”
“Why would that be a secret, though? Tons of people hunt.”
“But it’s totally mean, right? Killing cute, innocent animals,” she said. “I bet they wouldn’t get laid half as much if everyone knew they were shooting at Bambi every weekend.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sloane replied. “My mom’s an environmentalist, and she said the deer population in this area is actually way too high. It can mess up the ecosystem, so hunting isn’t exactly the worst thing that can happen to them.”
As the girls debated the ethics of hunting animals, my gaze drifted to the table that Rhett had gone over to earlier. He was holding court with a few other guys… including Jake.
Shit.
I jerked my gaze away, cheeks instantly aflame. I hadn’t even noticed Jake come in. It made sense that a prick like him would be friends with Rhett, though. Birds of a feather stick together.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him glaring over at me. Damn. I hadn’t looked away fast enough, and he’d spotted me. Like clockwork, my phone chimed with a text from him thirty seconds later.
J: Stalking me now, huh? You really need to get the fuck out of Hollingsworth, you crazy cunt. You’re not welcome here. Get it through your fucking head.
“Asshole,” I muttered.
Tessa frowned. “What happened?”
“See that guy three spots away from Rhett? With the blondish hair,” I said, slightly tilting my head. “That’s him.”
“He Who Shall Not Be Named?”
“Yup. He just sent me this.” I lifted my phone to show the girls the nasty message.
“Why don’t you just block him?” Bree asked, eyes flashing with anger.
“I have him blocked on socials already. But I left his number unblocked.”
“Um, why?” Tessa said, forehead wrinkling. “Are you a masochist or something?”
“I want to have proof to show to the police if he ever gets really bad. Like, full-on threats or whatever.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.” She slowly shook her head. “Still, it sucks that you have to deal with this. Why can’t he just leave you alone?”
“Because he’s a monumental dickhead, clearly,” Sloane said before I could reply.
A shadow fell across our table, and we all looked up. Rhett was standing there with a familiar smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. His dark eyes held a glint of amusement, like he knew the effect he had on women and wasn’t shy about using it.
“Ladies,” he said, voice smooth as he slid his hands into his pockets. “How are you doing?”
“Um… good?” Sloane practically squeaked.
“I wanted to let you know that there’s a bonfire party at the Wilder house on Friday, and you’re invited.” His gaze lingered on me a beat longer than necessary, a silent dare flashing in his eyes. “All of you.”
Bree’s face lit up, and she exchanged a glance with Sloane, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
I suppressed the urge to shout, ‘Fuck no!’ and met Rhett’s eyes, trying not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. “Thanks. I’ll see if I’m free,” I said, keeping my voice steady even as my heart raced at a million miles an hour.
His sardonic smile widened. “See you there,” he said confidently, as if there was no room for argument. With that, he turned and strolled away, his sense of casual dominance lingering in the air long after he’d gone.
“Oh my god.” Sloane was jokingly fanning herself with a napkin, lips cracked in the widest grin I’d ever seen on her pretty face. “I can’t believe we got invited to the bonfire party!”
“Is it a big deal?” I asked, brows rising.
Tessa nodded. “The Wilders always throw awesome parties, but their annual bonfire party is like, the absolute best. At least from what I’ve heard. I didn’t go last year, because the invite list is pretty exclusive.” She paused and threw up her hands. “But hey, apparently we’re on it this year!”
“We’re totally going, right?” Bree asked.
“Um, obviously!” Tessa said, eyes widening. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“I don’t know,” I murmured, fidgeting with my hands on my lap. “I already have a ton of assignments to do.”
“You have to come! You’re probably the first brand new transfer student to get invited to a Wilder bonfire party in the history of time. Plus, you were personally invited by Rhett freakin’ Sinclair! No one says no to that.”
My nose wrinkled. “Maybe I do. Rhett’s an asshole.”
“Yeah, but he’s a sexy-as-fuck asshole.” Bree waggled her eyebrows. “Anyway, you don’t need to hang out with him. Just come with us and have fun.”
“Exactly. It’s a party! That’s what it’s for—having fun!” Sloane added.
“Did we forget to mention that it’s a costume party?” Tessa said in a wheedling tone. “I seem to remember you telling me how much you love costume parties last week.”
I slowly shook my head, lips stretching with a slow smile. “Okay, fine,” I said, throwing my hands up in mock defeat. “I’ll go.”