Chapter 62
THEN: Sophomore Year, May
Paloma
“Come home with me,” Bennett whispers.
It’s May. They didn’t win Frozen Four, but they made it to the semifinals, losing the first round. Bennett took it personally. He called me but only let it ring once before he ended the call.
Stronger than me. I would’ve answered if it had started again.
But he’s here now, at this party, on the alcove of the stairs just behind the wall, catching my wrist as we brush past one another.
“Come home with me,” he says again, and this time it’s a plea.
“Okay.” I nod. His flushed cheeks pull higher, a smile tugging red lips across white teeth until I can see the chip in one.
I pull my hand away. His fingers follow, gripping me tighter and then reluctantly, slowly releasing me. “Just meet me in the car, ten minutes.”
The sentence dims his light, and my own nails dig deep into my palm, paying penance for his pain.
“Sure.” He nods. “If that’s how it’s going to be.”
It has to be, I want to say.
I don’t say a word. I want to say, Never mind, it’s not worth it. It will only hurt us both even more. But I can’t.
I can’t say no to him. And I don’t want to.
Ten minutes later he presses me to the side of his car with a heavy, burning kiss. His tongue slips into my mouth, tasting like whiskey and saltwater and every piece of myself I’ve tried to destroy.
“Are you drunk?”
He shakes his head. “Are you?”
I shake mine. We crawl into the backseat of his car, and he kisses me slower, pulling my body into his lap and curling his hands into my hair.
We don’t have sex, despite the situation others might read if they saw us slipping away.
Instead, he lays my head on the expanse of his thighs, hands combing through my hair in gentle soothing strokes.
We watch each other breathe. I fall asleep there, only waking when I feel the movement of the car coming to a stop.
Only opening my eyes to the sight of his room, Seven gently nudging my leg.
He sleeps beside me for an hour, my hand in his. I get up and leave before the sun has risen.