Chapter 17
Wade
I’ve mostly been able to avoid all the drama today by hiding in my office, pretending to be busy.
The second I walk into the cafeteria, it slaps me in the face.
Whispers. Lingering stares. Teenage laughter.
And then I feel Ashtyn’s eyes on me and even see movement headed my direction.
I grab a lunch tray and head straight through the kitchen door to the back.
I’m not ready to face Ashtyn without my emotional-support fake girlfriend. It’s like I’m in a duel, and I’ve chosen Ari as my second. Nothing happens without her.
“Mr. Stevenson, I saved you some extra tater tots,” the lunch lady calls over her shoulder as she dishes out food to the students. “They’re over by the stove.”
“Thanks, Beth!” I slide over to the counter, all the while keeping my eye out for Ari. Is she really going to stand me up on our lunch date? Bold move when there’s a bet with no prize on the line.
And then I spot her, and all the anxiety in me melts away.
She hesitates on the fringe by the lockers, and I know exactly why. Every student here notices her too. But then I watch her square her shoulders and look around for me.
Competitive Ari.
Respect and attraction fill my chest.
It’s showtime.
“You’re tardy, Miss Langford.” I grab her elbow gently, steering her toward a table positioned just close enough to the cheerleaders for visibility.
“Class got out five minutes ago,” she sputters under her breath.
“That’s five minutes where I had to hide in the kitchen. I’m nothing without you.” I sniff my shirt dramatically. “I smell like sloppy joes now.”
“Yes, it’s very pungent.” She slides onto the bench across from me and lowers her voice. “Maybe that’ll keep Ashtyn away.”
“I doubt it.” I sit down and subtly angle my body so the cheer table has a perfect view of us. “Who should face her? Me or you?”
“Probably you, so she can see how much you adore me.” Ari bats her eyelashes with the most obnoxious fake smile I’ve ever seen in my life.
I stare at her flatly.
“See? This is exactly what I was talking about. You’re not taking this seriously, and frankly, I don’t appreciate it.”
“What?” She reaches into her brown paper bag. “Isn’t this how women usually behave around you? Batting their lashes and laughing at everything you say?”
“No.”
She pauses mid-unpacking, letting one brow lift skeptically. “No?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. But that’s beside the point. I’m starting to get the feeling you want me to go to jail or that you want to lose this bet.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“It’s not enough to be here. You have to really commit.”
“Don’t worry about me and my game plan. You just worry about yourself and Barb Langford.”
“I am worried about your game plan—or the lack thereof.” I glance over to Ashtyn Ellis. She sits perfectly composed.
Too composed.
That’s what’s unsettling.
No glaring.
No pouting.
No dramatic reaction to us eating lunch together, which isn’t the reaction I expected. She just watches.
Like she’s waiting to see what Ari and I do next.
And if it were up to Ari, we’d do nothing next.
I glance down at the bag of strawberries she just pulled out alongside a container of fruit dip.
“Feed me a strawberry.”
“I am not feeding you.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s weird.” She gestures around the cafeteria. “I cannot feed you a strawberry and still be a respectable teacher at this school.”
“The irony of you saying that after literally straddling me in front of the marching band is iconic.” She glares back at me, but I don’t even care.
We have to get things rolling before lunch is over.
I nod toward the fruit. “For maximum effect, I suggest seducing me with one of those things. You do know how to seduce a man, don’t you? ”
Her head kicks back. “What? You don’t think I can?”
“I’ve yet to see evidence of those skills from you.”
That competitive spark ignites instantly behind her eyes, just like I knew it would.
Ari was never built to walk away from a challenge.
Especially not one involving her pride.
Around us, students continue eating and talking, but I notice more eyes shifting in our direction.
A couple of teachers glance over too. Ari notices it as well.
For half a second, I think she’s going to back down.
Choose professionalism and caution. Then her gaze flicks toward Ashtyn’s table, and something shifts.
Slowly, she drags a strawberry through the pale-pink fruit dip with entirely too much concentration, like suddenly this is a high-stakes culinary event.
The dip coats the fruit, thick and smooth. I’m still smirking when she lifts the strawberry toward her own mouth instead of mine.
Just enough to lick it.
My smile falters as I watch her tongue sweep over the tip of the strawberry for the smallest taste.
Students are moving around us. Trays clatter. Somebody across the cafeteria yells about tater tots, but I stop hearing it all.
Ari tilts her head slightly, lashes lowering for half a second before she looks back up at me through them. Then the corner of her mouth curves. Not a full smile. Worse.
A knowing one.
“You want a taste?” she asks softly.
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out. So I close it again and swallow—hard.
That seems to encourage her.
She leans forward over the cafeteria table, slow enough to make me painfully aware of every inch she moves closer.
One elbow rests lightly on the table as she holds the strawberry out between us.
But instead of bringing it close enough for me to take a bite, her gaze drops briefly to my mouth then back to my eyes, but the look behind her stare is full of fire.
Sweet mercy.
She moves the strawberry closer, slow enough that anticipation starts doing dangerous things to my brain and my heart rate. I lean forward before I even realize I’m doing it, eyes fixed on her fingers, her mouth, the faint pink flush rising into her cheeks.
She’s enjoying this.
Enjoying playing with my emotions.
And I don’t even care.
If anything, her confidence is the sexiest part of all of this.
I open my mouth, and for one deeply humiliating second, she leaves me hanging there until she moves the strawberry close enough for me to eat.
The fruit dip is sweet. Cold.
Doesn’t matter.
Because Ari’s still looking at me like that.
My eyes close briefly as I chew, and I hear a muffled sound from the next table over that suspiciously sounds like someone choking on a laugh. Eyelids flip open, and two sophomores at the next table over are literally pointing at me, making fun of me.
“Well?” she asks.
I shift my gaze to her. There’s a satisfied grin covering her lips. I wouldn’t describe it as cute. More like tantalizing.
“Miss Langford,” I say carefully, “that was wildly inappropriate for school lunch.”
Her lips twitch, but then she remembers where she’s at. The tension evaporates. The look disappears as she glances around the cafeteria like she regrets the last twenty seconds.
And just like that, it’s over.
But not for me. I’ll be thinking about this for days to come.
She destroyed me with that strawberry. And what I can’t figure out is why. Why did this one moment affect me more than the thousands of other flirtatious interactions I’ve had in my dating career?
It’s not supposed to be real.
So why does it feel more real than anything else?
Ari leans back in her chair, pops another strawberry into her own mouth, and shrugs like she didn’t just completely derail my central nervous system in front of the student body.
“Don’t ever tell me I don’t know how to seduce a man,” she says smugly.
Oh, I won’t make that mistake again.
“Yo, Stevie!” a boy hollers while passing our table. “Gettin’ hot with Miss Langford!”
Several students laugh.
Across the cafeteria, Ashtyn watches us silently.
No dramatic reaction.
No obvious jealousy.
She just slowly stirs her straw through her drink while staring directly at Ari like she’s studying her.
That calm expression unsettles me way more than a tantrum would.
“Do you think your little strawberry stunt worked?” I ask.
“Of course it worked.” Ari unwraps her sandwich. “You should’ve seen your face. You were basically putty in my hands.”
The embarrassing part?
I was.
And when it comes to women, that never happens.
I glance at her again. She’s focused on her lunch now like nothing is wrong. But there’s color high in her cheeks. A tiny smile she keeps trying to hide.
After what I just experienced, I start to think Ari could win our bet.
Which is good for the Ashtyn Ellis situation.
But dangerous for my non-committal heart.