Chapter 36 #2
“These are the girls who might have reasons to have a grudge against the guys and maybe me.” Which still makes me mad to think someone would be jealous of me being claimed by all the horsemen. It wasn’t my idea to be theirs for the whole year. They forced it on me.
But now, I wouldn’t give them up for anything.
Izzy’s eyes go wide as she keeps scrolling. “Fuck, they got around.”
My cheeks heat. Yeah, not exactly what I wanted to think about. I even took off some girls who have moved and completely left town. “They didn’t fuck all of them. Some are just friends who might have been jealous.”
And others were just blow jobs, but yeah, I don’t really want to go into that.
“What do you need us to do?” Penny’s gaze is strong as she meets mine. I cleared this with the guys at lunchtime, but Luke doesn’t want me to give her anything more than she already knows. We don’t know who’s feeding his father or the people after us information.
“For anyone you know, we need to figure out if they’re holding a grudge against the guys or if they still want them.”
“Oh, like Fatal Attraction.” Vicky rubs her hands together, but we all look at her blankly. Her smile drops. “No one? Movie from the eighties?”
We all shake our heads.
Vicky sits back and stares at us before leaning forward. “So, this married guy has an affair with this woman, and when he calls it off, she goes psycho on him.”
“I guess that’s what we’re looking for.” I make a mental note to ask my mom about that movie.
“There are some people I see who we can cross off.” Penny rubs her chin. “Maybe we should approach it from that angle. First, find out who we know, and then determine what threat level they are to Harper and the horsemen.”
I give her a smile. “That sounds like a good idea.”
Her smile back to me is cautious and a little hopeful. But Luke is right, we don’t know what else her father might want from her. He may be making her give him information about us. We can’t risk giving him any more information.
I nod to let her know I appreciate it and then fall into the conversation as they talk about girls who I’ve gone to school with for years and didn’t know much about.
Eli
Harper’s mom doesn’t like me. Maybe she’s a better judge of character than most of the other parents in our town. I don’t bother with the charm offensive when she lets me in to wait for Harper to come down.
“She just got back from coffee with Kenz and her friends.” Jennifer sits at the island and watches me. “She’ll be down in a minute.”
“Thank you.” I gesture to the chairs at the table. “Do you mind if I sit while I wait? We just finished football practice.”
She gives me a nod and I take the chair. I take my phone out and read the group chat that was blowing up my phone on the way here.
Luke:
Be careful tonight
Nico:
Did you ever pick a place to take her?
Caden:
Bring her over here and we’ll get her warmed up for you
*winky face emoji*
Jack:
I’m sending the webcam link to everyone via email
It’s secure enough, but we should still proceed with caution
I glance at Jennifer, who is also on her phone before answering.
Me:
I’ve got her
The woodfire pizza place
Again I’ve got her
*eggplant emoji* *middle finger emoji*
Thanks, Jack, you’re my hero
Jack:
*black heart emoji*
I slide my phone into my pocket and catch Jennifer’s brown eyes so like Harper’s. Her brow clears as she watches me.
“What’s in this for you guys?” She cocks her eyebrow.
“You know Harper. Why wouldn’t we want to spend time with her?” I keep my tone calm and relaxed. Harper said it herself. Her mom would like Caden best because he wouldn’t put up a false front.
“You’ve all been in the same school for years. Why now?” Jennifer crosses her legs and leans back against the island.
“Because we were blind.” I shrug. “Why does anyone fall for anyone else? There’s attraction and the more you learn, the deeper you fall.”
Her brow furrows. “Fall?”
Fuck. Of course, that’s what her mother would focus on.
There’s a part of me that truly believes if love exists, it would be embodied in Harper.
But if I believe that my parents were once in love, then I know love doesn’t always survive.
There’s got to be respect and loyalty to go with that love, and maybe that’s not even enough.
“We’re young.” I smile. “None of us knows what the future holds.”
It’s what parents want to hear. She won’t want to know we want to keep Harper. That she makes us whole.
When Harper walks into the kitchen, I stand to attention. She’s wearing a black skater skirt that falls to her knees, a pair of black Dr. Martens, and a Rolling Stones t-shirt. Her hair falls in soft waves around her shoulders.
She’s highlighted her eyes with almost black eyeliner. And those lips are a dark red. She leaves me breathless and speechless.
I can’t take my eyes off her. When I think of all the years we missed out on, I vow we’ll never miss another. She’s ours.
When her soft brown eyes collide with mine, I can move again.
“I’ll be home in a few hours, Mom.” Harper grabs her keys from the island and gives her mom a quick hug.
“Dinner and a movie?” Jennifer’s gaze returns to me to make sure I don’t lie to her.
Harper takes my hand, and I glance down at where we’re connected as sparks travel up my arm. Fuck.
“Yes, dinner and a movie.”
Jennifer lifts an eyebrow at me, because I must look like an idiot standing here completely enamored with her daughter. “It’s a school night. Be home early.”