“It’s not a date,” I said through clenched teeth. “And will you please stop interrupting me?”
“Sorry.” His lips twitched with a very unapologetic smile. “Go on.”
“Simon asked me to go to a concert with him—not a date—but his sister can’t stand me. She’s such a snob, and she keeps telling me not to go with Simon, threatening me with God knows what if I do.”
“Want me to kill her?”
“What?” I gave Jaxon a dirty look. “No.” Then I laughed, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in his expression.
He shrugged off my answer and took another drink. “So, the certified king of your school likes you and asked you out, but his snobby sister is giving you a hard time. That about right?”
I rubbed my hands over my face and sighed with frustration. “It’s not a date.”
Jaxon laughed and set his cup on the table next to mine. “Chloe, sweetheart, let me give you some advice. This Simon guy absolutely thinks this is a date. You can deny it all you want, but for him, this is a date. Trust me. I know. I’ve played the let’s-hang-out-just-as-friends card more than once to get closer to a girl.”
I groaned. “What should I do?”
“What do you want to do?” He raised a brow, waiting for my answer.
“I want to go to the concert. It’s Black Veil Brides, my favorite band of all time, but I don’t want to lead Simon on.” I grabbed my cup and took another drink.
“So, you don’t like him the same way he likes you?” Jaxon’s words were slow and calculated.
“No. I mean, I don’t think so. He’s nice, but…” I chewed on my bottom lip, unsure how or if I should keep talking.
“But?”
“He doesn’t give me that spark, y’know? That feeling of coming alive, of needing to be with him every second of every day or else you feel like you might die. When I’m with him, I have fun, but I don’t want fun. I want passion.”
My words shocked me. Since when did I want a passionate romance? I shook my head. Clearly, today had gotten to me more than I realized.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to vent like that.” I laughed nervously.
He probably thought I was a silly girl with even sillier dreams.
“Have you ever felt that way before?” he asked.
I almost said no, because I hadn’t, but something stopped me. I couldn’t describe it, but I had this soul-deep knowledge that I had felt that way once before. Even though I couldn’t say with who or when, I knew I’d felt that type of passion before.
“I don’t think so,” I finally said. “Have you?”
I met his gaze and gasped at how close he was. My mind shouted at me to put some distance between us, but my body wouldn’t move.
“No,” he whispered. “At least, not like you’re describing.” He gave a faint smile. “There was this one girl, but things didn’t quite work out like I wanted them to.”
“Oh.” I glanced away and took another drink. “We should study.” Anything to get us off this topic and back onto something safer.
“You should go to the concert with Simon,” he said, easing away from me. “Make sure he knows it’s not a date. And as for his sister… if she’s a mean girl, then you be a meaner girl. Don’t let her push you around, Chloe.”
The insistence in his tone shocked me. I nodded, unsure what else to say. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to be meaner than Olivia, but Jaxon was right. I couldn’t let her push me around.
CHAPTER SEVEN:
Mystery Man
MY STOMACH WAS ONE LARGE KNOT as I waited for Simon to arrive. He’d texted me ten minutes ago to say he’d be here in twenty. Frank and Larissa were in the living room, seated on the couch in front of the bay window that overlooked the driveway. Little Frank was upstairs with the nanny. I wondered who was more excited for Simon’s arrival—me or them.
Larissa hadn’t been able to talk about anything other than how important it was to network and build lasting relationships. “You never know when they can come in handy,” she’d said.
Then she proceeded to tell me the story of how she hadn’t liked the dean of my school the first time she’d met him, but her father insisted she be cordial. And now, they were good friends, which had been beneficial when it came to getting me enrolled. Lucky me.
I paced the room. Why was I so nervous? This wasn’t a date. Sure, Simon was gorgeous, but I wasn’t interested in him as anything more than a friend. Mostly because I refused to form any attachments to anyone around here.
Plus, I was not going to deal with his sister. Having to spend tonight with her was enough torture to last me a lifetime. Kind of like the day I’d spent at Bushnell Falls with Abby and Rachel… that had been one of the worst days ever.
The past couple of days had been long and tiring. And tutoring Jaxon on Wednesday had tried my patience. That boy knew he was sexy, and funny, and he used that to his advantage every chance he got. We’d spent more time talking about me and my problems than we had studying, and before I knew it, our time was up. At that rate, he was going to fail every final.
“He’s here.” Larissa stood and met him at the front door, opening it before he could knock.
Kill me now.
“You must be Simon.” She stepped aside and waved her arm, inviting him in. “Come in.”
Simon stepped into the house, and I swore my jaw came unhinged. His hair was spiker than usual, the tips a whiter shade of blond, and he was dressed in black jeans that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe, and a fitted Black Veil Brides T-shirt. It was a shame he was forced to wear that stupid school uniform every
