He slammed the locker shut and looked at me. “It’s just speculation,” he finally said.
“Speculation? Continue, ‘little brother.’” I gave him my most winsome I’m-not-gonna-kill-you-if-you-tell-me-but-if-you-don’t-there-are-no-promises smile.
He sighed. “Homecoming is in a week, and people are trying to figure out who you’re going to pair with.”
“What?” Whatever juicy gossip was going on around me, that wasn’t what I was expecting.
“Well, if that’s what’s got everyone freaking out then I’ll make it simple: No one. I’m going stag.”
He chuckled. “No, you aren’t.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Why?”
“Well, for one, nobody’s asked me.”
“Then ask someone.”
“Like who? It’s kind of late to find a date—another reason I should just go stag.”
“Well, I can think of a few guys who want to be your date,” Mickey said, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.
“A few guys? Who? The only guys I know here are you and Edon.”
Mickey winced. “Well, whatever you do, don’t ask him.”
“And why is that?” A smooth, lazy voice said behind me, making goosebumps break out on my arms.
I spun around to see Edon at his locker, wearing rugged jeans and a dark red t-shirt that hugged his shoulders.
Even though I knew better than meeting his gaze, it would have been weird if I kept staring at his chest. At least, that’s what I thought until his warm brown eyes crinkled with humor, sucking me further in.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Mickey shift.
“Because,” Mickey said, “you’ve never been a fan of the court.”
Edon’s smile dimpled a cheek, and I felt my heart squeeze. “With a different queen, court wouldn’t be so bad. But” —Edon shifted his eyes from me to Mickey— “you keep choosing the same kind of queen year after year after year.”
“It’s not really a choice.”
Edon gave him a contemptuous look. “It was last time.”
“No, it wasn’t. I knew her better than you—she wasn’t what you thought,” Mickey said, glaring at Edon.
“Well, now we’ll never know, will we?” Edon sneered.
I blinked. “Are you guys seriously arguing about who voted for the last homecoming queen?”
When they turned their eyes on me, their expressions still dark and flinty, I held my hands in front of me in a placating gesture. “Not that that couldn’t be important and all, but it seems to be a little…out of character? Just saying.”
The corners of Edon’s mouth quirked up. And I quickly looked away before his gaze could suck me in again.
“Long story,” Mickey said.
“Very long,” Edon agreed. “But Mickey is right about one thing.” I swiveled my gaze back to his, my breath catching as he grinned at me. “Unlike you, I’m not really Homecoming court material.”
“But I’m not—”
A dark chuckle cut me off. Edon shook his head. “You will be if you stick with him,” he said, nodding at Mickey. “Not that I recommend it. I’d run fast and far away if I were you—and I’m not just saying that because I’m not on the best of terms with the court.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, since there’s no chance of me getting nominated, I think I’m safe from all the school Homecoming court drama.”
Edon shook his head and opened his mouth, about to say something more.
“Let’s go,” Mickey said, pulling me away from the lockers.
But not before Edon said, “Just remember, Kella: the offer still stands.”
That made me stop in my tracks. My mind flicked over to the first day I met him—when he’d invited me to go with him instead of to my foster home. I couldn’t forget how my gut had screamed at me to say yes that day. Just as it was doing right now.
That was it, my gut was broken.
And it didn’t help that my body had more issues than a lemon from a used car lot whenever Edon was around.
But at least my brain still worked well enough to remember Bridgette’s haunted expression—the one that had told me all I needed to know about Edon. Girls couldn’t trust guys like him no matter how attractive they were—or how much they wanted to say yes.
“Sorry, I won’t be your next ‘Bridgette,’” I said. “You’ll just have to look somewhere else.”
“Bridgette?” Edon scrunched his brows together. “What does this have to do with Bridgette?”
“She told me about you,” I said, leaving him to fill in the blanks.
“And?” Edon asked.
That wasn’t the response I had expected. “Well, didn’t you guys date?”
Edon’s laugh sent shivers racing down my back. “Who told you that? Bridgette?” Edon shook his head. “I’d rather date explosives—they’d be less dangerous.”
I stared at him for a moment, stunned. “You didn’t…you never dated…” I looked over at Mickey. “You guys lied—” I stopped myself. They couldn’t have outright lied to me—I’d have spotted a lie right away. I didn’t remember exactly what had been said, but I knew I’d been led to believe…
“It looks like you two have things to talk about,” Edon said, interrupting my thoughts, “so I’ll leave you to it.” He turned and walked down the hallway toward the office.
“Mickey,” I said, staring at Edon’s retreating form. “Why did you and Bridgette try to get me to think that Edon and Bridgette had dated…” I turned in time to see the flash of guilt on his face before he settled his features into a neutral expression. “And that you rescued her from your awful best friend.”
Mickey ran his hand through his hair. “We didn’t mean to mislead you, but Edon’s bad news. When we realized you thought that he was...”
“A scary ex-boyfriend?”
Mickey nodded. “Well, we figured it was for the best.”
“It was for the best to make me think the worst of someone?”
“It’s not that simple. Trusting Edon would be a very, very bad idea. He’d destroy you.”
Destroy me? Well, that was a little dramatic.
“You could have just told me he was bad news.”
“But you would have wanted to know why, and we wouldn’t have been
