“You like us.”
“Not. The. Point.” I punctuate each word with a poke to his solid chest. “I don’t want to lose my memories. I don’t want to be used as a-.” my throat closes on me and I double over, clutching my stomach as it tries to bring up whatever is left in my stomach.
“Kier!” Tanner, Ty and Seth shout at the same time.
“What? I didn’t know she was going to try and say it. I would have kissed her to shut her up, but she hasn’t brushed her teeth yet.”
My jaw is on the ground. Did he seriously just say that?
“Jerk!” I snap running to the door before any of them can stop me. I’m halfway back to the dorms before I realise they’ve all followed me into the hidden passage.
I can hear Tanner laughing as I stop in front of his dorm room’s hidden door and press the secret lever that lets me inside. “I was wondering how you’ve been getting into my rooms.”
“Took me half a day to figure out how to open the one that leads into here.” I groan, heading straight for his bathroom. I open the cupboard beneath his sink and pull out the toothbrush he gave me the first night I stayed in his room.
“Should we be worried that she’s got her own toothbrush in here?” I’m fairly certain Seth isn’t talking to me, so I ignore them as I brush my teeth. It’s weird doing something so personal in front of a group of boys.
“How many times do I have to say it? I. Am.Not. Interested. In. Her. That. Way.” He emphasises each word with a pause as though he’s trying to convince them, what I don’t understand is why it’s such a big deal. It’s not like being stuck with them makes me theirs or anything.
I spit the toothpaste out and rinse my mouth before growling, “Want to explain to me why you’re all acting like a bunch of jealous boyfriends?”
“We….” Seth begins.
“That’s not….” Ty tries at the same time Kier says, “We just….”
“Yeah. Too stupid for words aren’t you all? I’m not yours. Got that? Not now, not ever. I am not interested in anything that involvesGodsof any sort.” I’m practically yelling by the time I finish speaking.
I’m shocked as they all turn around and walk away without protesting. I almost feel bad for them, right up until Kier calls out from the other room, “You’re still coming to the ball with us tonight. As ourdate.”
And that’s how I found myself an hour later standing in the bathroom of my own dorm, staring at Tanner as he tries to force me into a green dress that has far too little fabric on the top and too much on the bottom.
“For the millionth time, I am not wearing that thing.”
“You have to. We don’t have time to get a different one.” He snaps at me exasperated at my antics. “Munchkin-.”
I cut him off before he can try another one of his million logical arguments. “How do you do that? Make such a cute sounding name seem like such an insult?”
“It’s a talent, now stop trying to change the subject. Put the damn dress on or I’ll force you into it.” He grabs the dress of the bed and practically throws it in my face. “Just put the fucking thing on, Ryxa.”
Woah, I think I pushed Tanner too far. Colour me impressed; he’s got a longer fuse than I thought he’d have. “Fine, but I’m not wearing makeup.”
“Goddesses don’t need makeup.”
“Shut up, Tanner, I’m not a Goddess. Your theory is wrong.” I growl. He’s been harping on me for the last few hours, trying to convince me that his theory is right.
“Agree to disagree. Now get dressed and meet the guys at the bottom of the God’s dorm stairs. I’ll meet you in the ballroom, there’s something I need to check on.”
I wait until he shuts the door before grabbing the stupid dress, I’m half tempted to throw it at the back of the door. Okay, so the dress isn’t that stupid. It’s actually quite pretty. Especially since the deep green will bring out the green tints in my eyes and make my hair look gold rather than the silvery blonde it usually looks, but come on, I don’t want to go to this ball.
I pull the dress on, slip my feet into the matching shoes and then run a brush through my hair and call it done.
Walking down the stairs, I hold the hem of my dress up. Knowing my luck, I’d trip over it if I didn’t. “I still can’t believe the Gods are making us attend a ball. As though being forced to act like their personal slaves isn’t bad enough, now they want us to play happy slaves and parade around for their amusement.” I grumble out loud.
My feet stumble as I reach the landing half way down. It’s not my clumsiness that made me stumble though. It’s the three guys staring up at me.
Seth’s fiery eyes are filled with a heat I can’t escape from. His jaw is practically on the ground yet it’s not as bad as looking at Ty’s reaction, he looks like he’s never seen a girl in a dress before. His deep blue eyes look like they’re going to pop right out of his head, they’re that wide. I roll my own eyes to the ceiling as I turn my attention to the last Typhon brother, Kier’s dark eyes are practically glowing as he stares up at me.
“Quit staring, you’ll give me a complex, this stupid dress is uncomfortable enough without you making me feel like it’s about to fall off or something.” I snap, taking the rest of the steps two at a time, which is a really bad idea. Said green dress flares out around my ankles as I drop the silky fabric back down and I go ahead and step on the hem. I manage to catch the stair railing at the last second, but it was a damn close one.