“Sort of. My mom works for his parents, and I filled in for her once as a waitress at one of their parties. I met him there.”
My cheeks turned hot as the memories came back to me.
It was around three months ago. I was standing by a drinks table at the party when suddenly the hottest guy I’d ever seen in my life approached me. He was tall and dark-haired with bright blue eyes, features that could’ve been chiseled by Michelangelo, and a body that could’ve graced any A-list red carpet or catwalk.
I was surprised when he spoke to me and openly flirted with me, and then I was surprised all over again when he suddenly turned cold and hostile and stalked away, never to speak to me again. It was weird as hell.
That whole night had been weird, come to think of it. While delivering drinks to some party guests upstairs, I’d accidentally come across a secret stairway behind a swinging bookshelf. It was like something out of a movie.
I ventured up that mysterious spiral staircase, like any other curious person would, and I ended up finding a wild sex party in a hidden room at the very top.
I assumed it was some sort of swingers event, but the whole thing gave me a weird vibe. Nearly everyone was masked, and there were some odd symbols around the place, including a gold staff held by a nearly-nude dancing girl in the center of the room. It was designed to look like a long-stemmed rose with a snake coiling around it.
I ended up running back downstairs, totally creeped out by the cult-like vibe I got from the place, and in the months since then, I’d tried to put it out of my mind, along with any thoughts of Hunter’s shitty attitude toward me.
Now that he was right here in the quad, at the very same school as me, every one of those memories was flooding back.
“Why don’t we go and say hi?” Trina suggested. “The Princes are kinda douchey, but it’s always good to be on their good side.”
“Okay.” I forced a smile and lifted my chin. Surely Hunter would be civil to me today. Nice, even. That night at the party was probably just some sort of misunderstanding.
We headed over to the Princes. “Hey, guys,” Trina said with a wave. “I just wanted to introduce you to one of the new students. This is Laney Collins. Hunter, I think you already know her from—”
Hunter cut her off, handsome features twisted into a scowl. “Yeah, I know her, and you should probably think twice before you decide to hang out with her,” he told her. He cut his eyes at me. “Now fuck off. We’re in the middle of something.”
My cheeks burned as a wildfire of humiliation raged through my body. What the hell wasthat?
Trina didn’t seem fazed. She simply rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she practically spat before turning on her heel and stomping away. “C’mon, Laney,” she called over her shoulder.
When we were back on the other side of the quad, she whirled around to look at me with wide eyes. “What is his problem with you?” she asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “Didn’t you say those Prince guys are kinda douchey?”
“Yeah, but they’re usually only total asses to people who’ve done something to deserve it. In their eyes, at least.” She shook her head slowly. “Can you think of anything you might’ve done to piss him off?”
I frowned and shook my head. “I only met him once. I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Hm.” Trina’s face softened, and she rubbed the back of her neck. “Actually… it might not be you. He’s been a bit weird ever since his sister Lindsay died.” She let out a short sigh. “It hit him pretty hard.”
My forehead wrinkled. I knew Hunter Connery had at least one sibling, because I remembered my mom occasionally mentioning the Connery kids, but I had no idea that he had a sister who’d died.
“Oh. That’s really sad,” I said, glancing over at Hunter again. Suddenly I saw him in a whole new light. That strange dark look in his eyes… it was grief. “Was she sick?”
Trina’s lips tightened, and she lowered her voice. “No. She committed suicide.”
My hand flew to my mouth. “Oh my god. That’s horrible.”
“Yeah. She jumped off the top of their mansion. She was kinda messed up, I guess, but still… none of us saw thatcoming.”
“How long has it been?”
“It happened last year, near the start of the fall term. So nearly a whole year ago now.”
“Not that long in the grand scheme of things,” I said, nodding slowly. “I guess I can’t blame Hunter for being—”
Trina suddenly cut me off, wild-eyed, dragging one finger across her throat. I stopped midsentence and turned around.
A tall blond student was approaching us with a bright smile on his face. “Hey, Trina! Who’s the new girl?” he called out.