I glanced around us. “Are you even allowed to be talking to me right now?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because I’ve been blacklisted for almost two weeks now,” I said, folding my arms. “Won’t Hunter hang you, draw and quarter you, and burn you at the stake if he sees you chatting to me?”
Chris chuckled, running one hand through his hair. “Hunter and I have been friends since we were kids. He probably wouldn’t be happy to see me with you, but he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Okay, but you are friends. Best friends. So why aren’t you going along with his blacklist?”
He shrugged. “I don’t always agree with him. Doesn’t mean we have to stop hanging out or being friends,” he said. “Anyway, are you gonna come tomorrow night?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. Even though Chris was one of the Princes, I’d noticed that he seemed to have his own thing going on most of the time. He wasn’t constantly hanging off Hunter’s lapels, like Asher or Elijah, and he wasn’t with the rest of them at last week’s humiliating charity gala either.
Still, it wasn’t a good idea to attract attention by showing up at his lake party. Everyone would be there, and as usual, I would be a target.
“No thanks,” I said, handing the invitation back to him.
He refused to take it. “C’mon. It’ll be fun! Bonfire and beers by the lake. What’s not to love about that?”
“How are you even allowed to have a party at the campus lake?” I asked. Before he could respond, I groaned. “Wait, let me guess. Sanders lets you do whatever you want because you’re from one of the founding families.”
Chris winked. “Got it in one.”
I let out a short huff. “Well, I can’t come. Sorry.”
“Why not?” He leaned closer again.
“You know why,” I said. “Your friends would probably attach weights to my legs and drown me in the lake.”
“I won’t let them bother you. Besides, everyone will be too busy drinking and partying to care about you.”
“As nice as that sounds,” I said, voice laced with sarcasm, “I still can’t come. I’m not falling for that trick again.”
“What trick?”
“The whole ‘oh, don’t worry, everyone will leave you alone’ trick. Didn’t exactly work out for me last time.”
His face softened. “Yeah, I heard about the charity gala. Talia can be a real bitch.”
“It wasn’t just Talia. It waseveryone.”
Chris blew out a breath and straightened his shoulders. “Look, come or don’t come. It’s up to you,” he said. “But I hope you know by now that I’m not like the others. I’ve never done anything to you, and when I say I’ll make sure nothing happens to you at the party, I mean it. No bullshit. It’ll just be drinks and good vibes.”
I bit my lip again. “I don’t know,” I said reluctantly. “That’s nice and all, if you aren’t lying, but… I don’t know if I can risk it.”
“Okay. I get it.” He held up his palms in defeat. “But promise me you’ll think about it, at least. Could be good for you to get out and loosen up a bit.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Oh, also….” He leaned in one last time, lips ghosting over my ear. “It would be really hot to see you stick it to everyone by showing up like you don’t give a fuck what they think. I love a girl with balls.”
“Good to know,” I said, nodding slowly. “Unfortunately, I’m not equipped with the right stuff.”
“You know what I mean,” he said, chuckling again. “Anyway, I’m serious. It would be hilarious to see their faces when you show up. Plus it’s extra fun to mess with Hunter, because he’s just so fucking serious all the time.”
“If you really want to mess with him, we could use my idea from before,” I replied.
Chris arched his brows. “The one with the weights?”