I was lost in thought at our lunch table. We were sitting with Gemma and Dani today–Noah’s idea–one that I didn’t argue with. Maybe if I sat with them, Lauren would steer clear. She didn’t like my sister and she sure as fuck hated Dani.
Theo and Dani were bantering, which was typical. Noah and Gemma were talking quietly, odd. And I was pondering the possibility of getting food poisoning the morning of my arranged date when Lauren and her posse walked up.
Fuck.
“Kane,” she purred, sitting on the bench next to me, shoving herself between me and Theo. “We need to discuss color coordination for the Endangered Wildlife Fundraiser. I’m wearing a sage green dress. Do you have a tie that would match? If not, I can get one sent over to you.”
My stomach dropped and I felt multiple sets of angry eyes on me. I cleared my throat as Lauren trailed her hot pink fingernail up my forearm. “I’m just gonna wear black.”
“Oh,” she said dejectedly. “That works too.”
So agreeable. So amicable. So fake.
“What are you guys doing?” Theo grinned.Fucker.
“Kane is taking me to my parents’ fundraiser. To benefit endangered wildlife, of course.”
Of course.
I looked around at my friends. Gemma seethed, Noah was his usual–indifferent, Theo smirked, and Dani shook her head back and forth, squeezing her fists at her side.
“It’s going to be so much fun!” Lauren squealed, looping her arm with mine. “Since it’s going to be at my house, we can sneak away and have a little fun during the boring parts if you know what I mean.”
“I think we all know what you mean,” Theo chirped. I shot him a death glare and returned my focus to the overly enthusiastic blonde beside me.
“I’ll text you, okay?” I asked as I removed her arm from mine.
“O–okay.” She stood up slowly, smoothing her uniform–which looked to be a few inches shorter than standard issue–and went to leave.
At least I thought so.
She rounded the table, along with three of her friends trailing her, and stopped at the end. Right next to Dani.
“Got a problem, whore?” Lauren spat as she propped her hands on her narrow hips.
“Since you asked,” Dani said as she stood. “I do.”
She was a few inches taller than Lauren, and I knew for a fact that she could hang when it came to fighting. She trained regularly and I’d seen her in action enough times to know who would win this catfight. Lauren whined when she broke a nail or had to run in gym class.
“Jealous?” Lauren smirked.
“I’msojealous. But my daddy quit arranging my playdates when I was five. I’m a big girl now.”
Lauren turned to look at her backup and smirked. “You’re nothing but a cheap, dirty whore. It’s impressive how you manage to be a stripperandattend CG Prep. How do you keep up with your course load? I bet Headmaster Kitts wouldloveto hear about your extracurriculars.”
Working at Ethereal wasn’t exactly a secret, but she didn’t advertise it. If it bothered Dani that Lauren knew she worked at the club, she didn’t show it. She wore her mask of indifference–she wore it at work too–which was a great way to throw off the enemy.
Also, Headmaster Kitts was my dad’s roommate in college. Kitts was good people, and I knew for a fact he wouldn’t give two shits about Dani dancing at Ethereal a few times a week.
“Now who’s jealous? Keep pushing me, blondie. I’ll kick your ass from here to California without breaking a sweat.”
She would.
Lauren scoffed. “Jealous of a whore? Please, I have everything I could ever want.”
“Oh, you do? When’s the last time you stopped by to see your boyfriend?”
“My what?” She wrinkled her overly plucked eyebrows.