Reason and Romance (River Valley Book 1) (22 page)

“Bri Latimer is Alex’s new girlfriend,” Adrian interrupted. “I know.”

Even she could hear how cold she sounded. She’d earned her bitch queen reputation a thousand times over. Might as well keep it.

A grimace crossed the blonde’s face. “Oh no, you can’t do that out there, honey. Political suicide.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Listen to me,” Vaughn said rapidly. “That human icicle thing you have going on? Drop it. For better or worse, you’re Varner High’s queen bee. If you look like that, you’re as good as telling everyone that you hate Bri. Once you leave this restroom, they’re going to watch you very carefully.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Don’t be dense, Adrian. They all think you slept with Alex.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she said automatically. “If that’s what—”

Vaughn folded her arms. “Are you really going to lie to my face? Seriously? How stupid do you think I am?”

Shame heated her cheeks, but Adrian shrugged. “What’s it to you, Vaughn? Why did you come here?”

Exasperation twisted the other girl’s mouth. “Believe it or not, I wanted to help you, Adrian. I’m aware you got a raw deal from the first day you got here. And a part of that was my fault. I didn’t know you, then. Call it conscience, call it curiosity, whatever, but I wanted to get to know you better. The last few days, I thought we were friendly. But now …” She threw up her hands. “Fine. I know when I’m not wanted. Go out there, and it will be your social annihilation.”

Travis pushed the door shut before she could leave. “Dude,” he said to Adrian. “Listen to the gossip chick and do what she says. You and Montgomery had your big fight on Saturday. He gets a girlfriend just now. What does that tell you?”

Comprehension dawned in a bitter flash. That son of a bitch had planned it! Last week, she would have sworn up and down that he hadn’t had a girlfriend. Alex had stayed conspicuously single after he’d stopped hooking up with Mandy. Now he had strolled into the school first thing on Monday morning, holding hands with Bri Latimer. So that everyone would see …

“Oh my God,” Adrian whispered.

She could just imagine it now. If Travis hadn’t found her, she would have been completely blindsided. The school would have seen that, and gossiped over her stunned reaction.

She met Vaughn’s gaze. “I’m sorry for misjudging your motive.” The next words made her swallow, but she had to do it. “Okay. I slept with Alex after that party. Second time was the recent weekend. And, um, we fought. It was … really bad.”

Vaughn held up a hand. “That’s all I need to know.”

“What are you going to do with this?” Adrian said, her voice ragged. “This knowledge.”

“I’m going to help you.”

Never had these words sounded so sweet, but Adrian kept staring at her. “Why?” she said. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Vaughn’s smile turned wry. “I’m not exactly blameless. I did spread rumors about you, and that’s my fault. Let’s just say I’ve done a little growing up here. But if you want a simpler explanation …” She stuck her hand out. “Friends for real, Adrian?”

Her eyes stung, but she shook Vaughn’s hand. “Friends,” she whispered.

Travis blew out a breath. “Dude.” He offered Vaughn his hand. “We’re kind of a package deal. So you have to take me on too.”

Vaughn grinned. “Done.”

Adrian had to laugh. “God.” She leaned against the wall. “You guys tell me what I’m supposed to do here. I’m still new to this school social thing.”

Vaughn and Travis exchanged glances. If the situation wasn’t so heartbreaking, Adrian would have smiled. She didn’t think they usually ran in the same social circles, but there they were, the gossip vulture and the stoner.

“I can promise you that no one saw this coming, not even me,” Vaughn said. “Never, ever in a thousand years would I have picked Bri Latimer. Alex really broke with tradition.”

She had the truth of it. Bri wasn’t the usual pinup girl Alex hooked up with, and that alone was a major departure from his standard practice.

“What about Latimer?” Travis said. “Does he know?”

Adrian’s eyes widened. She’d been so wrapped up in her misery that she hadn’t thought about Justin, but of course, Bri was his twin. He’d watched Alex and Bri dance at the Homecoming, and he hadn’t been too happy about it. Adrian found it hard to believe that he would have changed his opinion since.

Vaughn’s shrug was helpless. “This is so new. I don’t even know if Justin knows. And we haven’t factored Quentin or Grant in.”

Adrian checked her cell. It was getting perilously close to the final bell. “I’m going to see what’s what before I decide on anything. I’m just going to smile even if it kills me.”

Travis did a little shudder. “Oh, that’s scary.”

“Come on.”

The very second she stepped out of the restroom, she felt that audible buzz that ran throughout the school hallways. It was like an invisible current of electricity, one that you couldn’t quite touch, but it was undeniable.

“Oh my God! Did you hear what’s happened?”

“Alex Montgomery’s dating someone!”

“No! Who’s the lucky girl?”

Adrian linked arms with Travis, so she’d stop herself from killing everyone. “Talk to me,” she said between clenched teeth. “Remind me why I can’t become a homicidal maniac.”

“You’d look ugly in that orange prison jumpsuit?”

“Okay. I’ll accept that reason.”

His class was on the other side, however, so when they reached the intersection, he had to leave, but Vaughn took his place.

The whispers were getting louder. How the news had spread that quickly, she didn’t know, but Alex had likely paraded himself with Bri. And if Travis had witnessed it, the others would have too.

There was a crowd outside the AP English classroom. Grant Darlington was the first person Adrian saw. Since he was one of the tallest people in the entire school, it was easy to pick out his muscular build. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he was seriously pissed off. His muscles were coiled and his ice blue eyes frigid. He didn’t quite glare, but the others had left an empty ring of space all around him.

Quentin Maxwell was the only person standing next to Grant. Usually surrounded by an adoring lineup of chorus girls, he’d done without his admirers today. He was talking to Grant, gesturing expansively. From what Adrian could tell, he was speaking rapidly.

Realization hit her. “They didn’t know. They’re just as surprised as we are.”

Somehow that made things a little easier. If Quentin and Grant had known ahead of time, she would have hated them. Irrational as hell, but there it was. At least it meant Alex hadn’t been dating Bri on the sly.

“Looks like it,” Vaughn said without moving her lips. “Justin’s not here.”

Suddenly she reached out and gripped Adrian’s arm.

Alex and Bri had just rounded the corner from the opposite direction. They were holding hands. The mere sight of their loosely linked fingers roiled Adrian’s stomach. Her throat locked. How dare they? How dare he?

She’d been warned … and yet it was like a knife to the heart.

Bri was beaming, unable to contain her happiness. She was glowing as she stole shy glances at him. He was smiling down at her. Adrian had seen that playful look upon his face too many times not to know what it meant. Even as she watched, Alex bent his head and whispered something in Bri’s ear that made her blush and giggle.

His eyes met Adrian’s, and she stared back at him. Oh yes, there it was, that molten fury that not even he could quite hide. Yes, he had done this deliberately, and yes, he wanted her to know it.

In that moment, her heart hardened.

“War it is,” she said very softly, so that only Vaughn could hear her. “You want a war, Alex Montgomery? I’ll fucking give you one.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Whoever had said, “The best defense is a good offense,” had clearly been thinking about Varner High because they were all watching her, even Alex and Bri. Adrian could almost hear the excited buzz of their thoughts. So many people believed she’d slept with him, so they were anticipating her reaction. Would she call him names and slap his face?

Her smile curved into a sudden, vicious smile. How little did they know her.

She crooked her finger at Quentin. “There you are, Maxwell. You’re just the person who I wanted to see.”

A confused ripple ran throughout the crowd. They’d all expected her to confront Alex, but no, a frontal attack had never been her style.

Quentin’s grin broke out. He wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings as Alex was, but as Adrian had known, he couldn’t resist giving into his curiosity.

“Everyone always wants me,” he drawled. He slid an arm around her waist. “What can I do for you, Adrian? Other than the obvious?”

“That’s for me to decide, not you.”

Chuckling, he dropped his voice so low that only she could hear him. “On a scale from one to ten, how jealous are you? Are you going to shoot Bri or suffer in noble silence? Whatever you do, just tell me.”

A part of her wanted to knee him, but another part told her to play along. Like it or not, Quentin was helping her out by whispering and half-cuddling her. Their private conversation was only fueling the gossip, which was what she wanted.

She smiled at him under her eyelashes. “I think Bri will really benefit from Alex’s experience. On a scale from one to ten, how unhappy is Justin?”

Quentin grimaced. “I haven’t seen him.”

Just how badly had Justin taken the news? Had Alex even told him beforehand? Or had he sprung it as a nasty surprise? Either way, Justin wasn’t here, and that spoke volumes.

The teacher poked her head out of the classroom. “Class starts in thirty seconds, and I don’t see any of you in your seats.”

As everyone trickled inside the classroom, Vaughn fell into step with Adrian. “Sometimes you scare me, honey,” the blonde said.

Adrian had never really enjoyed AP English, thanks to the departed Mr. Melbourne, but now she could feel her classmates’ curious stares drilling holes in the back of her head. Every now and then, she heard the low murmur of Alex’s voice. Was he whispering sweet nothings to Bri? Planning their first date?

She gripped her pencil so tightly that her hand went white. Vaughn had been right, they were talking about her. She would just have to give them something to talk about.

Quentin …

It was no more than a flicker of a thought, but he was Alex’s closest friend. He was rich and good-looking and single. Quentin had once told her that she could have the school eating out of her hand if she wanted. And oh how she wanted it now.

He found her after class. Almost immediately, his arm went around her hip, his hand suspiciously too low. “Should I search you for guns and knives, Adrian? Please, please say yes.”

“You’re acting as if you think I’m jealous.”

“The entire school believes you have something going on with Alex. Even I can feel the metaphysical sex you guys are having. But, all right, if you’re not jealous, let’s pick another word. Envious, green-eyed, resentful … let’s not debate the thesaurus, darling.”

Oh, how she wanted to wipe that smirk off that pretty face. He had been so rude at their first meeting that she had consciously avoided him afterward. Every time they’d interacted, he hadn’t changed her initial impression.

“I didn’t realize you could read the thesaurus,” she said. “Or did you get one of your hangers-on to read it to you?”

“Ooh, the claws come out. You really don’t like being traded in for another model, do you? That must have hurt your ego.”

Her smile matched his. “Just like it hurt your ego that I presumably found Alex more attractive than you?”

“Baby, I can rule this fucking school if I want to, but it’s more fun to be the crown prince.”

“That’s debatable. Court jester might be more like it.”

“Only if I can wear tights. I have fabulous legs. So, are you confirming that you and Alex slept together?”

“You’re suddenly concerned about the truth? Aren’t you one of the many people who spread rumors about me?”

“I wasn’t the one who started them. You have Vaughn to thank for that, and it looks as if you’ve forgiven her.” The bell rang and Quentin removed his arm from her waist. “Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me. I’ll pick you up after your class.”

Nettled, Adrian brushed past him. Who did he think he was? Maybe she had made a miscalculation, singling him out this morning.

He was true to his word. He was lounging by the door when AP Spanish let out, and she wondered just how he’d managed to get out of his class.

“Are you going to do this for every class I have?” she demanded.

“Of course. Now, back to our talk …”

There was five minutes between classes and Quentin took full advantage. He shouldered people aside as he towed Adrian along in his wake. Somehow he managed to keep up a running commentary while shoving his victims aside and shouting random insults at people who complained. Unlike Alex who walked through the hallways unmolested, Quentin waded right into the fray.

“No one—not even me!—knew Alex was going to date Bri,” he said. “You won’t believe how pissed off Grant is.”

Interested at last, Adrian glanced up at him. “I think I know.”

“Oh, that’s right, you saw him this morning. It’s hard to surprise Grant, but Alex managed.” Quentin’s glance was sly. “I think something set Alex off. And that means
you
set him off, Adrian. Did you guys have a fight?”

He was uncomfortably too close to the truth. “No,” she said baldly.

“Please. I may not look that smart, but if I know anything, I know when people are fucking. You and Alex slept together after that party and probably a few other times I don’t know about. Right?”

“If you know everything, why are we having this conversation?”

“Because I live to annoy you, Adrian.”

She had to laugh helplessly. She would just have to figure how to get out of her Economics class five minutes early. But when she did so, Quentin was already there. Apparently he really hadn’t been joking about waiting for her after every class.

“God!” she said, exasperated. “Do I need to get a restraining order?”