Perfect Enemies

26

“On a Friday night? That’s bullshit,” Chloe groused. “The dance is only two weeks away. We have to paint signs and get some other stuff ready. Several people were going to be in the city this weekend, so they decided to get it done tomorrow after school.” Presley was surprisingly sweet, considering she was Chloe’s friend. Who knew, maybe that’s what everyone said about Reyna and me. I wasn’t totally blind to the similarities. While they weren’t quite as inseparable, they usually did school stuff together, but it appeared the decorations committee was where Chloe drew the line. I’d been so wrapped up in other stuff that I’d completely forgotten about the dance. I thought about Kane and how it would feel to dance with him— our bodies pressed together, my arms draped over his broad shoulders, and the smell of his cologne warming me from the inside out. My cheeks began to radiate heat. When my eyes flew up, I found Kane’s eyes glued to my face, his harsh features a storm of condemnation. Did he know what I’d been thinking? There was no way, yet I sensed his intuition deep in my gut. “Hey, Val,” Bryson called. “I saw you dancing with Gio at the back-toschool party. You gonna go to the dance with him and finally give the man a chance?” He smirked, knowing I hadn’t gone out with anyone since dating Talon, Gio’s best friend. More than one rumor had circulated after our breakup about why I hadn’t dated anyone since. I couldn’t care less about rumors, but I did enjoy the sour look that crossed Kane’s face at the mention of Gio. “I guess that depends on who asks me.” I tried not to look at Kane, but my eyes flicked in his direction for a split second. Just enough time to see his gaze drift to Reyna. The next two classes dragged on as the emotional strain of my day wore me down. Fortunately, I had seventh period office aide, a privilege granted to seniors if they could fit it in their schedule. It was an hour reprieve from learning and a chance to mentally rally for the last class of the day. I worked on whatever admin tasks were needed and sometimes used the hour as a study period. “Hey, Mrs. Kennedy. Whatcha got for me today?” I asked, dropping my bag next to the school secretary’s desk. “First, I need you to man the fort. I told Principal Ruiz I’d pick up the cookies she ordered for our staff meeting after school, but Shannon is out sick today, so I haven’t been able to leave. I’ve got some absentees for you to put in the system while I run to the bakery, then you’re free to do homework.” She pulled a worn leather purse from the desk drawer. “I’ll be back quick as a flash.” “No problem. I’ll grab the phones and make sure the place is still standing when you get back.” I grinned at our sweet secretary and lowered myself into her desk chair. Seven names were scribbled on a mini legal pad, which I recognized as her absentee list—people who had not shown up or had to leave early for the day. Typically, I used my own student aide log-on when I worked on the computers in the office, but today, Mrs. Kennedy had been in such a rush to leave that she’d forgotten to log out. I stared at the screen for endless seconds, a restless energy making my palms tingle and sweat. Student files were confidential, but as the school secretary, Mrs. Kennedy had access. I could take one little peek, and no one would ever know. My throat tightened as my hand lifted to the mouse, directing the cursor to the shortcut link for the student file database. One simple click and I was in. With my eyes darting between the screen and the office door, I typed in Kane’s name and pulled up his file. Kane David Easton. Parents: Steven and Amelia Easton. Mother: deceased. Father: attorney at DLA Piper. Siblings: none. OceanofPDF.com 16 OceanofPDF.com I REYNA understood why Val was so adamant against me inviting our friends over to my house. It was a horrible idea, and I probably wouldn’t have done it even if she hadn’t cut in and redirected everyone’s attention to Kane. But that didn’t stop me from being a tad annoyed—at Val, at my father, at my entire situation. I felt like a diver watching my air tank slowly drain to its last puffs of oxygen. I had so little time left, and I desperately wanted to cling to every vestige of life around me. If I ended up back in Mexico, I would undoubtedly find myself married to one of my father’s associates, my life forfeited for his business purposes. What kind of life would that be? Depending on my new jailer, it could be a fate worse than death. The days and weeks I spent at Xavier might be all the life I had left. I wanted to experience everything I possibly could—hoard away every scrap of joy like a squirrel hoping to survive the long winter. That was why I considered having friends over. That was why I snuck out to go to the movies and obnoxious high school parties. That was why I agreed to go to the dance with Kane when he asked me after lunch. “Me? Um … are you sure you’re asking the right person?” I could hardly understand what I’d just heard. Surely, there’d been a mistake. I liked Kane, but I hadn’t gotten the impression he was all that into me. Then again, what did I know? I’d never had a boyfriend in my life. He grinned down at me, his bottom lipped pulled playfully between his teeth. “Yes, silly. I’m absolutely asking the right person. I know this isn’t the most romantic way to ask, but I wanted to make sure I got to you before anyone else.” I glanced around the hall where we stood just outside our next class and wondered if this was a joke. Students were filtering into doorways, their noisy ruckus dwindling to a few hurried footsteps and slammed lockers. There were no snickering kids with phones filming my anticipated humiliation—no signs whatsoever that this was an elaborate scheme to tease the awkward, quiet girl. He truly was asking me to the dance. Val had been absolutely adamant nothing was going on between her and Kane. She was the only true friend I’d ever had, so I didn’t want to hurt her, but if she swore she wasn’t into him, and it was the only chance I had at going to a high school dance, I had to accept. I’d missed the homecoming dance, and this was the only other dance besides prom. I might not even be in the country by the time prom rolled around.