She briefly closes her eyes and smiles softly. “Missed you, too.”
Ainsley and Reed have been pretty quiet about the fact that they’re together during school. They said they didn’t want to deal with the mean girls’ cattiness while their relationship is so new, but I guess that’s no longer a concern.
“Aw, you two are so cute, it makes me want to puke in my mouth.”
Ainsley flips me off as she sneaks one more quick kiss. “You need to haul ass if you’re going to get to math in time. I’ll meet you by the car after class.”
“Have fun.” Reed gives her a discreet pat on the butt before walking away.
“Why are you blushing, Ains?”
“Shut up.” She rolls her eyes as she leans against the wall.
We still have a few minutes before class, so we take advantage of that to continue our conversation.
“What were you and Reed talking about before I got here?”
“You.”
“What about me?”
“He’s still having doubts that you’re not okay with his...” I lower my voice before adding, “kinks.”
She pulls back, her delicate brows raised in surprise. “Reed said that?”
“Sort of. As much as he could without revealing what that thing of his is. He suspects I know, but I haven’t confirmed anything.”
Ainsley smirks. “Well, to be fair, you’re not exactly subtle about it.”
I shrug. “I respect the fact that Reed wants to be discreet, but you know damn well the guys know. And I hate bringing this up, but odds are, most girls he’s been with know too, so it’s not like it’s a take-it-to-the-grave kind of secret. He has nothing to be ashamed of, but I don’t think he believes that.”
“I think I know the reason behind that.” She sighs heavily. “His parents are über conservative. Judgy assholes, really. Reed’s grown up listening to them preach about Christian values, which they like to fall back on to justify their bigotry. In reality, their behavior is very anti -Christian. He doesn’t buy into their bullshit—especially after what they did to his sister—but I think he still fights a lot of deeply-rooted stuff in his head.”
“Reed has a sister?”
“Yep.” Ainsley nods. “She’s four years older, but they’re close. Reed usually spends most of the summer break at her place. He actually asked me if I wanted to fly up there for Christmas.”
“Why haven’t I heard about her before?”
Ainsley’s shoulder lifts. “She moved to Oregon literally the day after graduation with nothing but the clothes on her back. Couldn’t get away from their parents fast enough.”
“Why? What happened?”
She frowns. “Regan—that’s her name—is bisexual. She decided to finally come out to her parents toward the end of her senior year because she fell in love with a woman and didn’t want to hide her feelings anymore. The ‘rents were not okay with it in the least. Those jerks threatened to cut Regan out of their will unless she got that ‘lesbian nonsense’ out of her head. In turn, she told them if they couldn’t understand that love is love, regardless of what that looks like, they could take their money and go fuck themselves with it.”
“That’s sad.”
“Very. Regan’s girlfriend, Cass, had some family in Portland, so they packed up and left town as soon as they could. When Reed told his parents about Regan and Cassidy’s engagement, they acted like they didn’t even have a daughter. That was pretty much the last straw for Reed—he wants nothing to do with them. He can’t wait to get out of that house, either.”
I sigh. “Poor guy. No wonder he’s so serious all the time. I sorta feel bad for screwing with him now.”
“Yeah.” Ainsley blows a hair out of her face. “And don’t feel bad, Jazz. You didn’t know, and he could definitely use a little more humor in his life. He’d understand you meant no harm.”
“Well, you should tell him you told me and that he’ll get no judgment from me on the matter.” I wag my eyebrows suggestively. “And you should definitely try convincing him that you’re more than okay with it. Whatever you need to do to ensure he has no doubts, do it .”
The flush in her cheeks deepens as we walk into class.
“Buenas tardes, se?orita Davenport y se?orita Callahan .”
“Buenas tardes, se?or Reyes ,” Ainsley and I reply in unison.
Before we split off to take our seats, Ainsley winks and says, “I’ll see what I can do.”
I chuckle. “I bet you will.”
Chapter 7
JAZZ
If I thought Thanksgiving break went by fast, it was nothing compared to our first week back at school. On Monday, I had a pop quiz in almost every one of my classes because the teachers at Windsor are clearly giant assholes, and it didn’t get much better from there. The one nice thing is that Peyton and posse have been relatively quiet, save for a few whispered insults here and there. After school, the guys and I reviewed video footage while Ainsley was at dance class. However, the boys have taken over anything from Preston’s offices because I can’t stomach seeing the man for any length of time after recent events.
Nothing exciting has happened since we saw Preston abusing my stepsister on that video, although you can definitely sense the growing tension between my sperm donor and his wife. I won’t lie and say watching Madeline squirm hasn’t been entertaining. We’ve finally made it to Saturday, where we’re just about to head to another fancy party. If you would’ve told me six months ago I would be attending gatherings like this wearing designer dresses, I would’ve laughed my ass off.
“There. I think I got it.” Kingston finishes buttoning his dress shirt and begins the process of knotting his bright red tie.
“Do you need to test it out?” I straighten the corner of his collar.
“John and I did that earlier,” my boyfriend says. “It was just a matter of getting it taped up properly without smothering the mic. All I need to do at this point is to hit the button to activate it once we’re there.”
It turns out, John Peterson’s FBI friend is, in fact, investigating mine and Kingston’s fathers. John wouldn’t give us any real details because he doesn’t want to compromise the case, but he seems to think this is a positive development. Kingston agreed to wear a wire to the party tonight since there’s a possibility several vital players will be in attendance. He’s also decided to hand over any incriminating video footage we have, though I don’t know how Kingston’s getting around the fact that he’s technically engaging in illegal surveillance. John says he trusts this guy, and Kingston trusts John, so I’m going with it.
“Well, look at that. We clean up well, don’t you think?” I gesture to our reflection in the mirror above Kingston’s dresser.
His eyes darken as they take me in, lingering on my subtle cleavage for a few seconds. “You look incredible, but that’s really no different from any other day.”
I’m wearing an emerald green midi-length dress that’s fitted through the bodice with a flowy skirt. It’s simple and delicate but totally appropriate for my age. More importantly, unlike the last dress I wore to a stuffy event, this one lacks the sex kitten vibe. When I moved to the hills, my closet was filled with beautiful clothing, but there wasn’t a single cocktail dress because Madeline says evening wear should only be worn once then promptly discarded. She didn’t appreciate my scoff after that ridiculous statement, but it’s not like I really give a fuck.
My stepmonster tried buying me something to wear for tonight, but I declined for obvious reasons and raided Ainsley’s closet instead. Thankfully, the girl has a massive wardrobe, with items ranging from perfectly chaste all the way over to this-would-look-perfect-with-a-pair-of-stripper-heels . I chose a dress on the former end of the spectrum because the last thing I’d want to do is show up to a house filled with pervy old men in an overtly sexy garment. You’d think I was completely naked, though with the way my boyfriend’s gaze eats me up.