“You’re welcome.” Her gaze flickered over me. “Nice dress.”
I had a feeling that wasn’t necessarily a compliment. She looked amazing, as usual, in skintight black jeans and a strappy tank top in a shimmery, silvery color. How was she not cold? Maybe it was because she was the devil.
The devil that spoke the truth.
“Thanks,” I murmured anyway. Those were pretty much the only words she’d spoken to me since the day in the hallway when she told me I was going to break Rider’s heart. I knew they still sometimes talked. I was okay with that as long as I didn’t get dragged into conversations with her.
Paige arched a brow. She didn’t just walk past us into the living room. She sashayed, swinging hips and all. She sat on the couch, in between two older guys who nodded at Rider. They were focused on the TV, their fingers flying over the game controllers.
“There’s shit to drink in the kitchen.” Rico nodded in my direction. “If she wants something.”
“Cool.” Rider tugged me around and we walked down the hall, into a sparse kitchen. Empty beer boxes were piled next to an overflowing trash bin. He placed the cup Paige had handed him onto the counter and then walked to the fridge. A sharp smell hit the air when he opened the door. “There’s some Mountain Dew in here. That work for you?”
I nodded. “So does Paige hang out here a lot?”
He shrugged as he handed a can over to me then grabbed one for himself. “Sometimes. Rico’s a friend of her family.”
“You’re not going to drink...what Paige gave you?”
“Nope.”
For some stupid and most likely childish reason, I was happy to hear that. Rider curled his hand around the nape of my neck and lowered his head. When he spoke, his warm breath danced over my lips. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” I murmured. “We just got here.”
“I’m checking in, though.” His head tilted slightly, and I shivered. “I’m going to do that a lot, and when you want to leave, you just tell me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He kissed me softly and then pulled away. I felt my cheeks heat as we walked back toward the living room. Rider stopped at the doorway. “Where’s Hector?”
“Upstairs.” Rico sipped from the bottle.
Rider glanced down at me. “Want to see what he’s up to?”
“Sure,” I said, trying to speak louder, but it came across as a whisper.
He smiled anyway and then led the way. The upstairs was slightly cooler than below, and Rider seemed to know where we were heading, because he went straight to the second door and rapped his knuckles off it.
“Yo,” came the response.
“It’s me. You busy? I got Mallory with me.”
“Yeah, give me a sec.”
There was a sound of something creaking and then a girl giggled. My brows flew up, and Rider winced. “Hey, we can come back,” he called out, grinning at me. “Don’t want—”
The door swung open. Hector was straightening out his shirt with one hand. We had so interrupted something. “Nah. No problem. Come on in.”
“You sure?”
Hector nodded as he opened the door the rest of the way. A dark-skinned girl sat on the edge of the futon. She smiled when we walked in and gave a little wave.
A candle was burning on a dresser, and it reminded me of sugar cookies. I wondered whose room this was. Then again, it didn’t really look like a bedroom.
“Have you met Rider?” Hector asked the girl, and she nodded. “Cool. Uh, this is Sheila and that’s Mallory.”
Sheila smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I murmured.
Hector walked over to a dark red beanbag and plopped down in it. “So when did you guys get here?” he asked as we sat on the futon next to Sheila.
“Just a little bit ago,” Rider answered.
Hector glanced over at me before continuing. “Everyone still downstairs?”
He nodded. “Rico and the guys are playing one of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ games. Looks pretty serious.”
Chuckling, Hector reached up and snagged a clear glass off the small end table. “Sounds like normal. You guys planning to hang out for a while?”
“Maybe.” Rider knocked his knee off mine. “We might catch a movie or something. Not sure.”
“Sounds good. You catch the game earlier?” Hector asked, and as the boys started talking about a basketball game, I glanced over at Sheila. She was looking down at her phone, scanning what appeared to be Facebook.
There was so much I could say right now, so many questions I could ask. Options were limitless, but my tongue felt heavy. I started to look away, but stopped myself. That wasn’t what I needed to do. I needed to speak. I needed to not do what I normally did, which was just shut down.
I forced my lips and tongue to move. “So...do you go to Lands High?” There. I did it. And I managed not to smile like a fool, too.
Sheila looked up. “No.” She grinned. “I actually go to Howard University. I’m just home visiting for the weekend.”