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I’d once heard a guy say that sleeping with her was part of being initiated onto the team But that was just jocktarded smack talk, probably started by someone who couldn’t catch her eye

"But do you like her?" Bickley pried He was desperate to trickto work

"Of course I do," I adirl S more time with her was a terrible idea Because I did not trust myself with her Dios I’d been like the Incredible Hulk videos I used to watch as a kid With very little provocation I’d co out of all ot hot just thinking about it

"Are you going to call her?" Bickley pressed

"Yeah" Of course I would do that We were neighbors, after all I couldn’t just duck her for the next eight months, even if I wanted to But I didn’t want to duck her at all So after I calmed down a little, the best plan of action would be to knock on her door and at least say…

I had no idea what

I didn’t see Bella on Monday But on Tuesdays we shared a class Intro to Urban Studies had about sixty people in it, though, and was held in a lecture hall The spot was not exactly conducive to a private discussion

To make matters worse, Alison took that course, too So now Urban Studies was fast beco Aard Studies

Bella ran in at the lastherself in a seat by the door Her cheeks were flushed, as if she’d been hurrying

My traitorous body heated immediately Just one look at her and I was transported back to Saturday night Bella reached into her backpack on the floor for a pen, and the graceful line of her neck made me reme up then, Bella caughther And whatever she saw on aze away, staring down at the notebook on uilty about what I’d done with Bella But here I sat practically frothing at the , I did my best to listen I loved this class, actually The prof was a long-tiave in his lectures were places I knew Greenwich Village Lincoln Center Central Park I’d passed those spotsmuch about how they’d co up his stories and theories was effortless for me In this class I felt at least as well equipped to learn the material as anyone else in the rooone to a decent New York City public high school But it wasn’t even forty-eight hours into my first semester as a freshman when I’d realized how outclassed I was My freshman roommate went to Andover where he’d played first violin in the orchestra The guy across the hall had gone to Exeter, where he’d built rockets in a physics lab and memorized two thousand Chinese characters

This year, I roomed with Bickley, who had attended Eton, a school I’d only heard about in old books Even Mat seeotten a top-notch education at his public school in Virginia

At Harkness, I worked my ass off for B’s and C’s Bickley, on the other hand, often slept through class and pulled A’s without see to try

I felt someone’s eyes on me and turned to look

Alison sat a feay Her ivory skin appeared even paler than usual, and there were dark circles under her eyes When she saw ret

Oh, just save it, I thought Bitterness crawled into my throat, and I sed it down She’d been so callous And now she felt bad about it?

Giving the professor my full attention, I took careful notes on the lecture This is what I’d co else was just a distraction

When class ended, I zipped my backpack and moved toward the door As luck would have it, I arrived at the exit just as Bella did "So you do still exist," she said as we exited the building

We stopped in a spot where there weren’t as an

She rolled her eyes "It’s no big thing, Rafe Sneaking out is a tiht stand"

I studied her for a moment The look in her eyes didn’t match the flippant statement she’d just made Dios I’d offended her But what should I say about it now? Bella esoht so I rubbed the back ofto sweat "I really didn’t s to…"