Her Spite: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance (The Forgotten Elites Book 2) Eden Beck (best book club books TXT) 📖

“Boo,” a voice says from behind me.

I turn around and see Sterling, dressed as—uh something.

“What are you supposed to be?” I ask.

He has a dress shirt on that is unbuttoned practically down to his navel and tucked into the front of black pants. His entire body—at least all of the parts of it that I can see—is covered in glitter that sparkles under the strings of twinkling lights that Bridget had her ‘party brigade’ of girlfriends hang up.

Sterling smiles and reveals a pair of custom-made vampire fangs.

“Of course,” I laugh. “You’ve dressed up as the brooding and sparkly vampire. The kind that are all the desirous rage in the YA section of the bookstore.”

“Well, you did say that I was moody,” he teases. “I thought I would at least dress the part. You know, kind of like how you chose to play the part of slut this semester?”

I’m not sure it that was meant as a dig or a jest, but either way I find it amusing.

“Well, I love it,” I say with a broadening smile. “I think you make an excellent vampire. You pull off the whole ‘tortured by his inner turmoil’ look very well.”

Sterling laughs and I get a warm feeling that starts in the bottom of stomach and rises all the way up into my chest. Maybe someday, when all of this drama here is over, he and I can go on a few real dates—the kind free from subplots and drug abuse.

“I like your costume,” he says.

I roll my eyes because my costume is literally a parody of my life as of late.

I used my old literal catholic school girl uniform and just cut a huge slit up the skirt. The shirt is from my freshman year and is way too small on me now, which makes my chest push against the seams of it and I unbuttoned it enough that you could see my bra. Add in a pair of thigh-highs with little bows at the top, and pigtails, and I was every bit the ‘naughty slut.’

Even more than usual, anyway.

“You only like it because it’s funny,” I say.

“No,” Sterling says as he stands a little closer to me. “I like it because it’s sexy.”

For a second, I’m not sure if he’s joking or not.

“Aubrey, I hope we get the chance to try that second date again.”

He’s not joking. He’s serious.

Everything in my body starts to tingle a bit. I try to keep my cool and not let him see that I’m as overwhelmingly tempted as I am.

“Wouldn’t a do-over just make it a third date?” I say jokingly.

“Yeah,” he laughs. “I guess it would.”

Then, without warning, something happens. It’s the kind of ‘something’ that I wish I had seen coming so that I could have either enjoyed it more or stopped it entirely. Right there, standing in front of the punch bowl that I just saved my laptop from an eminent short-circuiting, Sterling leans forward and gives me a kiss.

It’s short and sweet, but it’s enough that when our lips touch, I feel like my veins have just been lit on fire.

When the kiss ends, he pulls away and takes a small step backward. I look around the room and am thankful that everyone is busy enough that no one seems to have noticed the kiss.

When I turn back around to Sterling, he is already gone.

But the feeling in my stomach is still there.

What am I going to do about this? What am I going to do about him?

“What are you blocking the drinks for?” Bridget says as she pushes past me to refill her cup. “Move.”

I stare at her for a second like a deer in headlights with a smile on my face that still lingers from my kiss with Sterling. I honestly can’t believe that he kissed me—here out in the open, even if it was only a small kiss that nobody saw.

That was a kiss for no one but me.

No secret plan. No revenge.

“What is wrong with you?” Bridget asks when I don’t so much as move. “Did you fall and hit your head as a child?”

Nothing that she could say to me even matters. I simply turn around and walk out into the party, wanting to get out and away from her as fast as possible.

“You know,” Bridget says right before I get out of earshot, “one of these days you’re not going to be able to hold anything over my head anymore. You only have this power temporarily, so I hope you enjoy it while you can. Your time is running out.”

I turn right around and walk back to stand squarely in front of her.

Something in me snaps.

“Funny,” I say, “because I don’t think it’s all that temporary at all. You see, even when your little secret gets older and you may or may not care about hiding it anymore; the fact still remains that you lied. You lied to everyone about it and you continued to lie and lie and lie the more time passed. I’m pretty sure that Warren wouldn’t be keen on the fact that his precious twin sister lied to him for all this time. My time may be running out here, but that’s fine with me because I only need to make it until the end of this term, then I can get the hell out of here and into Brown. Your time, on the other hand, will follow you wherever you go.”

Now it was Bridget’s turn to look like a deer in headlights.

Yet, I’m the one who’s left feeling stunned.

One term. Just another month or so.

And if I get what I want, I’ll be out of here. I’ll leave Ridgecrest behind, and with it, everything here. Everyone here. Up until tonight, I never really thought I’d care.

But suddenly, after that kiss, I’m not so sure anymore.

Chapter Thirteen

Thanksgiving break is fast approaching, and I find