The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(36)
Author: Suzanne Young

She was a peach. An absolute Georgia peach. “Thanks, K.” Starry night! I was going to cry.

But the bell rang, signaling that we were all late for first period. I sucked up my sorrow and straightened my posture.

“Shoot,” Izzie said, bounding toward the gymnasium door. “I’m going to get the tardy chair!”

Kira groaned and jogged over to get her pom-poms from the floor before leaving, and Leona mumbled something to me about writing a letter to the school board as she walked out. I exhaled, knowing one positive thing. No matter what, the Smitten Kittens would always stick together.

I was late for history. The class I shared with Chri—Fiddlesticks!

Scooting in three minutes late, Kira and I were assigned lunch detention in front of the entire class. No surprise there. What was alarming was the fact that Christian was absent, leaving his seat in the back row empty. It made me pause in my distrust for him. I’d thought he’d show up to gloat, stalk, or at least gaze, knowing that I was pretty much at his mercy. But he didn’t. I was relieved.

The relief didn’t last long, though. Ten minutes later, he walked into history. His hair was pushed behind his ears, his cheeks rosy with what looked like athletic exertion. It was… attractive. I folded my hands in my lap and glanced away. My neck felt slightly warm.

“Nice of you to show up, Mr. Ferril,” Mr. Powell said. “And I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that you get to share your afternoon in lunch detention with two cheerleaders.”

Christian chuckled, and when my eyes met his, he winked. My stomach turned, and my fingers began to tremble. He walked past my table, and Kira tapped me on the thigh with her purple pom-pom pen.

“Tess,” she whispered, her eyebrows pulled together. “Do you think… do you think Christian is helping because he’s still crushing on you?”

I laughed. I didn’t know how else to react. He’d been obvious, and even though I knew it, I’d still let him hang around me. Was it any wonder my life was about to fall apart? Strawberry shortcake! I felt sick. Really si—

“Mr. Powell?” I raised my hand.

“Yes, Ms. Crimson.”

“I need the nurse. Now.” I stood up, knocking my chair into the table behind me, but before I could make my way to the exit, I leaned over and threw up on the linoleum floor of the classroom. I’d had Froot Loops for breakfast, and it made my puke all rainbowy. It was almost cute, but still, it got on my sneakers. Gross.

Kira was there, moving my braid of hair away from my mouth and rubbing my back. “Oh, Tess!”

My head was swimming. I could hear the class behind me, most of them sounding disgusted; a few laughed. Suddenly, everything just felt so out of control. Tilted.

“Ms. Crimson,” Mr. Powell said, moving from his podium to come to stand near me. “Are you okay?” His voice was kind. I appreciated that.

“No,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Do you want me to have the nurse come get you?”

I shook my head, but it made me dizzy. I put my hand on the cool table to steady myself.

“I’ll take her,” I heard from behind me. A hand slid around my waist, straightening me up. Christian.

“No,” I said, trying to push him back. But I felt weak. “Kira?” I turned to look at her for the first time. She was pure white.

She shook her head. “Let him, Tess,” she said apologetically. “You know how much I hate chunky things.” It was true. The girl didn’t go anywhere near stew or cottage cheese.

Shutterbug! Once again, I was at the mercy of Christian. It was like he had control over every part of my life, including my health.

“Let go of me,” I said, wiggling out of his grasp as he tried to touch me again. The classroom door opened, and the janitor came in, sloshing a rolling bucket behind her. I quickly wondered if she had vomit radar but then realized time had passed while I stood, trying to gather myself. Someone had even opened a window.

My stomach turned again. I needed to move.

I quickly stepped forward, careful to avoid my puke, and despite my clear resistance to his help, Christian found a way to get his hands on me again. He held my elbow and led me out of the classroom just as the sound of water splashed on the classroom floor.

The minute we got into the deserted hallway, I stopped. My vision was beginning to clear. I still couldn’t understand what had happened. I’d thrown up more in the past few weeks than I had in my whole entire life. It must have been stress-related, and I had a feeling that I knew the source of it.

“What are you doing?” I asked Christian, using my hands to smooth back some of my loose strands of hair.

“Saving you again.” He sounded amused. “Obviously.” I stared at him for a minute, unsure of whether or not to trust my gut or the things Christian said. He certainly hadn’t tried anything, and yet I couldn’t help but feel uneasy around him. Actually, the better word was queasy.

“Come on,” he said, laughing a little. “I’ll take you to the nurse, and you can tell me about our first assignment.”

“No—”

“You agreed to two,” he interrupted. “And you wouldn’t go back on your word, would you, Tessa?” He smiled as he said it, like it wasn’t a threat.

I glared at him, and the small smirk stayed on his lips. They were nice lips, sort of full. But they weren’t mine. The lips that belonged to me were about ten inches higher. I closed my eyes.

“So if I go back on my word…” I took a deep breath. “Are you going to tell my boyfriend?”

Christian chuckled. “Come on, Tessa. Hanging out with me can’t be that bad. Would it really be worth telling Aiden? It’s not like I’m going to attack you.”

“Well—”

“Not unless you want me to,” he added.

A tingle spread over me, and I was suddenly alarmed. Only Aiden was allowed to make me tingle there. I took a step back.

Christian shook his head. “I’m kidding,” he said, reaching out to touch my forearm. “Let’s take you to the nurse’s office. You look pasty.”

I felt weak, so I let him pull me along, not saying anything. I didn’t want him to touch me. Definitely not. And yet I let him lead me, not fighting back anymore. I wondered if I’d already become his prey.

As soon as Christian left me alone with the nurse, I began to feel better. Her perfume didn’t even make me nauseous. I waited for Aiden, knowing that Kira would find him and tell him what had happened. Not that he wouldn’t hear about it anyway. I mean, I threw up in history class. That was news.