“C-Conner,” I say, and the heat burns against my cheeks.
His head rests against the top of my head as he embraces me from behind, catching me completely off guard. “Sammy told me where you were, so I thought to wait.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I murmur as I unclasp his hands from around me.
“But I wanted to.” He leans into me, a half-smile reaching his lips. “I’m addicted to you.”
“Do I need to take you to an AA meeting or something?” I laugh.
Conner chuckles. “What’s so bad about having an obsession? You cannot tell me someone doesn’t have an addiction or obsession with something.”
I press my lips inward and shrug.
“My addiction just so happens to be human…” He furrows his brows as he says, “I mean, if you didn’t reciprocate it, I could see how that could be questionable.”
“Very,” I agree.
“Ohemmgee!Look at her nipples. She’ssoturned on. It’s gross!” a teenager sniggers as she walks past me.
“I was cold,” I mumble.
“Hmm?” Conner responds.
“Nothing,” I say. Then I look at Conner, wondering if I can push the conversation so he thinks nothing of it. “Um…did you see the picture of a girl going around school?”
He eyes me, and I try not to look away and keep my focus on him. If I look away, I know his gears will turn, twisting in ways that can figure out the meanings behind my words.
I don’t need that. I need to stand my ground and seem like that image isn’t of me. But my stomach stirs in wonder at who has it? No one has said it was me, so the girls who took it on the camping trip must have found a hole and thought it would be funny as they shared it around school in the hopes someone might come clean about it.
I will not do that.
“I did,” he admits, and my eyes widen slightly, and a shallow breath slips through my clenched teeth. “But I don’t have it. Without warning, guys from my year held it up to my face, and I glimpsed it.” He tweaks an eye. “It’s not my thing to keep a random girl’s nudes on my phone.” Conner’s hand finds mine, and he laces his fingers between the gaps in mine. “So don’t be jealous that I saw the photo. It meant nothing, nor did it turn me on.”
I smile, but my insides knot. Part of me wants to tell Conner it was me and see how he would react. Would his eyes widen andjaw drop? Or would he look at me with repulsion, disturbed by the yellow and purple blotches that plague my skin?
“Oh…” I can’t think of anything else to say, and as we round the corner, Andy with Wylan, all the words in my vocabulary vanish, leaving me without a voice.
Andy looks over, his focus moving between Conner and me, back to Conner, and then down at his hands. With a curl of his upper lip, I expect violent words to seep out, but he turns away and goes back to talking to Wylan.
Dylan and Samantha are behind a tree, sharing a cigarette. As she sees me, she waves, and I smile back at her, but I know my smile will not reach my eyes today.
“Noya.” Conner spins me around until I face him. There’s a serious look to him as he says, “I’m going to talk to Andy now.”
I dart a look at Andy, then at Conner. His eyes dilate and his jaw clenches. “But…”
“I’ll be back soon, baby,” he says as he leans into me and his mouth clashes against mine. The tension teases, and my worries are extinguished for now.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I say as he leans away.
“We’re just going to go for a walk and talk.” Conner’s eyes narrow. “And I’m going to make sure he never fucking touches you again.”
“Con—”
After another brief kiss, he releases his hold on me and heads toward Andy. His hands are in his pockets, and he walks with pride, his back arched, and his presence is like sheer dominance. That alone gets Andy to put his guard up and face Conner, who seems to tower over Andy.
Samantha runs over to me and says, “What’s happening?”
“They’re talking…I think,” I answer nervously.