Back at the Start (02)

It shouldn't tempt me as much as it does, but I find myself hesitating a moment too long before I finally answer, "What did he promise you if you got me to agree?" Which is not exactly answering her question, I realize. I'm not sure I like the answer to her question though, because I'm not sure right now, and I hate that.

You feel Elena and Soph both watching you now. Soph is going to tell Chloe to buzz off if you don't.

What do you do?

I resist scoffing at Chloe's response. Of course Will would pimp himself out over this. Instead, though, I see an opportunity and I only nod at her response.

"Hmm," I whisper. "So really, if I go back there, I'd be doing you a favor, right? What'll you give me for it?" I try to catch Soph's eye to give her the I've-got-this look.

Her pitch is enticing, and when she mentions Kastor by name, I cock an eyebrow like "oh, so you see something between me and Kastor?"

I glance back at Will, then look at Chloe again, stringing out the wait before I finally take a breath like this is still sort of a burden, which it totally is actually. I mean, I'm willingly going to hang out with Will.

"Fine, but you better make good on this," I relent. I lean toward Soph. "Chloe and I are switching spots. Catch up with you later." I give Elena a nod, then slip out of my seat to sneak back to sit where Chloe was before.

Soph glances up at you, then back to Will. She chuckles, "Alright then, you get yours, Jay." You get a grin like the not-fretting-about-college Soph. Then she turns back to Ms. Korsgren and resumes taking notes.

I smirk at Soph, glad to see her poke her head up for air even if it's only for a second, but shake my head and roll my eyes like 'that's so not what's happening here.' Elena...Elena's just going to have to trust me. Or get over it. It's not like anything's actually happening here.

I head back toward Will with a slight almost imperious smile, like this is all amusing to me, but when I get closer to him, I can't help but see the little similarities between him and Ares. Something in the shape of his jaw, the way his eyebrows shadow his eyes just enough that they shine through even stronger somehow. My haughty smirk slips a bit, softening, before I remember who I'm dealing with here and pull that feeling back inside. I sit down, turning my back to him to buy myself a moment from seeing someone I love in his face, and take a breath.

"So, looks like Chloe's going to Cris's party with you now," I say, lifting my chin a little, recentering.

Gods, Will's hands feel so good. Chloe wasn't joking. How is someone so utterly self-centered so good at this? I bite my tongue just so I don't get too relaxed and let out some kind of noise that will ruin my day and make Will's. But with how hair-trigger horny I feel right now, I can't help but imagine what this would feel like on bare skin, and on the rest of my body. Frell, this might have been a mistake.

I realize after a few beats that he said something to me, and I have to reprocess his words before I answer. "Oh, so you're planning to use me to make her jealous so she'll put out at the end of the night?"

When Will leans closer and whispers like that, I swear it's like he's whispering right to the most sensitive parts of my body and they thrill at the attention. His hands moving again makes my eyes slip closed for a moment, savoring, but I force them open again. Focus, Jules. Keep your dren together! But the places his hands touch the skin at my neck are leaving little thrills of fire and ice, and trying to make good on my own commands to myself is harder than it seems.

I pause a few beats, then turn to look back at him over my shoulder. "If Chloe were smart, she wouldn't go to that party with you at all. Not after what you did to Elena. Not matter how good your back rubs are." The last part slips out without me thinking about it. But they are good. He already knows it. So I don't try to take it back.

I'm about to scoff about his comments on Elena, call him out for being a dick to her after their date, but then his breath is on my skin and he puts that inviting pressure on my shoulder and his hand slides around my neck. I'm such a mess that I imagine his hand continuing to move down my body, slipping under the collar of my shirt, caressing my- Gods, Jules! Stop it.

But I've already moved back toward him, almost leaning back into him. I can smell his cologne. I straighten back up, moving away from him again with a sharp inhale.

"I'm here because I made my own deal with Chloe. You sent me a willing target. How could I resist?"

I have to admit, Will separating me - us, really - from the rest of the people here gives me a certain kind of pride. Of course I know we're different, truly, down to our very DNA. When he pulls his hand away, I can't help but be a little disappointed, but then he's leaning closer and I sort of forget about it. I raise an eyebrow at Will, trying to play this whole thing off coolly still. I smirk.

"Dealing with? Yes, that is the right word. Like you deal with a cold, or a strained muscle, or a pest."

Undeniable chemistry, he says. And I can't really say that he's wrong. Of course, I wonder if he'd feel differently if he knew that I frelled his dad.

The way he says he's not going anywhere, though, makes my heart skip a beat. It sounds like a promise, or a threat, both exciting and dangerous.

"I thought Juliet was nothing but a..." I try to remember what he said earlier today in class. "...a 'super cock gobbler.' Is that what you're sticking around for? Because I have news for you if that's what you're banking on."