The Heiress Club (COMPLETED)

Chapter 20: You

Jasper's eyes dart between me and my lips. Then he presses me up against the wall and we're kissing. This time it feels like liquid fire, setting every inch of my skin ablaze. His heartbeat is erratic. So is mine. I can feel the cold stone wall digging into my back, the pain overwhelmed by his body flush against mine.

"You're meant to hate me," he whispers.

"I—"

"Don't answer that."

Then his mouth is on mine again, beautiful and harsh and brand new.

"I should hate you," he tells me when he pulls away. "I should hate you and your lies, and I shouldn't touch you like this and I shouldn't come any closer than I already have."

"There are many things we shouldn't do," I murmur, half to myself.

Suddenly, there's the distant echo of footsteps. Jasper freezes. I shove him away, sending him down the hall. "Go," I hiss. By some unspoken consensus, we turn and head in opposite directions.

I dart into the restroom, feeling unlike myself. My hair is messy, my lips kissed red and cheeks flushed. I look like a mess. I feel like a mess. What's wrong with me? I should be better than this but Jasper, Jasper just makes me feel ... different.

꧁꧂

We don't so much as speak for the next week, but sometimes, when we're alone, his hands will slide around my neck and his lips will be on mine. He's half-obsessed, half-addicted, and so am I. I still don't know what the hell we're doing.

I try not to let it bother me, but it bothers me. Jasper is everything and I'm nothing. He's descended from a duke, he's the oldest of all old money, he's beautiful and cruel and effortlessly confident. And I'm confident, but not effortlessly. Not at all.

I'm basically best friends with Teddy at this point. I guess sharing intimate secrets does bring you closer. It slots into place perfectly. He seems to have accepted me as part of our little club. Teddy's the kind of person who doesn't care who you are, only who your parents are. All the better for my purposes.

One weekend, nearly everyone is gone. Es is off at some political conference; Noelise is fly-fishing with her father; everyone from our friend group is off in other countries. I take the opportunity to get some studying done. I don't know why I keep trying, but it's not like I have anything else to do. School's frankly terrible, apart from the social aspect.

I spend the entire morning in the library struggling through my English homework. Theatre is basically the only class I'm not failing at this point, which is really sad. It's begun to snow weakly, white flurries falling past the high library windows. When it comes to lunchtime, I gather my things and begin the trek back to Manners.

As I round the bend, I nearly crash into someone, stopping myself just in time. It's ... Jasper. His golden hair is flecked with snow, and his icy blue eyes match the sky. He seems surprised to see me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. Jasper lives, like, ten minutes away. He always goes home for the weekends.

"I forgot something in the dorms," he says, holding up a folder full of papers, then hesitates. "I was going back."

"Oh."

I move to go past him, but he blocks my path. I look up at him. He seems to debate internally before speaking. "You should come."

I blink. "What?"

"You aren't doing anything. Come over."

He begins to head the other way, clearly expecting me to follow. He stops, waiting for me.