When El turned back to me, she pulled her pickles out of her burger and tossed them to me. I placed the pickles in my burger and threw my onions to her. She placed her onions in her burger and we ate. I gave her all my soft fries and she gave me all her hard ones. This was our unspoken McDonalds routine. The ying to the yang when it came to fast food.
“Look who’s come in,” she said quietly, halfway into her food.
I followed her line of sight to the entrance where Deck and his crew of idiots walked through. Immediately, the asshole scanned his surroundings like he was taking personal stock of his environment. Chick hunting in a fast food place, fucking classy, right?
He did a double take when he caught sight of Elise. His body stiffened for half of a second. Then he looked at me, and I stared right on back, challenging him to dare make a move. He sniffed and looked away, moving straight to the line-up behind the counter.
“Pussy,” I muttered under my breath, taking another bite of my burger.
“Is he staring at me?” she asked, slight concern in her voice.
“No.”
“He does at school. A lot.”
My chewing slowed. “I know,” I replied tightly. “He’s still angry, still wanting what he can’t have.”
“You think he’s just sore about what happened?”
“Yeah, he is.”
“But that was so long ago.”
“An unhinged asshole never forgets.”
She tilted her head to the side. “He won’t come to me because you’re always in his way.”
I leaned back in my seat and snapped, “Damn straight. I’d squash him like a fly if he picked on you.”
“Well, what am I going to do without you next year, Aston?”
I looked back at Deck as he ordered his food. “I’ll make sure he keeps his distance, El. Don’t worry about it.” Maybe I’d break his leg again, or give him brain damage – anything to make him useless for the first half of the year. I felt a little startled how seriously I was considering it.
She nodded, her eyes glowing as she watched me. “You’re my guardian, you know that?”
If she only knew what she was to me. I switched my gaze to her and smiled despite my compulsive need to reach over the table and smash her lips against mine. “And you’re an angel, El.”
She smiled back and threw another hard fry to my pile. “Are you busy tonight?”
“If I have nothing to do, I’ll be hitting the books.”
She looked at me quizzically. “What’s it like? I don’t get the obsession.”
I thought about it for a moment. “If I’m not doing it, I get irritable. All I can think of are numbers. It’s an addiction, and the less of it you have, the more you want it.”
She poked her fries around, whispering, “I know what that’s like.”
“With your dance?”
She looked suddenly uncomfortable. She tightened the bun in her hair and looked away from me, avoiding my question. “So, will your brain get shitty at me if you want to go to the movies tonight?”
I chuckled. “It’s not another fucking entity.”
“Do geniuses swear as often as you?”
“Swearing is a sign of honesty.”
She snickered. “Bullshit.”
“It’s true.”
“Then I’m Einstein. Now do you want to go out tonight or what? It’s too hot to stay at home. I’m going to melt.”
“Use a spray bottle and the fan.”
“I did, and I was naked. Didn’t do shit.”
Fucking hell, she shouldn’t be telling me that. “It’s the hair. Cut it off so your neck can breathe.”
Her jaw dropped. “I’m not cutting off my hair! That’s like asking me to cut my arm off.”
“I’m just saying it’d make you cooler.”
“How would you like it if someone told you to cut off your hair?”
“I wouldn’t care.”
“Yes, you would. The world would mourn your man-bun.”
I grinned. “It’s just hair.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Why are you avoiding my question? Do you wanna go out or not?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll go out with you.”
“Don’t look too enthused,” she replied sarcastically, suppressing a smile.
I was enthused. I’d do anything to spend time with her. Even though my mind throbbed with the need to study, I was too busy picking Elise over it to care. I couldn’t resist her anymore. The temptation was too strong to fight.
“I want to go,” I assured her.
Another hard fry landed on my side. “Good. I gotta go to the bathroom.”
As she stood up and grabbed her bag, I discreetly trailed my eyes down her body, catching every curve and rise and fall from her chest. Jesus, I needed to see her skin. I needed something to feed the addicted monster inside me.