His black hair was mussed and product free. He wore a pair of blue oversize cotton shorts with a white running stripe down the side and a wrinkled white T--shirt. His feet were entirely bare. Ariana's skin tingled as she realized he'd sneaked out of bed and risked getting caught, just for her.
"So . . . what're you doing here?" she asked.
Palmer smirked. They both knew exactly what he was doing here. Ariana thought of Lexa. Of how Lexa would have killed for Palmer to
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have made the same effort for her. She felt sorry for the girl and exhilarated to have been chosen over her, all at the same time. Then Palmer closed in and ran his hands down the lengths of her bare arms.
Ariana's heart stopped beating. Screw Lexa. She and Palmer were half--dressed and alone in the middle of the night in an obviously unused room. What Lexa didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Ariana turned around and her hip bones met his. Without hesitation he pulled her into a deep, passionate, searching kiss. Ariana's hands were wet but she buried them in his hair anyway. He pressed her back against the cold ceramic sink, kissing her more and more deeply until her back was arched so far she had to brace her hands on the sink behind her to keep from falling.
Finally he pulled back. His eyes searched hers as if desperate to memorize them. "I've been wanting to do that all night."
Ariana's lips hummed. "Glad you finally did."
Palmer took her hand lightly in his and tugged her toward a small wooden bench near the door. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap sideways, looping his arms casually around her waist, as if this was something they did every day. The familiarity of the gesture made Ariana's heart swell. It was as if they were already an established couple.
"So, what do you think of Privilege House?" he asked with a smirk.
"If this is one of the perks, I like it," she replied.
"Thanks for talking me into keeping my mouth shut earlier," Palmer said, running his hand up and down her thigh. "I don't think
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I could have handled it if the blue team had ended up living here. I might have had to punch something."
Ariana smiled. She had helped him. He appreciated her. "You're welcome," she said.
He reached his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his for another kiss. Before long, sitting sidesaddle across his legs became quite uncomfortable, and Ariana maneuvered around until she was straddling his waist, her knees pressing awkwardly into the hard bench. He tried to adjust himself, to pull her even closer, but her knee banged into the wall behind him. She let out a quiet yelp as pain radiated through her leg.
"Sorry." He was breathless, flushed. "Maybe we should take this into the lounge."
The lounge. There were couches and chairs down there. It would have been much more comfortable. But it was also an open common area. An area in which they could easily be stumbled upon by one of her floormates. By Lexa.
Suddenly, Ariana's chest flooded with guilt.
"No."
She pushed away from him and scrambled to her feet. Her nightgown had become completely twisted around her body and she quickly adjusted it so the white cotton loosened from her skin. As Palmer looked her up and down, she wondered exactly how see--through the garment was.
"No?" Palmer raised his brows, surprised.
"I'm sorry. I have to go," Ariana said as she whipped the door
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open. She paused on the threshold and looked back at him. His confusion and disappointment were so adorable she almost went back. But she couldn't do that to Lexa. Couldn't do this at all. Not until she figured out what the wisest move would be.
"But thanks for stopping by," she said with a small smile.
Then she walked back to her room, where she was absolutely certain of a night with zero sleep.
33
THE CRAZIEST
"I have to miss the first few mornings of classes so I can take their stupid entrance exams," Kaitlynn said as she touched up her lip gloss, leaning in toward the mirror above her dresser on Tuesday morning. "Any tips?"Ariana said nothing. Slowly, deliberately, she buttoned up the front of her white oxford shirt and tucked it into the waistband of her blue and gray plaid skirt. Then she slipped a gray tie around her collar and went to work on the knot, standing in front of the full--length mirror on the back of the door. She had awoken after a surprisingly good night's sleep to bright sunshine streaming through her huge window. An overwhelming sense of well--being had washed over her. A feeling that somehow, some way, everything was going to be all right. That eventually she would find a way to fix the Kaitlynn situation, find a way to have Palmer as her boyfriend and Lexa as her best friend. Find a way to get everything she wanted. Ariana had always taken care of