Portal (36 page)

“Kat? You and
Kat
?”

“She and
Kat
need to study for Chem,” Kat said in her sassy way, with a quick glance at my books. “Because I just don’t get it. So…if you’d just turn her loose, I’d sure appreciate it.”

Kat is pretty. There’s just no other way to see it. She’s got this gorgeous café au lait skin, light green eyes, and lots of dark brown curls. When she turned that pretty smile on Marco, I felt his grip go slack.

Then I, being an idiot as I might have mentioned, glanced at Dylan again, to see if he’d noticed Kat’s smile. Which he did, and was now paying attention to the drama. I wondered how many more people were, now that Kat was there.

“Chemistry. I’ll bet there’s some chemistry goin’ on there. I’d like to see some of that action. Maybe the three of us—“

“Marco, honey, I’m gonna have to wreck your fantasy and tell you that not only are Joss and I not involved with each other, and not only are we both straight—which you’d think any
straight guy
would realize—but I would do her and half the guys at this table before I would even let you watch me change my shoes.”

Eric opened his mouth to say something but Kat immediately cut him off, “No, Eric. You’re in the other half.” But I have to say that the smile she threw him made me think maybe that wasn’t true.

While they all sat there digesting that, Kat gave me a tug that almost spilled my books again. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself pushed into a chair at Kat’s table which was full of girls whose names and faces I’d known for years. But I’d never spoken more than a few words to any of them. They were all looking from me to Kat and back again.

“You guys all know Joss, right?”

There were another few awkward moments as the girls muttered and nodded. Then they sort of shrugged and turned back to each other and whatever they’d been talking about before. Backs on either end of the circle turned away from Kat and me, leaving us relatively alone.

“You know that was stupid, right?” I said in a low voice. “Trust me, you do not want to get on Marco’s bad side.”

“Well hey, you’re welcome.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’m sure Marco will totally lay off now that you diffused that situation so brilliantly.”

“Wow. I’ve been wondering if you’re really the ice bitch everyone says you are.”

“Yeah, well, now you know.” I started to get up, but Kat put a hand on my arm.

“I’m not sure I do...”

Two of the girls switched seats and Heather pulled her chair up alongside Kat’s. Heather was petite and adorable, and just needed a few feathers and fringes to make her look like a Native American princess figurine in a gift shop. I wondered again why I was still there.

“So what was that about? Marco being Marco?”

“Yeah, he seems especially fond of Joss, here.”

Heather made a sound in the back of her throat. “I hate that guy.”

She looked across at me, an intense look that made me feel like she was seeing too much. I dropped my eyes. “Yeah, me too.”

Kat’s next remark about Marco’s attitude, anatomy, and possible parentage made Heather laugh out loud and even I had to smile.

On possibly the worst day ever, Jocelyn Marshall was sitting in the cafeteria talking to two other girls.

Smiling.

And violations of the Laws of the Universe were just getting started.

…
Thank you for reading this excerpt of
Hush Money
by Susan Bischoff, available at Amazon.com in August 2010. For more information about the author and the Talent Chronicles series, please visit http://www.susan-bischoff.com.