Free The Rush by Rachel Higginson Page B

disgust.
    “Hey, give me a break,” Neck Tattoos held up his hand in a gesture of surrender. “It’s just water. I don’t serve minors.” And then he went back to scrubbing down the bar. That was the last shot of H2O I was getting tonight.
    Thankfully the bartender had been defensive enough that even I believed he wouldn’t have served me. I turned back to Ryder and Kenna not really wanting to meet either of them in the eye. Water was bad for my rep.
    I ignored the part of my soul that felt relieved somebody else had seen this part of me. The part that preferred water. The innocent thirsty part of me.
    I didn’t know what that meant and now was not the time to try and untangle the mountains of screwed up I was.
    “Uh, recovering addict and all,” I mumbled. I didn’t exactly meet their curious stares, but I did notice Ryder’s lips curve into a barely there smile. “Well, good talk. See you two tomorrow.”
    I maneuvered around them during their simultaneous goodbyes and finally fled into the cool night. I immediately threw my hoodie on, zipped it up to the top and pulled on my hood. I had a trek to get back home and chances were homework was completely out of the picture. But I had gotten my night of freedom.
    And there were parts of it that actually felt…. free.

Chapter Seven
     
                  “Hey,” Chase met me on the sidewalk in front of the school the minute I stepped out of Exie’s silver Lexus. I gave a fast wave to Exie and met him in front of the long set of stone steps leading to the front door of the antiquated school. Once upon a time Omaha was the capitol city of Nebraska and Central High School the capitol building. When Nebraska moved the yellow star to Lincoln, Central became a high school. It was a really pretty building, but a super crappy school…. at least in my opinion.
    Chase was football-star-studly today in his letterman jacket and swoopy hair that fell across his forehead. He two-strapped his backpack and rocked back and forth on his heels while waiting for me. I was the recipient of a very confident smile this morning. His two dimples were like some kind of magical force, drawing out my own smile I thought had died sometime in the night.
                  “Hey yourself,” I replied without any edge in my voice. Yay for me. “Were you waiting for me?”
                  “Yep,” he grinned down at me. “Walk you to class?”
                  I wasn’t sure what to do with his chivalry so I just nodded. I was used to boys and boyfriends and all that came with them. It was like my after school job. But in reality I hadn’t had a boyfriend since last year, since…. Sam. And I felt awkward trying to get back into the pattern. There were instincts buried inside of me that would let me flirt freely and command attention with practiced skill. But right now I felt alien in this role, I couldn’t remember how to toss out smiles and demand flattery. Right now I just wanted to go back home and go to bed.
                  We took the long walk up the stairs in silence. I could feel Chase radiating with an excited energy that should be contagious, that should reinforce my self-esteem and pride. Instead, I sludged along next to him, holding back an epic sigh that would signify my utter dread for the day ahead.
                  Ugh. I was so messed up.
                  “So Calculus again?” I asked at the top of the staircase. We were as reluctant as most of our peers to actually enter the building, so we hung out collectively with the rest of the student body in front of the two story-stone façade.
                  “Nope,” Chase cut me a side glance as if he was surprised I had paid attention yesterday. “Applied Physics.”
                  “Even more fun,” I smiled at him, happy to have his full attention. There was something about being near Chase, having his eyes on