Adam kissed him on the cheek. “You’re adorable. People surprise you sometimes. Especially when you give them the chance.”

The words hit Nick hard, the way words you need to hear usually do. He held them in his head for examination later.

When they walked back to Adam’s apartment, he reached out to hold the other boy’s hand. And Nick didn’t care one bit who saw.

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

Quinn stretched her leg against a tree and shivered. She slid her fingers across the face of her iPod, looking for a playlist to suit her mood. The strip mall parking lot was tempting, but off limits thanks to that dickhead Tyler. The lot looked empty under the halogen lights, but that didn’t mean anything. She’d stay right here at the edge of these woods, where she could see without being seen.

She didn’t have any transportation, so it wasn’t like she could go anywhere else. Her brother was out tonight—but her mom wasn’t.

Quinn was waiting her out. She could sneak back into the house after midnight. Her mom usually wasn’t conscious that long.

She’d hoped Nick would want to go out tonight, but he’d mentioned he was meeting Adam to “study”—sure—and Quinn didn’t want to get in the middle of that.

She wondered if he was avoiding her after that stupid, stupid kiss. She blushed now, remembering. What had she been thinking?

You were thinking that he was really your boyfriend, instead of a pretend one.

Her phone chimed. She checked it. Becca.

Please. Talk to me. I’m sorry.

Quinn rolled her eyes and shoved the phone into her bag.

A branch snapped somewhere off to her right, and she froze, her eyes searching the darkness.

Nothing. Whatever.

She found Adam’s audition song, melodic R&B with a driving beat.

Then she threw herself into the routine.

The ground was uneven here, and she had to watch out for branches, but she had sound in her ears and cold air on her skin. One of her favorite things about dance was that she could do it anywhere.

Her body was getting stronger from working with Adam, but she still had miles to go before she’d reach his level. Her turns needed more balance, and she still missed the beat in the more complicated moves. When Adam had first asked her to be his partner for his audition piece, she’d been ready to laugh it off. She had no real professional training, no expensive dance clothes or private instructors or anything to bring to the table other than raw talent. But even after he’d convinced her, she hadn’t been ready for his work ethic. His intensity.

Adam wasn’t fucking around. He wanted this scholarship.

And the stronger Quinn got, the more she realized she wanted him to get it, too. She didn’t want to let him down.