Molly's house is ginormous. I mean, I'm surprised because she's the most humble person at Sinclair Prep but I'm also not surprised because everyone at Sinclair Prep, with the exception of me, is rich. I came over because she promised me that we could get ready for this pool party together.

Initially, when I had told her about my encounter with Jack, I really was against the whole idea of going. But then I sat with my thoughts, and all I could hear was his annoying voice on repeat: I know what it takes to get in. I know because my dad's pushing Dartmouth onto me. I can give you advice, maybe even some pointers.

I'm starting to think that this guy is always going to be in my head whether he's physically near or far.

Molly answers the door and leads me up this huge spiral staircase that takes us to her room, which is everything I would imagine it to be. A pink neon sign that reads 'Good Vibes Only' hangs above a sofa in the form of lips, and to my right is a pink wavy full-length mirror.

"Okay, Stassie, sit right here," she says, patting down the faux fur swivel chair that's in front of her vanity.

"I already did my makeup."

"I know. And it looks great. But what about your hair?"

I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Looks fine to me. I went with my signature hairstyle: high ponytail, ribbon wrapped around it.

"What about it?"

"It's giving me school girl vibes."

"Thanks?"

"We're going to a pool party..."

"Which happens to be taking place in a school," I remind her, and then it hits me. "Ugh, why are we going again? This is such a bad idea."

"Hey, it was yours, not mine."

"Are we making a mistake?"

"Probably. But mistakes are a part of life."

"Yeah, but this could be a detrimental one."

"The entire grade will be there. What are they going to do? Expel everyone?"

"I'm not everyone, Molly. Remember? You don't see my last name on any part of the school building, do you?"

"You need to breathe. Everything will be fine. I promise." I hesitantly make my way over to her and sit down on the vanity chair. "Permission to undo the ribbon?"

I shield my eyes with my hands and grimace. "Granted."

I feel my light brown hair touch the back of my shoulders. Molly rubs some styling cream in her palms before running her fingers through my hair. And, next thing I know, I'm sporting beachy waves.

"See, it just needed a little zhuzh," she says.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

I look at myself in the mirror. All it took was 3 pumps of Ouai to change up my appearance. Who would've thought?

"You look hot, Stassie. Jack's going to wish he never invited you when every other Sinclair Prep guy starts flirting with you."

***

I should've trusted my intuition. This was a bad idea. Like, really bad idea. Molly was right about our entire grade being here, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's so wrong on so many levels. I can't believe people are actually swimming in the pool without a care in the world. Then again, who am I to talk? I'm here, aren't I?

Without warning, Molly removes her cover-up and screams 'cannonball' before jumping into the pool, and everyone starts cheering. I'll keep mine on, thank you very much.

The first thing that I want to do is go find Jack so that he knows I'm here and makes sure to follow up with his end of the deal.

On the contrary, he finds me first.

"What happened to the bikini?" I hear him from behind.

His hair is wet, but he must've just run his fingers through it because the front strands are pushed away from his face. Beads of water trickle down his torso, and he's wearing navy swim trunks. My heart lets me down when it starts skipping beats as does my pulse when it starts racing.

"Optional, remember?"

"Preferred," he corrects me.

"I'd prefer you leave me alone, yet, here we are," I smile smugly. He laughs and I hate myself for causing that beautiful reaction from him.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Drink? Geez, Jack, how many rules are you trying to break tonight?'

"3...maybe 4. Oh, wait, does smoking a J in the locker room count as breaking a rule? Because if it does, you can make that 5."

"I'm not even entertaining that comment."

"Of course you're not," he says with an eye roll, so I squint my eyes at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're scared of anything that violates your dumb-ass to-do list. Admit it."

"You're high," I state with disgust in my tone.

I go to pass him, but he clutches onto my hand, and I look down at it.

"Wait. Wait. I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to say."

"Just...let go of me, Jack."

I notice that he wants to challenge my order. But when he swallows and inches his head back, I know that he won't. And just like that, he releases his grip.

I head for one of the lounge chairs and take a seat. Some guy jumps into the pool immediately afterward and gets me soaked. I don't even bother looking for a towel because I'm getting out of here. Jack never mentioned me having to stay for a certain amount of time when we were making our little wager, so technically, I can leave whenever I want.

I find Molly in the corner of the pool talking to a few girls, so I crouch down over the ledge. "Mol, I'm going to head out. Want to come with me or are you going to stay?"

I'm not sure if she answers me or not because, the next thing I know, I'm being pushed into the pool.

I come up for air, immediately wiping the water from my burning eyes.

"Are you insane, James?" I hear Molly shout at the guy who pushed me in, but my mind is scrambling as it tries to figure out what just happened. "Stassie, are you okay?"

I'm finally able to see clearly again, and just as I'm about to give this James guy a piece of my mind, someone else beats me to the punch.

"What the fuck, O'Connor?" Jack yells, shoving at James' shoulders.

"Relax, Carrington. It was a joke," he says.

"Really, a joke? Who the fuck's laughing?" Jack says, his expression stone-cold. "Put your hands on her again, and you won't find it so funny. I can promise you that."

Jack bends down and reaches his arm out to me, so I grab onto it and he pulls me out of the pool.

"You okay?" he asks, wrapping his arms over my shoulders once we both come to a stand.

"Yeah," I whisper.

"Let me get you a towel." He straightens his back and then calls out, "Rafe, Johnny. Can you guys come here?"

"What's up, J?" Johnny asks as he walks over. He pats Jack's back once he gets to him, and Rafe stands there concerningly with his hands on his hips.

"Stay with Stas for a minute. I'll be right back."

A few seconds later, Jack returns with a pinstripe towel draped over his arm. He reaches for my hand and then intertwines his fingers with mine. "Come with me," he says.

Jack leads us into an empty classroom, and flips the light switch on when we enter. I take a seat at one of the desks, and he comes over to where I'm sitting.

He hangs the towel around my shoulders, then rubs them up and down, and I'm taken aback by the gesture. Not because I don't think Jack is capable of it, but because I didn't think he'd be capable of it toward me.

"I'm sorry that happened. James is a moron," he says.

"Thanks for this. Not just for the towel. But for sticking up for me."

"I'm not always the asshole you think I am."

"I don't think you're an asshole. At least not always," I tease, and he softly chuckles.

Suddenly, our eyes lock, and I see Jack look at me in a way that he never has before. I can't help but think it's just in my mind; that I'm blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.

"So, what do you think of me then?" he asks.

"I think you have a lot to offer this world if you really wanted to," I confess, my voice slightly cracking.

He gulps as we continue to look into each other's eyes, and then he says something that I wasn't expecting him to say.

"Tell that to everyone else."