He nods, weeping pitifully.

“Good.” I shove him as I get to my feet. “That goes for the rest of you,” I announce to the crowd. “You’re all gonna clean up your acts starting today, or what happened to this jackass will look like a fucking tea party.”

The entire dining hall is dead silent, and the nervous, fearful eyes I see all around me bring a wave of satisfaction. Wade was right about another thing—these kids need a leader, someone to stop them from devouring each other.

I might not have applied for the job, but it’s mine, whether I like it or not.

Instead of going to class, I head for the men’s room on the first floor near the gym. There’s no stated rule that this bathroom is solely for the football team, but it’s worked out that way.

And Wade makes good use of it. He has Government this period, and since his mom started sleeping with the teacher, he hasn’t stepped one foot into the classroom. He says after all the carbs at lunch, it’s either sleep or screw and the latter’s more fun.

I make a production as I enter to alert the occupants that they’re not alone, but it doesn’t affect Wade at all. I hear breathy moans, interspersed with “yes, Wade, please, Wade” chanted out in a familiar rhythm.

Bored, I lean against the sinks and watch the closed door to one of the stalls rattle noisily as Wade starts giving it to her hard. From the sound of the voice, I’m guessing his post-lunch hookup is with Rachel Cohen.

Wade has the attention span of a peanut, but when he’s with a girl, he gives it his all. You can’t ask for more than that. I check my watch. I don’t want to miss next period.

I pound on the door. “Almost done, kids?”

The noise pauses and I hear a muffled cry of surprise along with a hushed reassurance. “I got you, babe…” a rustling and then, “…there you go. Feels good, don’t it. Don’t worry about ol’ Reed out there…Ahh, you like that. You want me to open the door…No? Okay, but he’s out there. He can hear you. Damn, you like that a lot. Yeah, babe, let go.”

A soft moan escapes and there’s more shuffling followed by a long, low groan. The finale is signaled by the sound of a toilet flushing.

The door opens and I catch Wade’s eyes and tap on my watch. He gives me a nod and finishes zipping his pants, then pulls Rachel in his arms and gives her a wet, noisy kiss. “Damn, babe, that was spectacular.”

She sighs against him. I recognize that sound. Heard a similar one from Ella when we fooled around. I’m dying to hear it again, and it pisses me off a little that she’s not letting me in.

I clear my throat loudly.

Wade half walks, half carries Rachel over to the door.

“I’ll see you after class?” she asks with hope in her eyes.

“You bet, babe.” He pauses and then looks over his shoulder at me.

I shake my head no.

He shrugs as if to say doesn’t hurt to ask. “I’ll be over after dinner. Keep this hot for me, okay?” He pats the front of her shortened uniform skirt. “I’ll be thinking of you all afternoon. It’s gonna be a rough time.”

Even after all these years with Wade, I can’t tell if he’s sincere or just that smooth.

“You mean a hard time,” she coos.

Okay, that’s enough.

“Wade,” I say impatiently.

“I’ll see you, Rach. I’ve got to confab with Reed here or I promise we’d be going another round.”

She hesitates and Wade has to physically push her out the door. After it shuts, he shoves the waste can in front of it and saunters over. I turn the faucets on to prevent little ears from listening in.

I get straight to the point. “Ella’s car was honey-bombed on Friday night at the Montgomerys’ party, and I just threw down with some asshole who crucified her during Speech. What the hell is going on?”

“Seriously? Did you not hear a word I said to you the last time we talked about this? Actually, you did—and you said you didn’t care,” he says pointedly.

“Well, now I care. I want to know why Ella is a target again. Everyone knows I’m willing to give a beating to anyone who looks sideways at her, so I don’t understand why she’s being jacked around.”

Wade sticks his hands under the faucet and washes them, taking his own sweet time before answering.

“Wade,” I warn.

“Okay, don’t hit me.” He holds up his hands. “Look at this pretty face.” He pats his chin. “There’ll be no more Rachels in the bathroom if this kisser gets ruined.”

I stare down at Wade, who’s two inches shorter than me. “Why are people messing with Ella?” I press.

He shrugs. “People used to be terrified of you. Now? Not so much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means Delacorte still has all his teeth and he tried to rape your girl. Jordan says what she wants and there’s no repercussions. Everyone thinks you’re done with Ella, and since you stopped standing up for people, they aren’t gonna return the favor. Ella’s fair game.”

“Anything else?”

Wade shrugs ruefully. “Isn’t that enough?”

I nod in frustration. “Yeah, it’s plenty.”

“You gonna do anything about it?”

“What do you think?” I nudge the wastebasket away from the door.

“I think if you Royals stood as a united front, then everyone would just chill. No one really likes what’s happening here, but everyone’s scared or lazy. And frankly, buddy, you fall into the latter category.”

I clench my teeth tight, but he’s not wrong. Gideon was a way more active enforcer at school than I am. He paid attention. He figured out who was behind shit and made sure they fell in line. Usually I was the one delivering the messages.

After he left, everyone assumed I was in charge and I didn’t do much to prove if they were right or wrong. Until now.

I twist to face him. “You’re right. I’ve been a lazy asshole.”

Wade grins. “I’m always right. So what’re you gonna do about it?”

“Not sure yet. But don’t worry, shit’s gonna change.” I give him a deadly look. “I’m on it.”

19