Page 9 of Vexatious Queen

“Ugh, he is so frustrating,” Ivy growled, slamming her stuff into her bag like she was trying to punish it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said yes so fast. I thought you two were good now, what happened?”

I picked up my laptop and packed it away, but kept my eyes on Ivy.

She sighed and rubbed her face before crossing her arms.

“He kissed me,” she whispered.

“What?” My mouth popped open like a goldfish. “When? How? Where? And all the other questions.”

We grabbed our bags and headed for the door. Ivy kept looking over her shoulder and biting her lip.

“Come on! Out with it. How did this happen?”

“God…how did I get myself into this mess?”

Ivy sucked in a deep breath like a fire-breathing dragon, and I prepared myself for the rant. It was coming. I felt it like a storm in my bones.

“He’s been bugging me to go out for a coffee with him, and I kept saying no. Then three days ago, while I was getting ready to move back here, he texted me with Glitch, it’s 911 important that we speak.”

I grabbed her arm, and she came to a halt.

“Wait, Sabastian calls you Guppy, and Zigzag calls you Glitch? That is so adorable. Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?”

Ivy’s cheeks turned cherry red.

“Ugh, please, girl…you get cute names like Snowflake and Princess. I get a weird little fish with a flashy tail that the other fish want to eat, and a computer issue. Seriously, if that doesn’t just say it all.”

I nudged her shoulder as we resumed walking.

“Well, I think it’s sweet.”

Ivy rolled her eyes.

“Getting back to what happened…I went into town and met him for coffee. I thought it was a nice public space on neutral ground. Not. He flirted with me the entire time, kept telling me that Sabastian was no good and that I needed to watch out for his horrible family. Yes, I know the family part is true, but Sabastian’s not a bad guy like everyone thinks. Anyway, I marched out, and when I got to my car, he told me he was sorry he’d broken up with me, and then he kissed me. Like full-on grabbed my face and kissed me. Then he told me he loves me and that he was sorry like a dozen times. What the hell?”

“Did you kiss him back,” I asked, and she groaned and covered her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes. Do you still have feelings for him?”

“I don’t know, maybe…yes…oh god, what am I going to do? I can’t stop thinking about it,” she said.

I braced myself for the cold as we pushed out of the hall and into the bitter wind.

“Did you tell Sabastian about it?”

“No,” she said, sounding totally dejected. “I don’t want to start a fight between them, and I’ve been keeping my distance, but Zigzag’s being relentless, and now, I just feel so guilty. What should I do?”

“Oh boy, don’t look at me. I just kept adding them rather than choosing,” I said, making Ivy laugh.

“That’s true, but I don’t think I’m going to get that lucky. They hate one another,” she said as we reached the main doors.

Pulling them open, Ivy stepped in before me. We moved to the side outside the cafeteria doors, where the alluring scent of coffee hit my nose.

“Look, I know it will be tough telling Sabastian, and I also get not wanting to start a fight between them. But think about how Sabastian will feel if Zigzag blurts it out to be a jerk or to cause trouble.”

“You really think he’d do that?”

“No clue,” I said with a shrug. “But it could happen. Jealousy can make people do weird shit. How would you feel if some girl kissed him and he didn’t tell you? All I’m saying is think about it, but I’ll support whatever you decide to do.”