Page 90 of Veiled

“I’m going to need all the juicy details,” I say to Sasha. “But first, maybe we can do introductions before we head to class?”

“Sasha, meet—”

“Tattoo God,” she finishes for me, and I laugh at the same time Aiden chokes on the water he was drinking.

“Adding that to the ‘later’ list, Sweetheart.”

Matt's eyes shoot back to me, “Sweetheart?” He asks, naturally confused.

Sasha is far too enthusiastic, “Oh my gosh, this is going to be such a fun walk. I can already feel it!”

“Anyway—Matt, Sasha, this is Aiden. Aiden, this is Sasha and Matt.”

“Hi!” Sasha gives him a quick hug in greeting.

“Uhm. Hi?” Matt says slowly, eyes flicking between us.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Matt’s jaw ticks, “Yeah. We’ve heard about you, too.”

The room goes tense.

“He’s already apologized to me, Mattey. Let’s start walking, and I’ll fill you in. We can’t be late.”

He sighs and opens the door, “Lead the way, Lee.”

As we step outside, Aiden slides his hand into mine, casual enough to pass for nothing, but deliberate enough to send a message.

Matt walks next to me on my other side, and Sasha falls into step next to him as we head to the forest behind the riding grounds.

“Lee, I’m going to need you to start explaining—preferably now.”

“Ok, well, you’ll love this first part—apparently, the story Lucas is telling everyone to rationalize being an asshole is that he was in love with me in high school and I broke his heart by cheating on him.” The sarcasm grows thicker with every word.

Matt’s expression lightens instantly. “Hahaha! You’ve got to be kidding! In love? In the two-week relationship, that douche took you on one date to the movies. Did you two even kiss? I can’t seem to remember.”

I shoot him a glare. He remembers perfectly. “Shut up.”

“No, don’t shut up. Share!!” Sasha demands before turning to Aiden conspiratorially, “Whenever she gives him that voice with that look,” she gestures to my face, “it means it’s something good.”

“No, it doesn’t!”

“It does, now spill.”

“Ugh, fine. Yes, we went on a date to the movies. After it was over, we made out in his car for like a minute. The end.”

“Nooo. You’re forgetting some very important details,” Matt teases, making Sasha literally bounce up and down.

“See, I told you,” she whisper-shouts.

“Fine! While we were making out, he moved his hand up my shirt. When he reached my boob, he stopped and said he needed to drive me home so he wasn’t late for curfew.”

Matt takes over, “Except he didn’t have a curfew. What really happened was that he’d gotten so excited that he’d come in his pants before he could even get a handful!”

The group erupts in laughter.

“Oh my gosh! Who wouldn’t fall in love with you if you can make a guy do that from a single kiss!” Sasha says, tears filling her eyes.