Page 60 of Saints & Sailors

I watched as he turned around and went back toward the building, walking confident and badass.

I almost felt like patting myself on the back. “I got faith in you!”

Instead of turning around, Bonham raised devil horns with his fingers and kept going.

Atta boy.

Dreux was standing at the trunk of his car with Aidan and Zion Wood, a boy I recognized from class.

Aidan was the first to greet me, offering a warm smile. “Hey, Cameron told me about Scott blowing her phone up. I just wanted to apologize on my brother’s behalf. He’s such a fuckup.”

He may have been Bonham’s brother, but he clearly didn’t know him that well.

I scowled and took a step back. “Actually, I make my own choices. Bonham had nothing to do with it.”

Briefly, a muscle in Aidan’s jaw flexed, and the smile turned a little smug. “My brother can be…charming, I’m sure, but he isn’t the best company, Saylor.”

I stood my ground. “I like Bonham. I think he’s great.”

Aidan’s eyes studied me intensely as he moved away from me and shook his head. Soon, though, that super friendly aura returned. “Just be careful.”

Aidan walked around me, turning and waving at Dreux and Zion. “See you guys later.”

Prick.

Maybe it was because I was an only child, but I didn’t like the idea of Aidan constantly bashing his own brother.

I let it go as I joined up with Dreux and Zion. “Hey.”

“Saylor, this is my best friend, Zion. Z, this is Saylor. I’m not sure if you guys officially met yet,” Dreux said as he introduced us. “Z’s on the baseball team with me.”

One thing that immediately stood out about Zion was his large afro. It was thick and brushed along his shoulders, appearing healthy and moisturized. I’d heard a few girls in our shared classes gush about his mane.

I lifted my hand in a wave. “Nice to meet you.”

Zion tipped his head toward me and slapped Dreux’s arm before backing away to leave. “Nice meeting you, Saylor.”

Dreux headed around the Bronco for the driver’s door. “Let’s go, Avril Lavigne.”

My mouth dropped open. “Really?”

His response was a grin.

Maybe it was the sun shining on him, or maybe it was our earlier talk, but I found myself realizing that maybe, just maybe, Dreux was too cute to strangle.

Together we climbed into his Bronco and I buckled in beside him.

Dreux began driving for the strip mall, and my stomach did somersaults at the anticipation.

“It won’t be that bad,” Dreux promised as he glimpsed at me.

The radio was playing, still on the hip-hop and R&B station from this morning. I didn’t mind, though; I found peace in the lyrics of the current song playing on the radio.

It wasn’t until the strip mall was in view that I realized how spoiled I was. Back home, I had the security of my AmEx card, swiping it was no issue whenever I wanted something of value. Here, Scott worked, not that my mother hadn’t, but here Scott had to, and now here I was, about to work too.

“Is she going to pay me?” I got the courage to ask as Dreux parked the car.

To this he laughed. “We’ll see.”