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MILA
“Thank you for coming,” I say to Sadie as I quickly close the door to her red coupe. It smells a little funky, but it’s better than being in a car with either of my neighbors right now. Funky smell over being trapped in a car with them, any day.
“I want to know what made you call me, and why you’re not getting a lift with either of the Montero brothers. Grady and Jace are just so…yummy.”
I sag into the soft fabric of the seat and look out the window as we drive past their cars. They won’t know I’m not coming with them until I’m already at school.
Closing my eyes, I try to figure out how to answer her. Because, really, it’s the truth. They’re yummy, and it would make more sense to accept a ride with either of them. Avoiding them won’t make the problem go away, but it sure as hell will give me more time to think.
“It’s complicated,” I reply as I glance out at the people going about their days without all the problems I have. Hell, I wonder if anyone would even call this a problem. Kissing hot boys, touching them…ugh.
“That’s a totally boring answer.” Sadie shakes her head and laughs.
“Fuck, everything’s complicated. I thought I could come back and be friends with the boys like old times. But it’s like we all turn into slaves to our hormones once we become teenagers. The whole sex shit is getting in the way…hell, even my future stepbrother has made it clear that it’s impossible for girls to just be friends with guys.”
“First off, what the hell? Sex? Spill. Was it with Jace? And two, your stepbrother wants to have sex with you? Gross.”
I laugh, ignoring the first part, since I want to avoid the topic of Jace right now.
“He’s not my stepbrother, officially. My dad is just dating his mom. But if you saw him, you wouldn’t be saying gross. He’s annoyingly hot and funny.”
I pull up a photo on my phone, one that we took together at the first Lakeview party he took me to. He has a goofy-ass grin on his face, and I’m sticking out my tongue to the camera. I show Sadie when she stops at a stop sign, and her mouth drops open.
“Get out of here, that’s gonna be your stepbrother?”
I nod. “Well, that’s if my dad marries his mom, of course. They’ve only been dating a few months, I think. It seems serious, though. He’s at their place more than he’s at home.”
“If you don’t want him, can I have him?” Sadie winks over at me.
I chuckle and slide the phone back into my bag. “Next Lakeview party I got to, I’ll bring you along and introduce you. He’s a player, on and off their field. So, just a heads up.”
“Oh, one night is good enough for me.”
We both laugh.
But I won’t be going to any Lakeview parties for a while. Not because of the spiked drink thing—I’ve boxed that up and put it away on a shelf to be dealt with another time—but more because, after our little chat last night, it would be best to avoid Asher for a few days.
I think the forbidden fruit thing is hanging a little too close now, and it’s best to go try some fruit I can actually eat.
But that leaves me wondering what I want. Or rather, who?
I could stay single, I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy. But it’s nice to have someone to care for and who cares about you in return. Someone who sends a message every morning to say hello, because I’m the first person he wants to speak to when he wakes up. And, at night, I’m the last person he thinks about as he says goodnight.
I sigh. I want that, I do. But I can’t have what I want—it’s not possible. I need to look outside the boys. My boys. Jace, Hunter, and Roman. I can’t have them all, so I won’t have one. But I don’t want anyone else to have them either.
And what about Grady? Fuck. He kissed me, and I kissed him back. I still don’t know what that means. Do I want to kiss him again? I don’t know. It was a great kiss, but…it’s not like when Roman kissed me. Hell, nothing will ever compare to that kiss. Even now, my toes are curling at the thought.
My first class of the day is with Jace and Roman. Only, today, they don’t shun me. They don’t seem to be fighting anymore, either. Jace smiles when he sees me and pats the desk beside him. Roman sits in front of him and gives me a hint of a smile as I pass him.
“Hey,” I say as I sit down, dumping my books on my desk with a thud.
“Did you get a lift with Grady?” Jace questions, and I shake my head.
“No, with Sadie.”
He furrows his brow and shrugs. Okay, snob boy. Is the football star too popular to know the rest of the students here?
“I’ll have you know, Sadie is nice and funny and actually wanted to be my friend when you were being jerks. So, shame on you, jock boy.”
