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"Uh, Wes wasn’t feeling it this morning. He had a late night." I give her a significantyou-can-fill-in-the-blankslook. "I figured I could sleep an extra two hours for once."
Blame it on the best friend. Why not? Note to self: make sure Wes knows abouthislate night.
Mom cocks her head, lips pursing. The woman has a bullshit detector that’s better than any polygraph. She knows that Wes skipping a workout has never stopped me, but for whatever reason, she drops the topic. "I’m heading out. Natty and I are picking up Gemma this morning. Her mom has an early client meeting."
Gemma’s mom is an architect, specialized in restoring the old houses in this area to their original state but adding a modern touch. She’s responsible for most of the shops and condos on Main Street, including Magnolia’s—Lilly’s favorite hangout.
"Okay, cool." I try to act as nonchalant as possible while stuffing random shit in my backpack.
Mom starts closing the door. "Don’t be late. Love you."
"Love you, too."
When she is gone, I take in the contents of my backpack. Fan-fucking-tastic. I just shoved pretty much every book from my desk in there, including a leftover paper coffee cup, my stapler, and Natty’s stuffed monkey that she left here approximately three years ago to keep me safe. I slump down in my desk chair. There is no way in hell we can pull this off. Not at this rate.
Thirty minutes later,I walk into the kitchen while Lilly is pouring hot water into her travel mug, the usual tea bag hanging out to the side. Her back is to me, and for the first time, she doesn’t seem to have noticed me yet. We’re alone in the house. Mom left about twenty minutes ago, and I can’t help myself. I sneak up to her, wrap my arms around her waist, and settle my chin on her shoulder, whispering, "Good morning, beautiful."
She squeals, dropping the kettle.
Whoops.
She spins around and whisper-shouts, "What are you doing?"
Her flustered expression has me bursting out laughing. "Mom and Natty already left. Didn’t you hear them? She needs to pick up Gemma."
Lilly sinks against the counter, covering her eyes, while I rest my hands on her hips. "No, I didn’t. I just came down. Don’t ever do that to me again!" She’s trying to calm her breathing.
I pull her fully into my arms. "I’m sorry, babe. Come here, I want to kiss my girlfriend good morning."
With that, she winds her arms around my neck and sinks into the embrace. She smirks up at me before pressing her lips to mine. "Hmmm...good morning."
Lilly parkedher car inside yesterday, so I left mine in the driveway. Walking in, I press the opener next to the kitchen door to let myself out through the garage.
We stop next to her Jeep. I don’t want to let go of her, but the automatic door is almost up, and we can’t risk being seen by any nosy neighbors.
I slowly pull away, taking a step back. "What are your plans today?"
"Practice, maybe grab something to eat with Den. Why?"
I feel myself relaxing a bit. "Okay, good. I don’t want you alone until we know what that psycho has planned." The thought of her anywhere by herself has me all fidgety. I can’t be around most of the time, but that’s why I wanted our best friends to be filled in on the situation. One of us should be with her. "Maybe Wes and I can join you?"
Lilly is in the process of climbing into her car and stops with one foot in the air. "You think that’s smart? I mean, it’s one thing that they know, but if we start making public appearances together..."
She’s right, but fuck if I care. I just give her my typical crooked grin. "Just let me handle it; you worry too much."
She exhales slowly, deliberating. "Okay."
I reverseout of the driveway while Lilly is still getting situated. That’ll give me a good ten-minute head start. I know my girl—she drives like Grandma Ruth. Scratch that, Grandma Ruth drives faster than Lilly.
Pulling into my usual spot in the senior corner of the parking lot, I’m briefly distracted, replaying the previous night, when a shadow appears at my driver’s side door. Turning, I come face to face with Kat, staring at me with her resting bitch face commonly reserved for her female enemies.
"Jesus Christ!" I drop my backpack on the passenger seat. "What the fuck, Kat?" There goes my good mood. I stare at her incredulously before exiting the Defender.
"I want to talk to you."
I don’t.
Better get this over with; she won’t take no for an answer. I gesture with my hand for her to go ahead.
