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“Oh, really.” His brow cocked, but he had a playful smile on his lips. “You didn’t think to tell me that before we left the house.”
“I mean, it’s pretty obvious. I’m sure the puck bunnies love it though. You’re literally a big cuddly teddy bear.” I poked his fur-covered arm.
“I’ll be a dehydrated bear taking its last breaths soon if I don’t get out of this fucking thing.” He yanked at the collar as if it might alleviate some of his issues. “Having fun?”
“It’s… loud.”
“It’s a party, shortcake.” He grinned, and those pesky butterflies took flight again. “It’s supposed to be loud.”
“I’m just not used to it, is all.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t party much back in high school.”
“Correct. It wasn’t really my scene.”
“What is your scene, Aurora Hart?” His eyes drilled into mine.
He always did that—looked too closely, as if he was trying to unravel me. Unpick all my broken, jagged pieces and figure out how they slotted back together.
“I like to read. Watch movies. I like rainy days when you can hear it beating off the windows. I like—” I stopped myself.
What the hell was I doing?
“Sorry, I guess the vodka went to my head.”
“Hey, I asked. I want to get to know you, shortcake. I want us to be… friends.” He glanced away for a second, running a hand over his jaw.
That second was all I needed for the cracks to splinter—for the seed of doubt to spread.
“Friends,” I repeated, the word leaving a dirty taste on my tongue.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted us to be, but friends didn’t sound right. Friends weren’t supposed to make my heart flutter and my blood run hot.
Friends didn’t—
Stop, Aurora. He’s not like you. He’s popular and gorgeous, and he’s a Laker, for Christ’s sake.
Besides, friends were all we could ever be. So to wish—to hope—for anything more was pointless. Noah was kind to me because he had to be the way Connor was. The way Dayna and Ella were.
I was Austin Hart’s little sister. The new girl on campus. They’d taken pity on me. That was all.
“Noah, there you are.” The leggy blonde from The Penalty Box towered over us. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Sam, sorry.” Noah shifted awkwardly. “I was just chatting with Aurora.”
“Aurora.” She fixed her cool, assessing gaze on me. “I don’t think I know you.”
“She’s Austin’s sister.”
“So, what, you’re babysitting her?” She scoffed, flicking her glossy waves over one shoulder in a well-rehearsed move.
“Sam, come on. Play nice,” Noah groaned. “Aurora is staying with us for a while. She’s good people.”
“It’s okay,” I said, getting up and smoothing down my dress because dear God, it was short. “I’ll leave you two to it. Nice to meet you.”
Sam pressed her lips into a barely-there smile, her judgment brushing up against me like shards of glass.
"Shortcake, come on—”
