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“Funny, I thought I was hot,” I shot back, and Jade laughed again. Damn, but it was lovely to hear her laugh like this, uninhibited now that we weren’t enemies. And speaking of our new budding partnership… “I had a great idea last night, too.”
“About?”
“Operation: Destroy Owen Prescott.”
“You did?” Jade asked incredulously.
“Hell yeah. I’m excited for our little revenge plot, honestly. He’s always been a dick, and the vigilante justice gig is right up my alley. My grandma always says I’m too smart for my own good, and I think my natural talent for this kind of shit is what she means.”
Jade’s face was skeptical, but interested. She gave me a nod. “Alright, then. Let’s hear the plan.”
“I think you and I should go on a date,” I told her simply. I let her squirm under my gaze for a long moment before I continued, “What better way to make someone jealous than to show all kinds of proof that you’re thriving without them? So, you and I go on a date, someplace where we’re sure to be seen and talked about. We have a good time, take some photos to post…boom. Owen dies of a rage-induced cardiac explosion.”
“You know, Dane, it’s cute that you want to take me on a date so badly you have to come up with a whole plot about it,”she said teasingly. “Youcanjust ask me out, if you want. I’m a simple girl.”
“Hah. Simple? Not a chance.” But the thought of simply asking her out did have a perfect appeal to it.Not your style, dude,I told myself.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’d definitely say yes to a date with you, since you’re still a huge jerk and all, but who knows?” Jade went on, giving a cute little shrug that emphasized her breasts for a moment. “Maybe I’m feelingextra sweettoday.” She winked, and I remembered the last time my friends and I had pointed out her sweetness—while tasting and touching every delicious inch of her. Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing. I respected it, honestly, but I also couldn’t wait to fill that mischievously-smiling mouth with my cock, silence her sass for once.
“That’s a very clever idea you’ve had there, but I’m not the date type, princess. I’ve told you that already. So this is purely for the plot.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, but she was smiling when she said, “Alright, Dane Schwartz. I’ll go on a date with you.”
And my stupid heart seemed to skip a beat in my chest at the words.
“Maybe we can go to that boba place on East Cameron,” Jade suggested next, her eyes lighting up at the idea. “I know Owen loves to hang out there, so we might even get lucky and run into the douche master himself.”
Instantly, my mood turned a little sour. I frowned, looked away from Jade so she wouldn’t be able to read my expression as easily. “Sure,” I told her, even as every fiber of my being wanted to sayFuck Owen Prescott, Jade. You shouldn’t even be thinking about him when you’re with me.
I’d had plenty of great hookups over the years, and I’d never once reacted this way to one of them. Why did it matter if Jadeonly wanted to go on a date with me to get back at her ex? I knew that was her plan going in. I’d been the first one to uncover her subterfuge in the first place. So what if I’d had a strong reaction to finding that out? It was just the shock of it all, really. Once I’d gotten used to it, I was fine. I should befine.
Luckily, my two friends showed up before I could go through any more stupid inner turmoil. Bryce greeted me with a signature jock handshake before he sat on Jade’s other side, laughing when I made fun of him for it. Xander gave us his usual “good morning, colleagues” nod as he sat in front of Jade, turning around in his chair so he could talk to all of us. Even with the huge unspoken thing between us, the memory of what we did in Xander’s basement and how things would never be the same again, we were all able to maintain our cool. Small talk turned to jokes, some of our usual teasing of New Girl Jade, but without the teeth. She laughed along, flipped us off, and tore into us with her signature fierceness, all while maintaining an air of lighthearted comfort.
“Hey, you guys are coming to the game, right?” Bryce asked us after he finished telling a funny story of something that happened in football practice. “Homecoming? It’s a pretty big deal. Of course, I’m gonna make sure we win regardless, obviously, but it’d be great if I could have you all backing me up. Jade can be the good luck charm,” he told us, winking at Jade at the end.
“I’ll be there,” Xander said simply.
“Count me in,” I agreed.
Jade piped up with a sweet, “Sounds like fun.”
Itdidsound fun, even though sports on the whole weren’t really my thing. My friends and our girl—because that was how I was starting to think about Jade Wells, asours,and I was sure the guys would agree with me—would have a good timeregardless. We’d be together. Hell, after yesterday, I wanted us to be together all the time.
In that moment, I felt a strong sense of rightness and belonging. Like for once, I was actually part of something that was almost like a family. Family, in my experience, had never been half as nice, even, because I didn’t get to choose the people I was born to. But this almost-family we’d made with Jade… it was beyond anything I’d ever dreamed of. No shitty alcoholic parents I hadn’t seen in years who didn’t care whether I was in prison or dead—both of which were possibilities for where Carl and Belinda Schwartz had ended up, too, since we weren’t in contact. No indifferent, grumpy grandmother who treated me like a burden, always making comments about how she was looking forward to my getting out of her house.
Every moment with Xander, Bryce, and Jade felt ten times as homey as the calmest, happiest times in that fucking trailer, and I finally felt like I contributed something to the group, too. This thing with the four of us couldn’t work if one of us was missing, a classic car with four perfect tires. Like Bryce’s stupid football shit, we were a team. And fuck, was it nice to have that—and a little terrifying to think it could go away at any time.
22
BRYCE
“Hola,partner,” I said to Jade, my Spanish accent abysmal enough to make her laugh. We had done the impossible and voluntarily paired up for an assignment in our Spanish class for the first time, and I was stoked to get to work with her. She usually paired up with a quiet girl named Rebecca on partner assignments, and I cajoled whatever nerd had the best grade to work with me, but now that we were in cahootsandfucking, I guess things had changed.
The surprised glances from our classmates didn’t go unnoticed, and even our teacher, Señora Sanchez, raised one of her dark eyebrows. Her lips quirked up in a bemused smile.
"Jade and Bryce working together?¡Milagro!" she exclaimed, causing a ripple of laughter across the classroom.
Jade shot me a look. It was the kind that said,If this turns into a disaster, I’m throwing your ass under the bus faster than you can sayautobús. I couldn’t suppress my laughter, reveling in the shift in our dynamic.
