A brand-new car…well, brand new to me.
Dad surprised me with a car so I can drive to school, and I love it. It’s the best surprise. Honestly, I had no idea he was going to do that. I’d been fine getting lifts in the morning, even if it had been earlier than I wanted some days.
That was Saturday, and today is my first day back at Ridgecrest. Even though Dad isn’t happy with me and wants me to wait.
“Please, just give it another week,” he asks again.
I shake my head as I try to put my hair up in a ponytail, but I give up when it doesn’t work. Dad watches me and gives me a sorry smile. He tried to help me with it last week, but it wasn’t tight enough and fell out after ten minutes. He tried again before admitting that his hair styling skills are lacking.
“Dad, I’m fine, and I’ve been cooped up here too long. I need to go back.”
If not for my grades, then for my mental health. Being stuck here all day makes me overthink. Everything. And that’s not good for someone who got hit by the car of two gangsters. I assume that’s what they are. I call them “bad guys,” but I assume they’re mixed up in all the stuff that goes on at The Shed.
“Call me if you need me. I don’t care if it’s something silly. You call me, and I will come get you.”
I smile as I dive in for another hug from Dad. He rubs the middle of my back and lets out a defeated huff.
“You’re a stubborn girl.” He shakes his head at me as he takes another sip of coffee.
I chuckle and kiss his cheek. “Yeah, but you love me just the way I am,” I tease him.
“I’ll always love you, even when you’re being so stubborn that I want to bundle you in bubble wrap and keep you safe.”
I poke my tongue at Dad, loving this banter with him. Looking down at my phone, I realize I don’t have much time left before school starts. I give him another huge squeeze, and my ribs feel so much better now, the hug doesn’t even hurt.
Grabbing my bag off the table, I dash for the door. “Bye, Dad. See you at dinner. Kate’s place?” He nods and just stands there. “Dad, you’re late for work. Get a move on.” I worry they’ll fire him if he keeps spending time away taking care of me.
I run out to my shiny new silver Honda Civic, giddy at the sight of it. When I hear the beep of a car unlocking, I turn to see Jace storming toward his black SUV. He stops for a moment and looks over at me. He pauses, only for a split second, before he yanks opens his door then slams it behind him.
Someone made him an extra bowl of rage cereal this morning. Not my problem anymore. But I linger as he reverses out of the driveway, and the screeching of his tires has me getting into my own car.
Grady must have left early for weight training. I’m so glad I have my own car now. No way I would have asked Jace for a lift. I would rather get hit by a car again than get into a car with that anger directed at me.
Well, maybe not get hit by a car. That hurts. But I would call an Uber or Hunter.
“Mila, babe.” Hunter greets me outside of school with a bear hug and lingering kiss that I never want to stop.
Unfortunately, we do have to stop, and when I draw back, he kisses my nose. And, in this moment, it really sinks in—I’m dating Hunter West. My cute best friend who was always scared to use the rope swing at the lake, grew up into this tall, sexy guy who is mine. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him again, grinning.
“What was that for?” he asks.
“Because you’re mine, and I’m never letting you go.”
The bell rings and he takes my bag. Instead of walking beside me, he comes up behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist and placing his chin on my shoulder as we walk together as one.
“I’m never letting you go either, Mila. When you said I could keep you, I took it to heart. I’ve always known you would one day be my girl. I just had to wait until now to claim you.”
I turn my head and kiss his cheek.
He gives me a cocky grin as he stands up and waves an arm in the air. “Everyone, listen up. Mila Hart is my girl. Forever and always.”
My eyes widen as I take in the students around us that have frozen to listen to Hunter. I grab his arm and pull it down. “I think they know. Let’s go before I’m late for my first class because you’re marking your territory.” I cock a brow at him, and he chuckles.
“Sorry for being so excited to finally be yours that I had to tell everyone.”
Well now, how can I worry about being late when he comes back with something like that?
“What class do you have first?” He wraps his arm around my shoulder as he stands beside me, and I lean into him.
“English with Mrs. Becker. My double trouble class.”
“Double trouble?”
I look at his confused face and giggle. “Yeah, Jace and Roman.”
“That’s funny. What’s chem, then? Triple trouble?”
I shake my head. “A nightmare.”
He lets out a deep, throaty laugh at that.
Hunter greets people by name as we walk through the halls; he’s very popular with all the students. It’s actually nice to see. He’s nothing like some of the other jocks I’ve seen. And he makes sure to introduce me as his girlfriend, Mila, but there’s no way I can remember all those names.
By the time I’ve reached my classroom, I feel like I’ve surpassed my limit of socializing for the day, and first period hasn’t started yet. I have no idea how he does that every day. It’s torture. Or maybe I’m just not built to be a social butterfly.
Jace is already sitting at a table as I walk into the class. He glares over at Hunter and me. I just raise my brow. If he has something to say, he can say it or fuck off.
Hunter takes my face in his hands and kisses me with those luscious lips of his. I sag against him a little, soaking in all he has to give, and I give it right back to him. A throat clears, and we break apart. I’m a little dazed after that. I didn’t see him at all yesterday, but we talked on the phone a bit. He was helping his mom with some stuff.
“If you would like to take a seat, Miss Hart, we can get the class started,” my annoyed-sounding teacher says.
I look around for a spare seat, and the only one available is next to the one person who said he can’t be my friend anymore. Roman doesn’t look at me. He looks out the window as though he’d rather run away than sit next to me.
Deep down, I know that isn’t true. And I’m not giving up. He knows this, especially after our almost-kiss in the pool on Saturday. I’m not letting that go…I dreamed about that kiss two nights in a row. I want the real thing now.
Making my way over, I take the seat, and Hunter follows me, dropping my bag on the floor next to my desk. Roman turns and does that head nod hello thing that guys seem to do. Hunter does the same, but no words are exchanged. I’d almost forgotten Roman said he couldn’t be friends with either of us.
I need to ask Hunter how he feels. Hell, this is bigger than I thought. Jace is alone because he’s an asshole. Hunter’s alone because he chose me. Roman’s alone because he thinks the distance will protect all of us.
If anything, I’ve come home after four years to three best friends and amazing teammates and reduced them to a head nod and completely ignoring each other. I have to fix this.
One of them at a time. Roman first. Jace…well, I need time after what he did to me and to Grady. Maybe with time alone, he’ll realize the mistakes he’s made. I know we’ve made some too, but he lashed out at people he cares for, and he needs to work on himself before I can even start to mend this friendship again. That’s if he even wants to.
“Hey,” I say to Roman, my mind returning to our “one last day” together. I hadn’t laughed that much in so long. My stomach muscles actually hurt yesterday from overuse. I want that day again. As much as I love my new car, it’s always going to be the car that cockblocked me from what I know would have been an epic kiss with Roman.
When he doesn’t reply, I get out my books from my bag. I try to grip my pen in my right hand and the cast makes it too awkward. So, I flip over to my left hand to take notes. I love pen and paper, but I have the laptop too, which will make it much easier to write.
“I’m not giving up,” I whisper under my breath, knowing only he can hear me.
He releases a breath. I draw some circles and swirls with my left hand, trying to get used to writing with that hand. I can feel his eyes on me through his hair, and I want to reach out and push it behind his ear so bad.
“You need to,” he whispers. It’s barely audible, but I hear it.
“You need a haircut.” I look over at him under my lashes and catch his striking blue eye through the strands. We just stare at each other, like we’re locked in a battle, and the first to blink loses. I won’t lose this battle.
“Don’t want one.”
I still my lips from smiling and swallow, my hands tingling to push the hair away when he doesn’t move to do so.
“Why not?” I press on, holding my breath as I wait for him to reply.
“You know why,” he mutters under his breath just as he turns to look out the window again.
That’s all I need to hear. I sit up straighter and the buzz in my chest makes me smile like the Cheshire cat. He won’t cut his hair…for me. He’s not giving up on us. Deep down he doesn’t want to.
The class passes in a blur, and as soon as the bell rings, Roman is up and out of his chair faster than I am. I race to catch up with him, but instead, I bump into Britney Montlake. Fuck, just my luck on my first day back.
“Watch where you’re going, bitch.” She shoves me into someone passing by, and I right myself before falling over. Everyone moves away from us, watching and waiting.
“No, you better watch yourself, Britney.” I shake my head and tsk. “You can do whatever you want to me; I don’t give a shit. But you hurt my friend, and I won’t stand by and let that happen. What you did on Friday…I’m gonna get you for that, so you better watch your back. I’m gunning for you, bitch.”
I’m done with her shit. Hell, her childish bullying tactics were borderline PG. But no one hurts Grady. He’s the sweetest and kindest guy. She will pay for that, but not today. I have other things on my mind.
I storm off to chemistry. I know that Britney is in my class, but Roman and Hunter will also be there. Lucky for me, Roman’s my partner, which means he has to spend time with me for the whole class. I’m a little sad Hunter’s not near us. I would’ve liked to sit with them both.
Walking into the room, I take my usual spot, Roman swaggers in after me, his books under his arm, and he flips his hair over his head as he pauses to glance at me. How does he just walk into a room and turn me on? I shift in my seat. Gosh, I think I need to set aside some time with my boyfriend to work off some of this built-up sexual tension so I don’t jump Roman in the middle of the classroom.
He sits beside me, the chair scraping as he moves closer to the table and places his books down. Does Roman need help in this class to pass? He said he was failing; I don’t understand how he can be failing when he needs to pass to play on the football team. I’m just about to ask when Hunter dances into the room and I roll my eyes. That boy is a show pony. He loves the limelight.
“Babe,” he says, dancing over to me and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Roman.” Hunter moves in to kiss his cheek, and my eyes widen.
But Roman is faster. He grabs Hunter’s throat and growls. “No,” is all he says, but his meaning is loud and clear. Don’t touch him.
“All good, just saying hello to my two favorite people.”
“Oh look, just what we need more of—faggots,” Britney sneers from where she sits, and I see red, my chair flipping as soon as I stand.
I turn to her, and a sound emits from my throat that’s half scream, half growl, causing everyone to stare at me. I’m going to rip her eyes out. I reach out to swipe my hand at her, but Hunter grabs me around the waist.
Emerson comes into the classroom right at that moment. He stands there and looks between Hunter holding me back and Britney pretending to study her nails as though nothing is going on. “Fuck,” is all he says.
“Babe, calm down. She isn’t worth it.”
I beg to differ; she needs to tumble down a few pegs and crawl back into the hole she came out of.
“Mila, she’s blacklisted,” Emerson says. “We don’t talk to or associate with her. And you being Hunter’s girl…well, you’re one of us now. Always have been.” He smiles and nods.
Blacklisted? Well, I guess that’s a lot of pegs. She thrives on her queen bee status that she’s achieved by being Jace’s girlfriend and her bullying. That’s how she’s maintained her reign over all the students. But that status has been stripped from her, and that’s much worse than anything I could do to her.
I nod to Emerson, letting all the fight escape me as I lean against Hunter.
He kisses my neck. “That’s it, babe. Don’t even look at her.”
I point at Britney. “Don’t ever, ever, use that word again. I don’t care if you’re blacklisted or not, I will fuck you up.” I sneer in her direction as Hunter tries to get me back to my seat.
“Mila Hart,” a voice booms loudly in the room, and I slowly turn in Hunter’s arms.
Mr. Rayne is staring at me as he crooks his finger to come over. Fuck.
The principal’s office is stuffy and smells like stale coffee. Various plaques hang on the wall from prizes she’s won, mostly collecting dust. I sneeze just at the sight.
“Mila, your threat today toward Britney is unacceptable. We don’t tolerate bullies here at Ridgecrest. We’re an upstanding school, and I have no other choice but to suspend you for two days.”
“What?” I screech. “That’s not fair. Britney used a homophobic slur against two boys in class. I was only threatening her because she bullied them; any other student would have done the same.”
She sits back in her chair and looks out the glass of her door where Britney waits. Hunter and the girl he sits next to in class are there as well.
Mrs. Hadley stands and opens her door. “Ashley,” she calls, and the girl gets up.
Hunter looks at me, those big puppy dog eyes switched on. I think he’s trying to suck up to the principal. “Is there any way I can help, Mrs. Hadley?” He flashes a toothy grin, and she stumbles a little.
“We’re fine, Hunter, but thank you for your concern.” She closes the door and straightens out her blue shirt with a hint of a smile on her flushed cheeks.
Hunter…you dirty dog. How many times has he played Mrs. Hadley like that? I need to ask him.
Ashley sits beside me, and as soon as Mrs. Hadley returns to her chair, her demeanor changes. She leans forward on her desk with her hands clasped. “Tell me, Ashley. Did you hear what Britney said before Mila became enraged?”
I grit my teeth and keep quiet. Enraged?
The poor girl goes pale as she looks at me then to one of the dusty plaques behind the principal’s head. “Yes,” she squeaks out.
Oh gosh, she’s so painfully shy. It isn’t fair for her to be put on the spot like this. Hell, Britney will probably go after her, blacklisted or not. You can’t just switch a bully off like that and expect her not to lash out.
“Can you tell me?” Mrs. Hadley prods.
Ashley nods a little, and I watch as she picks at her short fingernails. I reach over and hold her hand. “It’s okay. This is a safe space. Right, Mrs. Hadley?” I look over, and the principal’s eyes widen before she nods.
“Yes, it’s a safe space, Ashley.”
Ashley looks at where my hand holds hers. “She called Roman and Hunter…she called them…f–a–g–g—”
Mrs. Hadley holds her hand up. “That’s enough. I have the picture now. You can go and call in Britney.”
Poor Ashley. I’ve never seen someone move so fast.
Britney comes in and closes the door. I don’t look over, but I can feel her eyes on me. Bitch.
“You look lovely today, Mrs. Hadley.”
I snort and then cough to hide it. What a suck-up.
“Britney, your language is unacceptable. You will be punished for your choice of words.” Choice of words, my ass. They shouldn’t have come out of her mouth at all. “But, Mila, two wrongs don’t make a right. So, you’re not leaving this room unpunished. Instead, maybe it would be better if the two of you served your punishments together. Then we can all learn to get along.”
“What?” Britney and I gasp at the same time.
We both look at each other. I want to spit on her—I’m that angry at her. But learn to get along? What is this, kindergarten?
“Yes, tomorrow morning at seven, the two of you will be at school and you will have office duty. That includes cleaning and running errands all day.”
I hold up my cast in case she forgot I have a broken arm. Hell, I might as well play the I-have-a-broken-arm card while I have the cast.
“You can still carry notes to classes, Mila. All the heavy lifting will be done by Britney,” she adds, who groans in protest. “There will be no complaining. You’re both lucky I don’t suspend you. Now, get back to class. I have important things to do.”
How is it that my first day back at school I’m almost suspended? But what’s worse is spending a whole day with Britney. I would rather be suspended, but I know Dad would be upset. I don’t want him to have to come down to school to take me home. I will take the punishment for what it is…torture.
The bell rings for lunch and I see purple hair running at me through the crowd.
‘Sadie,” I call out as this huge, beaming grin approaches. She doesn’t stop as wraps her arms around me gently in a hug. I hug her back.
“Oh my god, you didn’t tell me you were coming today. I thought you weren’t coming back till next week.”
I chuckle. If my dad had his way, I wouldn’t be here. “I wasn’t supposed to, but I’m also not good at staying home. Or following rules, for that matter.”
She pulls back and laughs. Her laugh is contagious, and I follow suit.
“Cadence is gonna flip when she sees you’re here. You should have messaged me. I would’ve come pick you up.”
I grin. “Got my own set of wheels now.”
My bike is probably all mangled. I never asked, but I don’t think I want to see what it looks like now. I’ve come to grips with that day, but I think seeing my bike would set me back ten steps. I have no intentions of riding a bike ever again.
“Are you gonna sit with us at lunch?”
I purse my lips and pretend I’m thinking. “Maybe? Can you sit with me at the football table?”
Her mouth drops open. “So, it’s true? I heard about you and Hunter.”
I smile. “Yeah, well, it’s not too hard to hear when he’s shouting it from the halls.”
She gasps, her hand flying to her mouth as her brows raise. “He didn’t? Did he? Oh god, Cadence is going to flip when she hears it’s true.”
“What, why? Oohhh…” My cheeks heat as I remember she once asked if I had seen him naked. Now that I’ve seen the older version, I can say I’m very impressed.
“Please tell me you’re blushing because it’s so big?”
I smack her arm then loop it with mine. “I will not be discussing my boyfriend’s body parts, no matter how big and impressive they are.”
Sadie gasps. “I knew it.”
I shake my head. “Come on. Let’s go get lunch and watch the drama show of the day. Pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of crazy.” Thankfully, it’s not about me.
“Babe, come sit between me and Emerson,” Hunter says, a tray of food already waiting for me.
He’s such a sweet boyfriend. I kiss his lips as I park myself between the two of them.
Emerson bumps his shoulder with mine. “I like that you and Hunter are together.” Then he leans in close. “Was he the real first kiss?” I shove him playfully and he chuckles. “What? I had to try.”
“That’s none of your business,” I reply with an exaggerated huff.
He looks at Hunter and, with a sly grin, adds, “I guess he wasn’t, if you’re not telling me.”
My mouth drops open, and he points and nods. I roll my eyes at myself more than Emerson. I can’t believe I just gave away my poker face like that.
I see the girls slowly approaching us, like they’re lambs to a lion’s den. Happy for the change of subject, I ask, “Can we make room for my friends Sadie and Cadence?”
A few of the guys look around then nod, and I gesture for the girls to come over. Their eyes almost bug out of their heads as the guys in front of me turn to check them out before shifting over to let them in.
“Thanks,” they whisper and look at me, their eyes telling me, “Holy shit.”
I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from giggling at them. They are so funny and great friends. I received so many messages and flowers from them both while I was out of action.
“Babe, I got you water, a soda, a wrap with chicken and avocado, a cookie, and a chocolate bar I brought you from home.” Hunter points at all the stuff on the tray in front of me.
He brought me chocolate.
“I wish I had a boyfriend that got me food,” Cadence mutters to herself.
I feel bad that the girls have to get up and wait in that long-ass line. But they don’t seem to be making a move to get any food. Maybe it’s the fact that I said they could sit here. Or they don’t want to waste any time in line when they could be sitting at the table with some very fine-looking football players.
Grady appears beside Emerson and takes a seat. I smile over at him, and he winks.
“How was the hangover?” I ask him.
He lets out a huff and shakes his head. “I’ll never drink whiskey from the back of your dad’s cupboard again, Mila.”
When he chuckles, a few of the guys and I join in. I’m glad none of the guys are making what came out about Grady on Friday night weird or a big deal. Which reminds me, where’s Makai? I guess he doesn’t usually sit here. Or maybe it’s more? I hope not; I hope Makai is okay. I’m assuming I’m not the only one who put two and two together with them.
Shit, I really hope no one says anything about Makai. It should be his choice and his alone.
Jace comes over with his tray full of food, and the whole table grows silent. I sit on a knife-edge, wondering who’s going to break first. There’s a seat left next to his brother, but everyone’s watching him. What’s his move? Since he’s standing there uncertainly, he obviously hasn’t apologized to Grady. And it’s causing tension within the team.
He reaches for the chair just as Britney appears beside him with her tray. “Jace, I’ve been calling you and trying to talk to you all day. Come and sit with me.” Her voice—whiny and desperate—is like nails going down a chalkboard.
Grady tenses and Emerson growls, “Fuck off.”
Jace looks around at everyone at the table, and if looks could kill…
I do feel bad for him; the look he’s giving everyone is sad. Still, he’s the one who dug this hole and is the only one who can dig himself out. And having Britney here with him, that’s not going to go down well at all.
He lashes out at people when he’s hurt. I get it. I upset him, and he used our childhood walkie-talkies to broadcast her giving him a blowjob. Maybe he thinks I have no right to be upset. But I happen to think that was a low blow, even for him.
I haven’t done or said anything to him since. He made his bed. But there must be something more going on with Jace. Either that, or he’s simply an asshole. I don’t know if there’s a cure for that. Time will tell.
They both turn and walk away and the chatter returns to the table. Sadie’s expression goes wide across the table, and I nod. “Yeah, that’s what I meant about the drama,” I say back with my eyes. I see the corner of her lip go up. Yep, this table seems to always have some form of drama.
I notice that Roman is still missing, and I look around for him. Hunter holds my hand and shakes his head a little. “He’s hiding from us,” is all he says, and I frown.
I wish he didn’t have to hide from us. But I know he thinks he’s protecting us…I will let him have that.
For now.
