“So, who’s this?” The blonde follows his gaze straight to me, and suddenly I want to reprise Rush’s digital gesture—only this time it won’t be so friendly.
Grant swallows hard, stepping forward with the octopus who’s suddenly suctioned herself onto him. “This is Ava.” His cheek flinches where I kissed him as if it were a slap. And in hindsight I wish it were. “That’s Lucky and Harper. They hang out on The Row. Ava’s just my little sister.”
Just.
He’s reduced the two of us to something akin to siblings. We might be, but his words sear over me far more potent than a simple slap ever could. A heaviness spreads through my chest, running down my limbs as if I were suddenly lined with lead. Something about that brief descriptor cuts right through to my soul—as if the words morphed into a fist and jammed its way down my throat on its way to ripping out my beating heart.
“I’m Darcy.” The blonde steps in and extends her well-manicured tentacles. She’s pretty. An obvious beauty with her tiny nose and delicate features, lips so small you can hardly see them. Maybe they’re still in Grant’s mouth? God knows she lingered there long enough. But that look in her eyes—it’s saying something to me. It’s sayingI own this boy. Back off, bitch.
“It’s been real.” Lucky whisks me out of the gym and across the lawn before I can even think to shake her hand.
Harper pulls me in close by the arm. “Who the hell is she?”
“Grant’s girlfriend.” The words swim numbly from my lips.
“I didn’t think he had one.” Lucky jams her foot into the gap of the closing elevator doors before shoving us inside.
“I didn’t either.”
Grant sends a few texts later that night. Nothing but small talk—a brother talking his little sister out of a tantrum.
I turn my phone off and try to drown myself in sleep, but sleep never comes. I just keep seeing her eyes.
I think what they were really saying wasstay the hell away.
Halloween night has always beenthe pinnacle of fall for me. When I was a little girl, my mother would pay to have elaborate costumes crafted just for me, none of this off-the-rack vinyl, polyester crap. It was designer all the way, nothing short of couture. One year I was Queen Elizabeth, red wig, powder white skin, and eerie blood-let for a smile. Another year—Minnie Mouse. You could have parked me in the Magic Kingdom, and there would have been a line a mile deep to have their pictures taken with me. My costumes were always meticulous right down to the least important detail, and now as I inspect myself in the mirror, it’s obvious that every detail of this policewoman mockery is the least important.
Short vinyl micro mini? Check. Blue polyester blouse with the breakaway buttons bursting at the bosom? Double D check. Shiny silver badge and working cuffs? Well, let’s face it. Those bits of precious metal are the pièce de résistance of this ridiculous ensemble. I scowl down at the trinkets of kink as if they were Darcy the Ditz—not that I know Darcy well enough to call her one, but hey, cheap words and an even cheaper costume are all I have to work with tonight.
I glance over at my phone, and my stomach turns to stone. Grant was nice enough to text me several times since the basketball mishap. And I was rude enough to ignore each and every text. Actually, there wasn’t a single hint of malice to my avoidance of those digital messages. I blame it on the fact my heart detonated in me the other night and left me without a single word to say—kind or otherwise.
I snatch my phone off the dresser and spin around so Lucky can’t see me. She’s about had it with my insistence to meditate over his words as if they were scripture.
Headed to Hallowed Grounds in ten minutes. Meet for coffee?
And another.Guess you couldn’t make it. Need any help with your papers? I’ve got all night for you. Shoot one my way. I’m running a special. All A’s half off! ;)
And the one that gutted me on a primal level.Headed to Jepson to show Darc around. Come with. It won’t be the same without you. I’d love for you to get to know her. I’ve told her so much about you, she says she feels like she knows you already. Missing my little sister. Let’s do this. K?
“Let’s do this!” Lucky bumps my hip with her full pastel tutu, and I can’t help but laugh at the irony as I toss my phone back onto the dresser.
“You sure you’re gunning for a fairy?” I give her wings a slight adjustment. Although, on her a pair of crooked wings speaks volumes. Lucky has her hair loaded with enough glitter to qualify as a disco ball, and those plastic shoes give off both a glass slipper vibe and a streetwalker special. “You look more like a three-year-old dance diva ready to rock the recital.”
“That explains why my inner three-year-old is pretty darn happy right about now.” She douses her cheeks with another few strokes of blush. “You know what they say—had a crappy childhood? Make up for it today!”
“Nobody says that. That doesn’t even make sense.” Harper walks in looking every bit the sex goddess she is. Her honeyed skin is smoothed and perfect, her lips filled in a rosy red that glows against her complexion. There’s not a boy in that frat house who won’t notice Harper’s perfection, including Grant. A part of me is thrilled by this. I’d rather Grant notice anyone but his blonde bombshell of an ex-girlfriend who happened to pick a lousy weekend to drop into town. As much as I’m hoping she’ll hop on her broomstick and fly back to Virginia, I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing her tonight.
“I’m probably not going to stay late,” I announce as we make our way into the cool night air. That thicket of dark clouds hovering over the school has yet to make good on its stormy promise. A part of me wants to bring an umbrella, and another far more wounded part of me wants to drown in the rain. We decide to hoof it tonight because parking on The Row is miserable—and on Halloween? Forget it.
“There’s no way I’m letting you leave early.” Lucky hops by my side like the aforementioned three-year-old she’s quickly morphing into. “Who cares about his ex? Trust me, you don’t want any guy who’s still harboring feelings for someone else. I say good riddance. Besides, if the two of you got any closer, it would have led to disaster. I say we pen that girl a thank you. It’s time to move on and move up.”
“Seems we have a rather opinionated fairy on our hands.” I glance to Harper to see what my sexed-up gypsy friend has to say about this. “Thoughts, please.”
Harper tugs on that rosy lower lip of hers with those glowing teeth. Everything about Harper glows, and for some reason, I choose to believe if I had an ounce of her supernatural beauty, Grant wouldn’t be entertaining his ex for the weekend. But then, I’d hate to think a guy was with me just because of the way I look.
“I don’t know.” Harper wraps her arm around me and pulls me close as we walk with a steady clip. “Some guys just like their exes. I mean, Grant’s a pretty friendly guy. Did you ever think maybe they were just friends?”
“He mentioned that a while back, but you know how that goes. One long separation, plus one long-awaited reunion equals spontaneous combustion.”
