Daisy comes over less than two minutes later with two steaming cups.
“Chamomile. Is that okay?”
“Yes.” I pull it forward and feel the burn over my palms as it penetrates through the paper cup. “Thank you.” I like the burn. It lets me know I’m still alive.
She clears her throat. Her glossy lips hit the light, and Daisy glitters like the beauty queen she is. A part of me is thrilled for my brother. She is a stunner and seemingly nice to boot. “I swear on all that is holy, I will not tell Jet a thing about whatever it is that’s got you down.”
“I’m not down.” I can hardly get the words out without my voice cracking, calling me a liar right to my face. “Okay, maybe I’m down just a little.” A tiny smile breaks through.
“What’s going on, Lucky?” She reaches over and takes up my hand. Her pearly white nails run circles over the back of it. “It’s about a boy.” She says that last part like a fact—because it is.
“Okay, so maybe it’s about a boy.” I frown into my tea as I pull it closer, and the steam wafts over my face like a sauna. It feels good, safe to be here with Daisy, away from my friends, the Greeks, away from humans in general.
“Did he break your heart?”
A lone tear tumbles down my cheek as I shake my head. “No, not really.” Lies flow like water—they always have. “Okay, he did, but it’s really not his fault.”
“How in the world is it not his fault? Tell me who he is so I can scratch his horny little eyes out.”
“No!” I bark, sharp as a whip, and she straightens as if I touched her with a cattle prod. I slump back in my seat and let the dread I’ve felt all afternoon fill me once again. “He couldn’t break my heart because I never gave him the chance. You see, he thinks I’m not that into him. I may have made this clear as crystal. I never came to Briggs expecting to find love.” I shudder as the L word vomits from my lips. “I came looking for a good time. And he was so obnoxious.” I slap my hand over the table as if swatting a miniature version of Lawson under my palm. “It just killed me. He was getting on my last nerve, and I had to put him in his place, and then—” I shake my head in disbelief.
“And then what?” Daisy’s eyes bug out as if I’m about to confess to a body count.
“And then we were together all the time, and I kind of liked it.” I shake my head again, truly bewildered by the confession. “God, how could I not see this coming?” Lawson Kent barreled at me like a heart-shaped freight train, and now here I am trying to assess the damage.
“Lucky,” Daisy coos as if this were some candy-coated life event. “You have real feelings for this boy.”
“I guess I do.” More tears come to the party, and now I’m just blubbering into my tea with a woman I thought I hated just a few weeks back. And here Daisy is being the big sister, the mother that I’ve craved for so long. “I think”—a hiccup gets lodged in my throat—“I think I love him.”
There. A stone has been dislodged from somewhere deep in my heart, and I feel lighter than air. For the first time, in as long as I can remember, I can breathe, and dare I say smile.
“You love him.” Daisy leans in as hard, with tears of her own pooling in her eyes. “So, what’s going on? Is he seeing someone else? Is he emotionally unavailable?”
“No. It’s just like I said. He thinks I’m the last person who would want anything to do with him.”
Daisy’s expression hardens. “You need to tell him how you feel.”
A dull laugh rumbles through me. “Right. I can’t do that. I might as well strip naked and run through the quad. What if he drives a stake right through my heart? I couldn’t take it.”
“What if he doesn’t? What if he feels the exact same way about you, and the two of you are so busy trying to annoy one another you never reach your full potential?”
“You think so?” Hope rockets through me as my adrenaline kicks in. “You think he could actuallywantsomething with someone like me?”
Daisy inches back in her seat as if I were about to deck her. “What do you mean someone like you?” Her eyes ride over me up and down. “Oh my dear God, Lucky Madden, have you seen yourself in the mirror? You are knock-out, drag-down gorgeous. If that boy doesn’t want a bite out of your apple, then he doesn’t have his head screwed on straight.”
“What about the inside?” I whisper as if my rotting heart might hear. “I’m a little rough around the edges.”
Daisy wrinkles her nose. “Trust me, rough edges can be an asset. In fact, I’d dare say it’s my rough edges that Jet likes best. If this boy wants a nun, he can visit the nearest convent. I meant that in the spiritual sense, not the virginal.” She’s quick to admonish. “You’ve got spunk. The reason that boy has been hanging out with you is because he likes your sparkle.” She tilts her head and freezes. “Do I know this boy?”
Here it is, another opportunity for a greasy little half-truth. I practically specialize in them, so I don’t know why I’m hesitating. All I have to say is no. Conversation over.
“Yes.” My cheeks pinch with heat.
Daisy slaps her hand over the table as if she were swatting a fly. “Is it?”
“It is.” My shoulders hike to my ears as I slide down my seat. “The boy I’m in love with is Lawson Kent.”
Her jaw falls slack. “I called it.”
