Delice.
The best coffee shop in the world.
I hunched my shoulders and hurried inside. I rubbed my hands together as I glanced around, searching for my friends.
I’d forgotten a coat, but it was toasty in here and I was glad I didn’t have to mess with it.
“The Ginga Ninja!” Phoenix’s voice boomed through the quiet coffee shop.
My constant smile widened until it stretched from ear to ear. I squeezed between tables until I reached the back of the room where he sat with Sloane and Ryder. I waved at them happily until Ryder pulled me down next to him.
He handed me a large Caramel Macchiato and I fell in love with him all over again.
“Hey,” he murmured, nuzzling my ear with his nose.
“Hey.”
“You owe me for that drink.”
A warm flush trickled through my body and I squirmed in my seat.
“Oh, stop you two!” Sloane groaned. “I cannot take a whole night of you two groping each other!”
Ryder pulled back and chuckled in his smoky voice. “Fine,” he conceded. “We’ll save the groping for later.”
“That’s all I ask.” She gave me a sideways glance and tried not to laugh.
More warmth flooded my chest. Sloane’s smiles were few and far between these days. It was good to see her happy and teasing.
She’d had a really rough time since getting back. Unlike Ava, Thalia wasn’t interested in getting professional help. She’d turned to alcohol to take away her guilt and pain. Sloane had so much of her own sorrow and regret to deal with that her home life had only been a catalyst to more hurt.
Thankfully, we were starting our freshman year of college in another week. We were coming in second semester, since both of us had to finish our senior year of high school first. But we were going to room together and I couldn’t be more excited.
We were also going to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where Phoenix and Ryder had been enrolled since August.
The bad news was that I had decided to make something of my life and so I had at least six years of school in my future. I wanted to be a psychologist. I wanted to help teens recover from sexual and physical abuse. I knew I had a lot to offer, but it would take me so long to get there. Ugh.
The good news was that the band didn’t have to break up. Ryder got to continue his dream of becoming a rock star and I got to stand by his side the whole time.
“When are you ladies moving?” Phoenix asked around a huge bite of scone.
“Next weekend,” I told him.
He swallowed and gulped some strawberry smoothie before asking, “You’re on campus?”
“Yes,” Sloane answered.
“Maybe,” I shrugged.
Sloane turned to me with her dark eyebrows raised. There was some light in her pretty brown eyes, but not enough. I couldn’t get her out of her mom’s house soon enough.
“I might be coming into some money,” I explained casually. “Maybe we should upgrade from the dorms to something we actually want to spend time in.”
“Where is this money coming from?” Her words were carefully spoken and I could see emotions shifting beneath her controlled mask. Any reminder of our old life sent her spiraling. I should have thought of that before I blurted out our change of plans.
“From my dad,” I said quickly. “My real one. Max. The lawyer just called to say that she’s working on getting the trust moved to my account. I should have access to it in the next couple weeks.”
Sloane’s shoulders relaxed and her shaking hand reached for her coffee. “Maybe it would be better for us to have some privacy.”
