Why would I?
We’re not dating.We’re friends, and that kind of secret isn’t safe with a friend.It’s the kind of secret that gets someone killed.
Mom watches us, a warm smile on her face.I’m not sure, but it seems like she’s buying the girlfriend act.
Moreno, though, he seems a bit more suspicious, probably because that’s his job.He’s suspicious of everyone.
Seated around the campfire outside on lawn chairs, Harper is next to me.She’s leaning forward in her chair, roasting a marshmallow for s'mores.I want to pull her into my lap, have her sit with me, but it’s only the four of us outside, and I doubt she’d be comfortable playingfake girlfriendoutside.
“I’m sorry your other friends didn’t make it,” Harper says.“But I’m here, and I’m willing to do whatever crazy slumber party stuff you still want to do.Hair.Nails?—”
“Pillow fight,” Ashton quips with a grin.
“I’ll throw a pillow at your face,” Nova says and sticks her tongue out at him.“Boys are always such pervs!”
“Not all boys,” I say.“Just the ones on the hockey team, so stay away from all of them.”
Nova rolls her eyes.“I know.You’ve made it clear not to date anyone on your team, your roommates, anyone you know.Well, guess what?Next semester, I’ll be at Evergreen with you.”
I groan—just thinking about her trying to hook up with someone makes my skin crawl.“Do me a favor and save yourself until marriage.”
Harper laughs.“Right, because that’s what you’ve done.You guys are all the same, such hypocrites.”
Frowning, I shift in my seat, turning to face Harper.“Why do you think that?”
“Oh, like you haven’t slept your way through the girls at EU?”She’s staring at me, waiting for me to challenge her, and the thing is she’s right.
I’ve slept with plenty of girls, none of them recently, since I’ve had my eye on Harper, but freshman year, I certainly had a lot of fun.
“Not all of them,” I counter, staring at her.“I know one I’d like to fuck.”
She glares at me and unceremoniously dunks her marshmallow in the fire.“Aww, shit,” she curses as it falls into the flames.She shoots the empty poker out of the fire, directing it at me.
“Distracted?”I laugh but lean back, careful not to get stabbed by the hot poker.
“So, are you two actually dating, or what?”Nova asks, grabbing another marshmallow from the bag.She helps put it on the stick for Harper, which I’d have been happy to do if she wasn’t pointing that hot rod of fire at me.
“Thanks,” Harper says, roasting her second marshmallow for the night.
Good thing there’s an entire fresh bag of jumbo marshmallows, because I have a feeling we’ll be going through quite a few of them this evening.
Nova grabs a marshmallow for herself and shoves the entire unroasted treat into her mouth.The girl has zero patience.
“You don’t roast them first?”Ashton asks, raising an eyebrow at Nova.
Nova shrugs.“I could, but it takes too long.”
Ashton shakes his head, stands, and grabs another roasting stick.He slides three marshmallows onto the stick before bringing it to rest just above the fire.“How toasted do you like them?”
“Not burned,” Nova says.“Don’t do a Harper and light that sucker on fire.”
“I got distracted,” Harper says defensively.
“Which brings us back to the question, are you two dating?”Nova asks, glancing between Harper and me.
“Can’t really be dating a guy if he’s taking your roommate home and kissing her outside your dorm room,” Harper says.
My jaw tenses.Shit.She’s still pissed about that?I thought we were over what happened the other night.
