He didn’t answer right away.
Then, softly—seriously—he said, “Just promise me if it ends, you won’t destroy me either.”
My throat caught.
That hadn’t been the plan. But it sounded an awful lot like he meant it.
“I just want to get through my senior year with minimal drama,” I muttered.
Tristan snorted. “Too late for that.”
I shot him a look, but he was right.
Then I turned to Leo, hesitant. “Are you really my boyfriend?”
Leo didn’t blink.
Didn’t smirk.
Just reached out and laced his fingers through mine.
“Yep.”
It was stupid how warm that made me feel.
“Okay, then,” I said, feigning casual. “You can start by driving me to school. Since someone slashed the tires on my bike.”
Leo nodded. “Done.”
“And driving me home after soccer.”
“Already on my list.”
“No more letting girls touch you.”
“I’ll wear a shirt that saysTalons Off. I’m With Herand an arrow pointing right—since that’s where you’ll be standing.”
Tristan groaned theatrically. “You two are so sweet I’m getting hives.”
My stomach growled loud enough to be heard over the breeze.
I pressed a hand to my gut and tried to laugh it off. “I didn’t eat before practice.”
Leo glanced at me sideways. “We’re fixing that.”
Back in the car, we headed into town. The fog still hung low over the hills, mixing with the fading sun and making everything look soft and gold. We pulled into a hole-in-the-wall burger joint off the main road—locals only. The kind of place with squeaky booths and sticky menus and milkshakes so thick you need a spoon.
We barely made it through the door before the boys’ phones started blowing up.
Buzz.
Buzz-buzz.
Tristan lifted his to show the screen.
“Fourteen DMs in two minutes,” he said with a grin. “‘Is this a joke?’ ‘WTF, Leo?’ ‘Who is she?’ ‘Are you really datingher?’”
Leo just leaned back in the booth and draped his arm around me like he wasbornto piss people off.
