Harley: As vile as his actions were and as much as I hate that he used us as a means to an end, remember he was trying to help Molly. Maybe you two can talk.
CJ: I’ll think about it.
Harley:
CJ waited a moment before he shoved his phone in his top pocket, in case Harley sent him anything else. But, for now, their text exchange was over. As much as he wanted to pretend otherwise, he couldn’t wait until he and Harleyhad concrete plans. They’d never gone to J’s one-on-one. Yeah, they hung out together and ate, but normally it was at Tee’s or the local pizza joint. They’d never gone to a sit-down restaurant, like an actual date.
Fuck. CJ was getting way ahead of himself. She needed time to heal emotionally and they needed to rebuild their friendship.
“Hey, CJ.”
Skye Ratcliffe’s voice drew him back to the present and he met her gaze. She was still a golden girl, honey-colored hair, sun-kissed skin, blue eyes, and legs for days. She looked so cute in her uniform, her blazer snugly fit, her necktie perfectly knotted, her white shirt crisp and her skirt a little shorter than most girls’. Not that he was complaining.
“What’s up?”
She nodded to the empty seat across from him. “May I sit?”
Biting into his chicken wrap, he shrugged. “Sure.”
She glanced at the empty tables, normally overflowing with siblings and cousins. “Where is everyone?”
“Doing their own thing,” he said easily. She didn’t need to know more.
Sliding the strap of her backpack off her shoulder, she sat and then set the bag in front of her. “Are you busy this afternoon?”
Fuck, her science project. No,theirproject. They only had a week before final entriesclosed. She’d been after him for days to help her and he’d blown her off. Family issues took precedence. Now, though, the science fair was in just under two weeks. He was trying to return to a normal high school student routine. For his sanity and for his mother. That meant paying attention to project collaborators.
“I’m a shitty lab partner, bae.”
“You are,” she said primly.
He smiled and finished his wrap. She seemed to have had another personality transplant, reverting to the girl he’d met at Turn Creek instead of the combative one she’d become recently. Exactly what was she playing at?
“Do you have notes? An idea of what you’d like us to enter into the contest?”
“I was thinking a Ferris wheel with lights and sound.”
“Sounds complicated.” He could probably do it. Depending on the scale, however, it might take more time than they had. “Any other ideas?”
“A flying car.”
“Like in The Jetsons?” he asked, grinning.
“Wouldn’t that be cool? I know we’d place if we had either one of those. I need the prize money like yesterday.”
“I understand.”
“You probably don’t,” she said glumly.
Did he want to know what she meant? Sure didn’t, yet he couldn’t seem to fucking help himself where girls in trouble were concerned. “What’s going on? Why do you need the prize money so bad?”
“Life.”
“A very vague answer.”
“My mom’s behind on a lot. My sister, brother, and me barely see her because she works two, sometimes three, jobs and it still isn’t enough.”
CJ had gotten too involved in Molly’s life and he’d almost lost his mind worrying about her. Jaleena saw him as a cash cow. Even if Skye was telling the truth, he suspected she pegged him for an easy mark. Jaleena had a big fucking mouth. “That must be hard on you,” he said, ignoring her crestfallen look. “We’ll do the Ferris wheel. Are you going to cheer practice?”
