A girl could only handle so much at one time.
Matty grinned. “She’s obviously following the rules already, like the good girl she is. You can’t talk to her unless you’re ten feet away.”
“Fucking hell. He just called yougood girl, Ophelia. Gird your loins, sister. You might be pregnant,” Natalie said, grabbing onto Casey like she was in danger of falling to the floor.
My head was spinning.
“Nice to meet you, future bestie,” Jace said as he threw out his hand.
Everyone laughed except for me.
Because I was suddenly feeling guilty.
I knew Jace Thatcher. Just like I knew them all.
Not personally, obviously. But in the same way I’d memorized Matty. By watching. By listening. By piecing things together from practice fields and glimpses in the student union.
I knew Jace was loud, ridiculous, always the first to crack a joke. I knew he had an ego the size of the stadium but a loyalty that matched it. I knew Riley had been his from the second he laid eyes on her, and he wore that devotion like armor.
I already knew more about him than he could guess.
I was such a freak.
Matty pressed my hands against my side with zero subtlety. “Tell the bad man,” he murmured, eyes locked on mine, “to stay a radius away from you.”
The seriousness in his tone, paired with the ridiculous wording, knocked the angst right out of me, and a startled giggle burst out before I could stop it.
Jace grinned like a cat about to cause trouble. He lowered his hand and then immediately picked up Riley, swinging her around again until I was sure she was about to throw up. “See? She laughs at me. It’s fate. She wants me within the twenty-foot radius.”
“Lunch,” Natalie declared, pointing dramatically toward the exit like she was leading a parade. “All of us. Right now.”
Matty groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Iwas going to take her to lunch.”
“Sorry, Adler,” Natalie singsonged, already looping arms with Casey and Riley. “We asked her first. You’re lucky we’re even letting you tag along.”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot likeI hate llamas, but he still reached for me. His fingers slid between mine, warm and certain, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Fine,” he said, giving my hand a light squeeze as we started walking. “But only because I think she likes you.”
My pulse skipped, the air catching somewhere in my throat.
“Do you…want to go?” he asked softly, his voice lower now, meant only for me.
I nodded, shy but sure. “Yeah.”
We fell into step beside the others, his thumb tracing lazy circles over my knuckles, and I tried to focus on anything other than the dizzy, floating feeling in my chest.
After a moment, I couldn’t hold it in. I glanced up at him, praying this wouldn’t end in embarrassment. “Did you mean it?” I asked quietly.
He looked down at me, brows pulling together. “Mean what?”
“That I’m…your girlfriend.”
For a second, he just stared at me. Then that slow, devastating smile spread across his face, the one that made everything else disappear.
“Yeah, pretty baby,” he said, leaning close enough for his breath to brush my temple. “You are.”
The words sank into me like honey…slow, golden, and so sweet it almost made my teeth ache.
