Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(10)

Tori raised her eyebrows. “Sure.”

Sid walked by them, and Skye chased after him. Aspen tried to ignore the feelings of jealousy that crept up every time she looked at them together. They had to do this.

Tori frowned. “What was that all about?”

“I went over to Sid’s last night to figure out what was going on, and Skye and I talked for a long time. As much as I want to, I can’t hate her.”

“Bull. What’s really going on?”

Aspen dropped her voice down to a whisper. “Skye’s never gonna give him up. But if I befriend her, then I stay close to Sid. I just need to show that I’m better for him than Skye. I can be patient.”

Tori nodded. “That sounds like the Aspen I know. Can I help? Gather dirt and all that?”

“Sure. I can use all the help I can get.”

In algebra, Sid leaned forward and brushed Aspen’s hair off her bare shoulder and whispered into her ear.

“How am I supposed to keep my hands off you when you look so damn sexy?”

He traced a finger along her neck and then leaned back in his chair. Aspen shivered. She turned and grinned.

“Tori and I went shopping, and she wanted to make sure you knew what you were missing out on.”

He winked at her. “Well, it worked.”

After school, Aspen followed Sid and Skye to the Purple Dragon. She wanted to tell Ella to forget changing the schedule. Plus, Ella was pretty good at spotting bullshit, so if they could convince her that they were just friends, they could convince anyone.

Sid held Skye’s hand as they entered the coffee shop, and Aspen had to fight off her jealousy. She knew there was nothing between them, but try telling that to her emotions. Ella was cleaning out the espresso machine, which meant she was covered in coffee.

“Hey, Ella,” Aspen said.

“Hey.” She looked up and blinked when she saw Sid and Skye. “Who’s this?” she asked, nodding to Skye.

“This is my girlfriend, Skye,” Sid said.

Ella crossed her arms and glowered at the two of them. “Last I checked Aspen was your girlfriend.”

“No, it’s okay. Really, it’s why we came. You don’t have to change the schedules. Sid and I can work together. In fact we’d like to.”

Ella raised an eyebrow at Aspen. “Something stinks.”

“Skye is really sweet,” Aspen continued, hoping she’d convince Ella.

Ella glared at Skye. “That seems to be the word that everyone uses to describe you.”

Skye shrugged. “Maybe it’s true. It is nice to finally meet you. Everyone’s said good things about you. You’re Theo’s girl, aren’t you? He seems pretty smitten.”

“Just because everyone else likes you doesn’t mean I have to.” Ella went back to wiping the counter like they weren’t there.

Sid moved closer to Skye and pulled her into his side. “I think we’ll be going. Aspen are you coming over later to tackle that algebra?”

“Yeah, give me an hour or so.”

He nodded to her and walked back toward the door with his arm around Skye. Aspen watched them until they disappeared out the door, trying to stave off the jealousy she felt when they were together.

“You’re not okay with this. I can tell.”

Aspen turned to face Ella. She hated that Ella could see right through her. “No really, I understand. They’d been together a long time. Sid and I were better as friends anyway.”

Ella shook her head. “No, you weren’t. But I won’t change the schedules in the hopes that you’ll steal him back from that blonde bitch.”





Rowan stopped Aspen just as she was heading out the door.


“Where are you going?”

“To Sid’s.”

He creased his eyebrows. “I thought you broke up.”

“We did, but decided to stay friends. He’s helping me with my math homework.”

Rowan fidgeted with his zipper. “Can I come with? Maybe tackle some of my world civ homework with Skye.”

Aspen leaned down to tie up her boots. “Rowan, seriously. You need to give it up.”

“Whatever.”

He headed for the living room, and Aspen immediately felt bad. He’d never really had a whole lot of friends because of his social anxiety.

“You can come with.”

He turned, and his eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah, come on.”

He was twitchy in the car, tapping his finger on the window and bouncing his knee.

“You gonna be okay?” Aspen finally asked.

“Of course.”

They arrived at the mansion a few minutes later.

“I still can’t get over the size of this house,” said Rowan.

“I know. It looks a lot different than it did at Halloween.”

They went through the kitchen to the breakfast room. It was cozy with a large round table and lots of natural light. Skye had books spread out in front of her. Sid was lying on the window seat.

Skye looked up when they walked in. “Hey, you brought Rowan.” She beamed at him, and Aspen rolled her eyes. She’d have to warn Skye not to break his heart. Aspen sat by Sid, and he snaked his arm around her waist. She moved it.