Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(33)

“Oh, I’m sure.” I waved.

He stopped, his tone hard and his eyes slightly crazed. “I’m dead serious. I’m taking you. So fix whatever the hell you just agreed to with Prince Shit Shoes over there.” He flicked his eyes to where Byron was laughing with Danny, one of his teammates, down the hall.

Then he was striding away, Lars glancing at me over his shoulder as they walked to class.

“Told you,” Daphne singsonged.

“Told me what?”

She and Willa rolled their eyes, then started talking about what a mess some of the cheerleaders were at Wade’s party.





“So what do you want for your birthday?” Byron asked, unwrapping his chicken wrap and taking a huge bite.

I watched him chew, then dragged my eyes to the rose gardens lining the sitting area outside. Now that fall had begun to turn the heat down somewhat, it wasn’t a death sentence to sit outside and eat lunch. Thank God, because being cooped up, having people’s glares directed at you when you were simply trying to eat, wasn’t my idea of a nice break from class.

“You don’t have to get me anything, really,” I said around a bite of cheese.

“Are you kidding? Of course, I do.”

I paused mid chew, swallowing too hard. “What makes you think that?”

His brows knitted, face bunching. “Uh, because when a girl usually says they’re fine, they’re not.”

I didn’t say I was fine, but I let that be. “Honestly, I’m happy with cake. Lots and lots of cake.”

“What kind?”

I flicked some crumbs from my lap. “Caramel. Double chocolate. I’m not picky.” Those last words electrified my chest, and I quickly smothered the memory.

Byron pondered that as he finished his wrap.

“So,” I said, remembering Dash’s statement about homecoming, “about homecoming.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve already spoken to my dad, and he’s rented us a limo.”

“What?” Shit.

He nodded, swallowing the last bite and scrunching the paper. “Yeah, sweet huh? We can have it all to ourselves, or you can invite Daphne and Willa to come with.”

That was sweet. “Wow, well, thanks.”

He grinned, then popped the top of my soda for me.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about Dash, but it was clear I couldn’t exactly ditch my boyfriend for my best friend. Especially when that best friend was Dash.

Daphne and Willa joined us for the remainder of lunch, and I couldn’t help but notice the way Willa kept staring at her phone on the table. “Something wrong?”

Willa looked up. “Huh?”

“You keep staring at that thing, you’ll go cross-eyed,” Daphne said, turning the page in her book.

“Waiting on a call?” Byron asked, peering around the gardens, his knee bouncing beneath the wooden table.

“No,” Willa snapped, then shoved her phone away. “It’s nothing. Just needed an appointment, and the doctor won’t call me back.”

I didn’t believe her, but I could tell she wasn’t about to spill the truth. Not here. Possibly because of Byron’s presence, or possibly because she just didn’t want to share whatever was eating at her.

I chose to leave it alone but made a mental note to keep watch.

We headed in when the bell sounded, and Byron tugged me to him with an arm around my neck. “Did I ever tell you that those boots you wear, the way you wear them, does some really awesome things to me?”

I flushed, shaking my head. “No.” I laughed. “But, thank you?” A question. A thank you as a question. Who the hell was I?

He merely laughed, then pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “Well, they do. Really awesome things,” he whispered to my skin. “I’ll text you later.”

I watched him swagger to the doors of the cafeteria, then joined Daphne and Willa outside at our lockers.

“What are you doing for your birthday?” Daphne asked. “Being that you’re grounded and all.”

“That blows,” Willa said, grabbing her fluffy pencil case and nabbing a pen from inside it. “We need to do something, though.”

“Peony is cool,” Daphne said. “She’ll let us come over and at least watch some movies, maybe spike some OJ.”

Mom had been pretty cool about the whole almost sneaking out thing, but I was most definitely still grounded.

“I’m not sure …” I trailed off as a flash of pink caught my eye. My heart pounded as I looked around the hall, but there were too many people getting their things for class to see where she was. I opened the locker and plucked the note from inside, unfolding it with a tremor racing through my hands.



Last warning.



“What the fuck?” Daphne snatched it from me. “Last warning? Who does she think she is?”

“How can you tell who it’s from?” Willa asked, sneaking a look over Daphne’s shoulder to read it, her dark eyes growing.

“I was BFFs with Kayla for years. I know her handwriting.”

I took it back, but then Daphne plucked it from my fingers. “Oh no, you don’t. Where is she?”

“Can we let it go? I don’t want any drama.”