Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(44)

“What are you, four years old?”

“You wouldn’t know because you’ve missed too many of my birthdays, y-y-you selfish slum living witch.”

Mom’s cheeks flushed, and I gripped Dash’s arm a little tighter, taking comfort in the scent of his aftershave. “What were you thinking, bringing her here?”

Dash grunted. “I wasn’t. Besides, she was a stowaway. I didn’t know she was hiding in the back seat until I was halfway here.”

“Oh, I’m the selfish one, am I?” Mom said.

“Uh, yes. Yes, you are.” May waved her camera around. “You didn’t even tell me that my son was going to homecoming with Peggy.”

“Because you told me I was a classless whore for not staying with a man I didn’t love and waving goodbye to my McMansion.”

“Did she really?” I asked Dash out the corner of my mouth.

“Probably.”

“I didn’t say you were a whore. I said you were an idiot. There’s a big difference.”

“Because that’s so much better.”

“Should we …?” I pointed at the limo.

Dash nodded. “Yep.”

I waved at Daphne and Willa, who looked as though they wanted to stay and keep watching years of hurt and frustration blow up in front of my cozy little house.

We all piled into the car, the door shutting on the yelling match, and then Dash started laughing.

“What?” I asked, taking a seat next to Byron.

Dash settled in on my other side, pointing out the window. They were still screaming, but all we could make out were red, enraged faces and flying hands.

“Who wants some champagne?” Daphne asked, cracking open the top of a bottle that’d been cooling in an ice bucket.

She poured us all a glass, and Willa sighed. “Do you think they’ll make up?”

Dash and I spoke at the same time.

“No way.”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“Pity.” She clucked, taking a swig from her glass.

Byron sat silently beside me, and I could feel the tension start to creep inside the air-conditioned space. “So this limo is nice.”

Byron huffed, and no one else said a word.

Daphne raised a brow at me, drinking her champagne to hide what I knew was a shit-eating grin.

The silence stretched on. My palms grew clammy.

Dash leaned into me. “So your place or mine afterward?”

I could’ve punched him square in the nose. “Shut up.”

“What did you just say?” Byron asked, leaning away from and around me at the same time.

Dash moved an arm behind my head, and I knew without even looking at him that he wore a taunting grin. “Just seeing what our girl’s plans are for later this evening. Nothing to worry your pompous head about.”

“And why would you think those plans would involve you?”

I turned to Dash, pleading with tight lips and huge eyes. He wasn’t looking at me, though. He was staring straight over my head as he said, “You didn’t know? Peggy and I had this sweet ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement.”

Daphne or Willa coughed.

I died.

“Peggy?” Byron asked the back of my head. “What’s he talking about?”

“Nothing,” I said through gritted teeth. “It’s nothing. Not anymore.”

Dash set his eyes on me then, his brows furrowed. “Nothing, yeah?” His lips curled as his gaze stayed steady on mine. “I wouldn’t say making sure our Peggy Sue was ready for you is nothing. But you can thank me later.”

The girls gasped, and I heard a thud on the floor of the limo.

“Dash, Jesus.” I was about to cry or slap him. I couldn’t decide on which.

“Ready?” Byron’s tone was filled with warning.

Dash ignored it. “You know, making sure she gained just the right amount of knowledge.” He lowered his voice, leaning over me. “When you kiss her, you need to make sure you hit that soft and sweet, work your way up to ravishing her mouth the way we’re dying to. Know what I’m saying?”

I slapped him hard in the chest, speechless and unable to catch my breath as the limo turned a sharp corner.

Dash steadied me, and I ripped my arm away before turning to Byron.

He swallowed, his fists two balls of concrete in his lap. “You’ve kissed him, Pegs?”

Laughter sprang from Dash. “She did more—”

Willa practically shouted, “Oh, look. We’re here.”

I’d never been so thankful to see the gates of school before, and I all but leaped over Dash to get out into the fresh air.

I inhaled one crisp breath after another, resisting the urge to fan my heated cheeks.

After sending me questioning looks, Daphne and Willa linked arms, heading toward the gymnasium’s entrance.

An arch teeming with roses and a petal-lined path led inside. Streamers littered the grounds. Music pounded through the doors. Laughter, catcalls, and some shouting pierced the darkening gardens. I stopped walking well away from the entrance, not exactly sure what I was supposed to do with my two unlikely dates, especially now that Dash had opened his traitorous mouth.

Dash hadn’t been invited to go with me. After just showing up and what he’d done, the right thing to do would be to ditch him and head inside with Byron.