Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(6)

“Freckles. You promised me.”

“Promised what?” she said, but it came out slightly mumbled.

“That you’d come riding with me.” My brows cinched. “What’s wrong with you?”

Her tongue snuck out to glide between her lips, and she winced, then grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her face. “It kind of hurts, Dash.”

Shit. I’d forgotten today was the day she was fixing some of the gaps between her teeth. I wasn’t even sure why she was bothering; her teeth were pretty much perfect as they were. But she’d been wanting them since sophomore year after seeing Daphne’s teeth slowly change into perfect pearls. Her words, not mine.

I hadn’t needed them. Thank fuck. But even if I had, fuck that. No metal was getting near my mouth unless it was in the form of some chick’s piercing.

She’d mentioned her dad was taking her, but time had either flown, or I was a forgetful ass. I was thinking a combination of both.

“What’d they do? Saw your gums open?” I tried to make light of it to see if she’d laugh. I failed.

She threw her middle finger up, making some grunting sound. “Go riding without me.”

“I told the guys to scram because I know you don’t like them giving you shit.”

She was cool with me giving her shit but not so much the rest of my friends.

“In case you didn’t hear me the first time, the answer is no.” Her purple pillow muffled her voice.

I walked over, climbed onto the edge of the bed, and snatched it off her face. “Show me.”

Her gray eyes rounded. “No.”

“Come on. Unless you’re going to have a change of heart and ply the suckers off, I’m going to see them eventually. Open up.”

Her nose twitched, then she sighed and cringed as she opened her mouth, forcing a wide smile.

The braces were an assortment of colors, ranging from blue, green, purple, and pink. “Huh,” I said. “Not as bad as I thought.”

She tossed a pillow at me. “Get lost.”

Grabbing it, I laughed and flopped down beside her. “What do they feel like?”

She took a minute to think about it. “Like something’s constantly pulling at my teeth.”

I snorted. “Duh.”

She reached over and slapped me. I squeezed her hand before propping myself up on my elbow to grab the TV remote. “It shouldn’t feel weird for too long, right?”

“It’s not supposed to, no.”

I flicked through Netflix. “We’ll go riding this weekend, then. No ditching this time.”

Peggy was silent for a moment. “What are you doing?”

I settled back into the pillow, folding my arms behind my head. “Watching Inglorious Bastards.” It was one of our favorite movies.

When I glanced over, I found her smiling. Her lips were shut, but she was still smiling. “Thanks.”

I smirked, giving my attention back to the TV. “Shut up, metal mouth.”



“… guess I’ll let you know,” Jackson said, pulling me out of my musings as he kick-started his bike. He’d yet to upgrade. He said it didn’t feel like a dirt bike when you could switch it on with a push of a button.

I’d agreed until I tried it for myself. His loss was all I had to say.

Lars scratched his head. “Dash?”

Shoving my goggles and helmet back on, I pretended to ponder it. Even if Peggy didn’t, I needed to go. Byron needed a friendly little reminder not to play rebound with my best friend. “Sure, why not.”

It wasn’t personal.

I was sure Peggy would meet a nice guy someday, and I’d be happy for her, but it wouldn’t be any of the assholes from Magnolia Cove Prep. So, until then, it was my job to make sure none of them fucked with her.





Peggy



The day before the party, I woke from an afternoon nap with my headphones and cords tangled around my face and half a dozen messages from Dash on the TV screen.

I ignored them, untangled myself, then switched everything off.

My new hair was a mess, an actual bird’s nest hanging every which way atop my head, so I decided to wash it for the first time since having it cut.

Afterward, I cracked open the bathroom door, steam billowing out into the hall that smelled of Phil’s award-winning spaghetti.

I wasn’t even joking. He often reminded us that when he was in college, working as a chef four nights a week, he’d entered the dish in a local contest and placed runner-up.

My stomach grumbled. I toweled off my hair, tossed the towel into the hamper, missed and cursed as I went to pick it up so Mom didn’t have a fit, and then hustled to the kitchen.

“Hey, Pegs.” Phil smiled, stirring the delicious scent in the pot on the small olive green stovetop.

“Hi.” I glanced around, looking for Mom, then saw her head over the back of the couch in the living room. “How long until it’s ready?”

“About ten.” His head tilted, and he scratched his short beard. “You get a haircut?”

“Sure did.” I fluffed my wet locks.

He chuckled. “Well, when you look less drowned, I’m sure it’s fantastic.”

“Gee thanks.” I headed to the living room and parked my behind next to Mom, who was reading on her Kindle.