Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
At the sight of her, guilt nipped at his conscience. A tiny prodding that he was with her for all the wrong reasons. The sex was great—but he didn’t have that burn he knew he was supposed to.
They’d been together for almost two months. The two of them shoo-ins for homecoming queen and king. They should be perfect together.
But something always felt off.
Still, he strolled up casually. “Hey, baby. You ready for lunch?”
He was sure his stomach started to actually feed on itself if he didn’t eat a full meal every two hours.
Brandy brushed the tips of her pink fingernails down the front of his shirt, and she peeked up at him with a glint in her eyes. “I was thinking maybe we’d skip lunch and go do a little early celebrating by ourselves?”
Cash slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Hmm. While that offer is tempting, I need to stick to school grounds. Can’t risk getting caught and benched tonight. Besides, Daisy is going to be waiting at our table for us.”
Air huffed from her mouth. “Are you serious right now?”
Most of the time Brandy was pretty chill. But when it came to Daisy, she was getting weird. Territorial, he guessed. But he’d laid it straight to her from the beginning.
Daisy was his best friend, and that wasn’t going to change.
Mostly it’d been a sour face when Daisy would come around, but last week when she found out Daisy sometimes climbed the tree to get to his room at night, Brandy had freaked the fuck out.
She didn’t get it, though, what that girl meant.
And maybe that was the whole problem. Cash wasn’t allowing himself to recognize it, either.
Uneasily, Cash raked a hand through his hair. “Uh, yeah, I’m serious. You want me to get suspended and benched from the game?”
Brandy rolled her eyes. “Like they’re going to bench their star player? You could commit murder right now, and they’d act like it didn’t happen. This is about Daisy.”
He hiked a shoulder. “So?”
Did she really think he was going to ditch Daisy for lunch? After he’d pretty much fucking had to beg her to keep sitting with him since she always thought she was in the way?
Like she was some kind of burden?
Like she didn’t make everything a little bit better every time she came into his space?
Incredulity dropped Brandy’s jaw. “So? You’re so clueless, Cash. The only thing you really care about is her.”
“That’s not true.” The words were coarse splinters.
“It isn’t?”
“No.”
Brandy cocked a hip. “Then prove it.”
“And how exactly would you like me to do that?” He tried to keep his voice hushed, but anger was spinning high, his teeth grating together as the protectiveness he felt toward Daisy surged through his system.
“Tell her to go fuck off and sit with the rest of the losers where she belongs. The only reason you hang around with her is because you pity her, and I’m sick of seeing her stupid, pathetic face wherever I go.”
Disbelief burned in his chest. A riot of fury and disgust that Brandy could be so cruel.
He’d never taken her for a mean girl, but clearly, he was wrong.
Before he could respond, he heard a choked gasp behind him. A gasp of hurt the person tried to keep fettered and subdued. One he knew could only come from one person.
He whipped around to find Daisy stumbling away, trying to blend into the crowd, though she fucking tripped over herself in her bid to escape.
The girl landed hard on her left hip.
She tried to hide that cry, too. It might have been silent, but he heard it.
Felt it.
He rushed that way. “Fuck, Daisy.”
She ducked her face and pushed herself backward across the slick floor, like she was going to try to crawl away. “Just leave me alone, Cash.”
He only angled forward. “Come on. Get off the floor.”
Frantic, she shook her head. “Please, just leave me alone.”
“You know that’s not going to happen,” he ground out, and he took her by the hand. A small cry erupted from her as he helped her to her feet, and she kept hiding her face that he knew was written in humiliation.
“See what I mean,” Brandy spat as she flung a hand in Daisy’s direction. “Look at her. Pathetic and stupid. Stop wasting your time with her. Tell her to fuck off.”
Cash felt the pitching of Daisy’s chest, a silent cry as she tried to turn and dip into the crowd that had surrounded them.
“Nah, you can go fuck off because I’d definitely rather spend my time with Daisy than with a vapid bitch like you.”
It was his fault. He never should have started something up with Brandy. But that didn’t mean he was going to let her demean Daisy.
He dove into the sea of people surrounding them. Probably every fucking person at school.