Cruel Prince(Royal Hearts Academy #1) - A. Jade Page 0,64
I can do.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you need?”
“Donation baskets.” He looks at Jace and Oakley. “I figure we can have them going around the room while the girls are stripping and giving Jace lap dances.”
“Word,” Oak says. “Way classier than throwing cash at them.”
Sawyer blinks. “Let me get this straight. You want my church to loan you our donation baskets for strippers?” She grimaces. “What the hell is the matter with you? Hard pass.”
“Fine, but just so you know, there are other ways to donate.” Cole shoots her a lewd grin. “Like giving me a private show, for example.”
She wrinkles her nose. “In your dreams, pig.”
He bites his lip. “Nah, sweetness. In my dreams, you’d be doing a whole lot more than stripping.”
Sawyer turns redder than a tomato.
Linking my arm through one of hers, I save her from the enemy. “Come on, let’s leave the dirty boys to their enthralling conversation.”
She hands me a notebook as we head for the exit. “They’re color-coded and everything.”
“Perfect. You’re the best.” I transfer the notebook to my bag. “Tommy and I are grabbing a quick bite to eat and going to the movies, but I’m planning on doing a major cram session after.”
Her steps ease up a bit. “Dinner and a movie, huh? Sounds like things are getting serious between you two.”
I’m not sure how to answer that. For the most part, Tommy’s been pretty understanding about me not wanting to make things official, but lately I’m beginning to feel like the slack he’s been cutting me is wearing thin.
“Not really. We’re still having fun. He knows I’m not ready for a relationship yet. He’s free to see other people and so am I.”
Sawyer looks unconvinced. “Does he know that?” I follow her gaze to the orange Subaru parked by the curb. “He’s been here to pick you up every day this week.”
Why do I feel like my friend’s giving me the third degree? “Didn’t know you were keeping count.” I hike my backpack up my shoulder. “Thanks for the notes. I’ll have them back to you tomorrow.”
I start to walk away, but she reaches for my elbow. “Dylan, wait.” She guides me to an empty corner under the overhang. “I have to tell you something, and I hope you don’t hate me.”
This can’t be good. “Okay.”
“I wanted to tell you sooner, but every time I tried, you told me it wasn’t serious between you two, so I felt like an idiot for bringing it up. Then I figured Tommy would mention it at some point, but he obviously never did and I—”
“Sawyer,” I cut in when she runs out of air. “Take a breath. Whatever it is, I promise I won’t hate you.”
She wrings her hands. “Tommy and I hooked up once—no, twice technically. It happened over six months ago, but I swear it didn’t mean anything.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself.”
“Yes, I do. That’s what a good friend does.” A furrow appears in her forehead. “I don’t want to be sitting at your wedding seven years from now still feeling guilty for never telling you I hooked up with your husband. I can’t live like that.”
Boy, she’s really jumping the gun. “Understood.” I debate asking her the question on the tip of my tongue because it’s really none of my business. “I mean, it’s not like you guys had sex. Right?”
It’s fine if they did, but it might make our girl convos kind of awkward when I start having sex with him. Eventually.
She makes a face. “Heck no. I told you, my V-card is firmly in place until Nick Jonas realizes we’re soulmates.” She draws in a heavy breath. “To be honest, I don’t even know why I did it. I was lonely, he was there…the rest is history.”
Yup. Been there, done that. “I get it. Shit happens.”
“You’re really not freaked out about this?” She eyes me skeptically. “Are you sure this isn’t one of those passive-aggressive episodes where you act like everything’s cool today, but in two weeks you’ll randomly slash my tires? Because if that’s the case, we should just get this shit over with now while Goodyear is still running a sale.”
She’s adorable when she’s incredulous. “Sawyer, my cousin stuck his tongue down my throat last month and we’re totally fine.” I shrug. “I have a pretty high tolerance for this sort of stuff. It’s really nothing to stress over. I appreciate you telling me, but I don’t think any