Dirty Little Secrets (Hillcrest Prep #1.5) - Trilina Pucci Page 0,23

still working her magic.”

The words won’t come out. Holy shit. What is Holt doing here?

“You don’t live here,” I manage.

“I do since my twin decided to go to school here. My folks couldn’t let him be here alone. I thought about going to Red Oak—better lacrosse team, but they had that whole teacher fucking a student scandal.”

“You don’t live here,” I repeat, still in shock.

“You said that.” He grins.

I hear Holt’s name called from behind him, and he steps back, looking over his shoulder.

“J!” he yells out, as I’m staring at his profile, trying to get my bearings when he repeats, “Jackson. Get over here.”

Jackson? Whoa. Not a chance. That was a fake name. My heart is pounding out of my chest as I blink, trying to process.

Fake Jackson sidles up next to Holt, staring at me, brows drawn.

“Oh shit. Scarlett.” Jackson smirks, drawing me in.

Damn. I forgot how handsome he is. Wait a minute. Fake Jackson is real Jackson and knows Holt. Oh, God—take me now. Just let me die.

“Wrong girl. This is Ava. Ava, this is Jackson. My brother.” Holt laughs, looking between us.

I shake my head, feeling so flushed I could catch fire. Brother? Oh my God, he said twin—Jesus, they’re fraternal. No wonder I got déjà vu.

Jackson smirks and looks at Holt. “This is the moaner from the grove?”

For fuck’s sake. My eyes grow wide as I glare at Holt, who has the decency to look sheepish, before Jackson adds, “This is my Ferris wheel.”

Holt smacks Jackson’s shoulder as they stare at each other with grins too damn full.

“Jesus. Do you two keep anything from each other?” I blurt out.

Both sets of eyes stare at me. One mismatched, the other green. Both familiar. I begin to speak, but only a giggle comes out. So I cover my mouth, laughing into it. I’m transferring schools.

As I let out a long breath to calm myself, a realization pulls to the forefront of my mind. “You said you were an only child,” I accuse, looking at Holt, who winks.

I turn to Jackson, stabbing a finger at him. “And you said Jackson was a fake name. I thought you were from Atlanta. Oh, God.”

Both reach for me, but I smack their hands away. “Okay. You know what, I’m going to be late for homeroom, so I’m going to go now.” I turn to close my locker, but it’s already closed, so I spin again, bumping into Holt, then Jackson as I stumble over my feet.

They watch me as I get my sea legs and stand straight, before walking away. “Yep, I’m going. Now. Bye.”

Holy shit. I walk away, bright red and dying on the inside. I did very naughty things with two brothers. Brothers! I wanted a fun story or two, and I ended up in an erotica movie. There’s a twist I didn’t see coming. I look back over my shoulder, eyeing them, both leaned against the lockers, watching me walk away, neither hiding the intention in their eyes.

This was not my life’s plan.

Do I regret it? No. Would I do it again? Yes.

Ahh, fuck my life.

I didn’t see the boys all day, not at lunch or in any of my classes, but what surprises me is that I’m disappointed. The day feels insanely long, but secretly, I wish I could stick around this hallway just to see them again. I don’t even know what I would do if I did, because I can’t date them both, but something about them makes me happy. I’m lingering, tapping the tops of the books inside my locker before looking around the emptying hallway.

Wishes unfulfilled.

My hand is heavy on the locker door as I start to shut it, pausing when a folded paper catches my attention. I almost didn’t see it on the top shelf, but the breeze from the door closing made it flutter.

“What’s this?” I say to myself, reaching up to inspect. I grab it and unfold the lined paper, revealing messy scribble, which makes me smile.

Boathouse. After school. Pretty please.

That’s all it says. No signature.

One of them wants to talk. Which one is the question. With the note in hand, I close my locker and walk the hall to the doors that lead out to the boathouse down by the river. It only takes a few minutes to get there, but it feels like forever. My heart is beating so fast and strong that I’m confident everyone can hear it.

The door to the building is ajar, so I pull