Dirty Little Secrets (Hillcrest Prep #1.5) - Trilina Pucci Page 0,8

stop her, reassure her that I would never do that, but she keeps speaking. “Whatever trouble we find or don’t find tonight would follow me all next year. Let’s just be other people.”

This girl. She keeps it interesting.

“You realize I could just ask someone tomorrow.” I hate to state the obvious because she’s so adorably invested, but there’s no way I’ll forget this girl.

“Yeah, you could. Or you could find out when we start school, but by then, you’ll have a hundred other stories to tell. I’ll probably be the least interesting. You’re the big news here, not me. I have more to lose. You know, double standards and all.”

I put my palms on the shiny hood. “Oh, I don’t know about that. But if I’m the hot topic, how do I know you won’t spread stuff around about me?”

I’m joking with her, giving her a hard time. Frankly, I’d agree to just about anything to sit next to her and have a burger. Her head draws back, and she looks affronted, legitimately offended, and it makes me chuckle.

“You’re kidding, right? First, I’m nobody at Hillcrest—therefore, nobody listens to me. Second, I would never. I’m not an asshole.”

“And I am?”

Her mouth opens, then closes just as quickly. She lets out a breath and shrugs. “I don’t know. Are you?”

I get it. The crew team equals asshole. Not that I helped dissuade the stereotype with all my “let me charm you out of your panties” bullshit. But even still, she’s here—giving me a chance. She’s trusting me, and where I come from, that means something.

“Deal. No real names. And I’ll forget about you tomorrow.”

She gives a wink and presses the fob, making the car door click. I grab the handle, pulling the door open. We both plop inside and look at each other, smiling.

“An anonymous night,” I ponder aloud.

She puts the key in the car, its engine roaring to life. “Yeah, we can be whoever we want to be. No consequences. Now that we both agree, it’ll be our dirty little secret.”

Please, God, let it be dirty.

“All right…Miss—”

Before backing up, her hand on the wheel, she stares at me, giving me an answer.

“Scarlett.” Her eyes twinkle with mischief, and I swear I’d do a lot of devious shit to see that again.

I chuckle as I twist to click my seat belt in place but look back at her. “Like the girl in the movie Clue.”

She nods enthusiastically at the reference. “You like that movie too? It’s underrated for sure.”

“Well, mysterious Scarlett, you can call me Jackson.”

The car ride was full to the brim with awkward silences and sentences that were spoken over each other as we drove because I’m pretty sure we’re both nervous as hell. Our destination was a little village that’s the center of this lake community. She said it had a cute dock and some spots that do late-night menus.

The moment she parked, I spied a glowing red Open sign in the window of an ice cream shop, and for the last thirty minutes, I’ve been fighting a hard-on while I watch her eat the damn cone in her hand.

“It’s so good,” she groans, running her tongue around the chocolate-vanilla swirl. She dropped the first one and had to get a new one. I wasn’t mad because it bought me more conversation. She’s quickly becoming the most interesting person I know.

“Yeah. So good,” I agree, clearing my throat as she swipes her tongue, tilting her head as I stare. Fuck me.

“Do you wanna walk down to the water?” Anything to walk off my wood.

She nods, taking another lick as I take her hand in mine. She pauses mid-lick, lips against the ice cream, the moment my fingers weave between hers, but she doesn’t look at me. I like how shy she is.

I toss the rest of my uneaten cone in a trash can as we stroll down the sidewalk. We’re walking in silence, but it’s easy. Which is way too comfortable for someone I barely know, but it is. She’s the kind of girl you take home to kiss, fuck, then use as a pillow—wrapped around her perfect body, listening to her breathe.

My head tilts up, seeing the full moon, then back down, taking in the way it reflects on the water. I’m about to say how beautiful it is when she breaks the silence.

“It must’ve been opening weekend tonight.”

My head shifts to her. “What do you mean?”

“Oh.” She smiles. “I forgot you aren’t from here. They do