Trick Me Twice - Becca Steele Page 0,75
horrified. Do you know how many girls want to kiss me? Men, too, for that matter.”
“Oh, I’ve heard all about your popularity from Lena. Sounds like nothing’s changed since you were at school.” Finally relaxing, I laughed, too, and he gave me a huge grin as he snapped a photo.
“There. Post that. Natural smiles look better. I can always tell when people are faking, and we want him to think you’re moving on without him. Make him wonder if there’s anything going on between you and me.”
I stared at the photo. It did look pretty good. Our heads were close together, and Cassius had his arms slung casually around me as we looked at each other with huge smiles. The winter sun was setting behind us, giving the photo a soft orange glow, and our faces were shadowed, but you could easily see we were both smiling. Chaceley Rock was silhouetted on the horizon, just visible behind Cassius’ shoulder, and the sea sparkled where the rays touched it. The photo could mean everything or nothing—it was completely open to interpretation.
“This is a really nice photo.”
“I know. Post it, then I’ll post this at the same time, to prove I was there.” He snapped a selfie of his face with his own phone, an easy grin on his lips. I envied his casual, carefree attitude. Both he and Lena were so assured, so confident.
I posted the photo with the caption “sunset” and tagged Cassius, then turned my phone off so I wasn’t tempted to look at the notifications.
“Thanks for helping out.” We started walking back down the pier.
“That’s what friends are for. Anytime you need a favour, tell me.”
We reached the end of the pier, where Lena was waiting for us. Cassius gave her a quick hug, and she smiled at him. Even though she’d recently dyed her hair a pastel pink, there was no mistaking the fact that they were siblings. Both tall and gorgeous, with almost identical smiles, it was easy to see why they attracted attention whenever they were together. Lena turned to me, surprising me with a quick hug, too. “Everything okay, now?”
Smiling, I nodded. “I think so, yeah. Or at least, everything feels less confused in my head. Your brother’s a good listener. Both of you are, in fact.” Turning to Cassius, I met his eyes. “Thanks for taking the time to do this.”
“I did have an ulterior motive. It was the excuse I needed to get everyone here so I could kick their asses at bowling.” He waved his hand towards the bowling alley that stood at the end of the pier, on the seafront. “You wanna join us?”
Hanging out with Cassius and Lena was one thing, but with their friends there as well? I shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I need to get back and make a start on my homework, plus I have to send some design sketches to a client.” Client. I actually had people who were willing to pay for my designs—it hadn’t been a one-off. Of course, it was all very sporadic at the moment, with my schoolwork taking priority, but it gave me hope for the future.
“Okay. Lemme get your bike from my car.” Cassius jogged away before I could reply, and I sat next to Lena on one of the wooden benches at the bottom of the pier.
“How can I repay you for all this? You’ve made my life so much better since you came into it.” I glanced over at her, and she grinned.
“You have nothing to repay me for. That’s what friends are for.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?”
“I’m sure.” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but meeting Cassius’ college friends? All of whom were part of the most powerful families in Alstone? I wasn’t quite ready for that. That was so far out of my comfort zone.
Cassius returned with my bike, and I took it from him, swinging my leg over the saddle.
As I waved goodbye and started pedalling away, I heard someone shouting Cassius’ name in a commanding tone. Curious, I stopped pedalling and turned to see a guy in a leather jacket with messy black hair and a brooding look on his face stalking in the direction of the bowling alley. Caiden Cavendish. My heart rate kicked up a notch—no doubt about it, he was absolutely gorgeous, even more so than when he’d attended AHS, but to