Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,40

dessert. It was easy to be hyper-aware of the food I put into my body when my mom and my uncle had both died so young. But today, I really didn’t give a shit.

I picked up what I figured was the infamous sugarcake and took a huge bite. It practically melted in my mouth. No wonder these things are so popular. I took another bite. And another. I grabbed a second sugarcake and pretty much shoved half of it into my mouth like a barbarian.

“You should probably slow down, you don’t need all that,” Cupcake said and grabbed my arm.

Excuse me? I was pretty sure that offhand comment about my weight was worse than him literally throwing a dodgeball in my face.

“What’s your problem, man?” Felix said, breaking the awkward silence that followed Cupcake’s comment.

“Nothing,” Cupcake said. “I just really think one’s plenty for her.”

There was no other way to look at it. Cupcake thought I was fat. I looked down at my sweater that showed off my midriff. I tried to pull it down a little. I knew wearing these stupid clothes was a mistake. Justin was wrong about Diane Cartwright knowing how to dress people because I clearly wasn’t pulling this off.

“Don’t be rude,” Kennedy said and lifted up her own sugarcake. “She’s had kind of a rough few days if you haven’t noticed.”

“Right.” Cupcake nodded, but he still looked weirdly concerned about me downing a second dessert.

Screw you too, Cupcake. I picked up a third just to annoy him.

“Ignore him,” Felix said. “You look amazing.”

It was sweet of him to say when his friend had just called me fat. But all I could think about was that it was also very awkward. Because I could feel Miller staring at me.

I turned toward his piercing gaze. “Miller, don’t you want any?” I asked. I hated that he just stood there watching us. Couldn’t he just sit down and join us instead?

He didn’t budge from his spot on the wall, so I brought one over to him.

“They’re really good,” I said and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He took it from me. “Who’s that little jackass?”

I didn’t need him to clarify who he was talking about. “Cupcake. He’s Kennedy’s boyfriend.”

“Want me to take care of him?”

“What does that even mean?”

Miller brushed a crumb off the lapel of his suit jacket. “You don’t need to know the specifics.”

Was this the kind of stuff that the Pruitts paid their security detail extra for? I didn’t need to hear anything else. I could tell by Miller’s tone that it was something sinister. “That’s definitely not necessary.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

I could take care of myself. I didn’t need him to do whatever it was he was referring to. And why was that Miller’s first reaction? Seriously, what line of work was Mr. Pruitt in?

I retreated back to the couch. Miller was the only person in the Pruitt’s apartment that I thought was nice. But nice people didn’t offer to “take care” of things in that tone.

“Are you feeling okay?” Cupcake asked. “You look a little pale.”

“So now I’m fat and sickly?” The words just spilled out of me like I had no filter.

“What? No. That’s not…” his voice trailed off. “I was just asking,” he said a little quieter.

And for some reason I started laughing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. My stomach, which as far as I was concerned was very flat, hurt with laughter.

Cupcake started laughing too, probably just relieved that Miller wasn’t going to kick his ass, and then everyone started laughing.

“I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week,” I said and grabbed another sugarcake. “Cupcake, these really are great.”

“Thanks,” he said when he finally caught his breath. “I made them myself. It’s a new recipe with a secret ingredient.”

“What’s the secret?” Kennedy asked. “Love?”

He smiled and nudged her with his shoulder.

It was the first time that I actually thought they were cute together. I polished off my third sugarcake and sunk into the couch. I’d had that kind of love with Matt. And I threw it all away because he was being blackmailed by Isabella and refused to acknowledge my presence in public. That was oddly specific and conclusive. And despite that, all I wanted to do was text him. I looked down at my new phone. It was a bad idea. But I did know his number by heart…

What was I even doing texting Matt? I shook my head. Thinking about Matt. I was