we’re not even friends. And we sure as hell are absolutely nothing else.
My stomach tenses in knots. Those kisses burn through me with the intensity of ten thousand suns, and suddenly I’m weak at the knees. Damn Shep and his magic lips for inflicting me with such a mesmerizing experience. In truth, I had never been kissed that way. There is not one boy on this planet who had the butterflies in me fluttering like mad while he sealed his mouth over mine and made me his in every way. And the way he lifted my arms and bound them, the way his eyes never left mine—that entire walk on the wild side is far too intense for me to deal with right now.
No sooner do I turn around than my orders are up, and I take the tray over to where Lucky and Ava are laughing to the point of tears. In a strange way, it makes me miss Sunday. Of course, I still have Sunday in my life, but now that she’s with Seth—and I mean really with, it’s hard for her to find some solo time, let alone time to spend with me.
“Here you go, girls. One heaping plate of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink nachos.” I pluck some extra napkins out of my apron and flop them down on the table. “If you need anything else, just give me a holler.”
Ava leans in and twitches her nose. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything. Shoot.”
Ava is adorable with her loose waves and bright personality. I don’t think there’s a human on Earth who wouldn’t be warmed by that megawatt smile. Lucky, on the other hand, is a dark beauty with a mean look that can slit your throat all on its own, but she’s the kindest soul to ever walk the planet. The two of them really do remind me a heck of a lot of Sunday and me.
“What was it like?” she whispers so low it forces me to lean in. What was what like? The club? That fabulous kiss I shared with Shep? Rooming with Harley, which is sort of an ongoing thing? “You know, when you found the body.”
Oh, that. I return to an upright, uptight position. Crap. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to be pegged in a hole by an entire group of people—let alone the school. Would I be the it girl? The party girl? The sorority slut? Although to mitigate those last two hurdles, I would’ve had to have actually joined a sorority and crested more than first base with a boy. But now it’s all coming in clear as those crystal chandeliers gracing the ceiling over at that dicey club I was roped into and in. From this summer on, I’ll forever be known as the girl who found the body.
“It was… I don’t know, strange.”
Lucky nods. “Were you terrified?”
“Not really. I mean, thank God I wasn’t alone. My friend Shep was with me.” My friend? Fine. I’ll let it slide just this once. “Anyway, once Shep rolled him over and we saw that he was riddled with bullets, I sort of went numb.”
Ava slaps her hand over the table. “You were in shock!”
Lucky bites down mischievously over her bottom lip. “Good thing you had that strong, dark, and handsome, might I mention, newly available powerhouse attorney there to protect you.”
A dark laugh rumbles from my throat. “I don’t need a man to protect me. I certainly don’t need Shep.”
Ava’s mouth goes slack. “So, you’re not a couple? People say that suffering through traumatic experiences like that with someone really brings you closer.”
I can’t help but avert my eyes at the thought. “We’re definitely not a couple. In fact, it did the polar opposite. It seems all Shep and I have done since D-day—D as in dead body, is nothing but argue.” It’s true. But now that I think about it, Shep and I have never really spoken much before this. I haven’t exactly been a saint to him ever since the night of my fourteenth birthday, but I bet Shep is too big of a buffoon to even realize that I’m still pissed or why. Shep can be an idiot that way.
Lucky moans as if my words had mortally wounded her, and she should really watch it because, apparently, my presence has been known to be lethal.
“I was sort of hoping something would come out of this for the two of you.” Lucky shrugs apologetically. “I mean, the guy is