Winning my Best Friend's Girl - Piper Rayne Page 0,59
a few bruises on her stomach as she turns away. “Right side today.”
“Do you want it fast or slow?” God, it feels all kinds of wrong to say that to my sister-in-law.
“Fast.” Her free hand grips the desk and she turns her head away.
“Okay, ready?” I aim the syringe and her body tenses. “One.”
She groans.
“Two.”
Her knuckles turn white on the desk.
“Grandma Dori has a boyfriend.”
She turns toward me, but I’ve already stuck her, injected the shot, and the needle is out before she laughs.
“Thanks so much.” She takes it from my hands. “I didn’t feel a thing. Dori doesn’t really have a boyfriend, right?”
I laugh. “Not that I know of.”
“You need to tell Austin about that trick.”
“Nah, now you’re on to it. Plus, I have to excel over my brothers in some way.”
She smiles and packages everything back up. “You know, Kingston, I wasn’t here when everything unfolded, so all my information about you and Stella comes secondhand from Austin. But you’re a great guy and I think you would bring a lot to any relationship. You remind me so much of Austin in the way you put others before yourself. From what I know of Stella on the short occasions I’ve talked with her, she’s sweet and caring and smart, but sometimes young love is just that—young love. Being a principal might make me cynical because I see these couples who vow they’ve met their soul mates, and then a year later they hate one another. There’s always something about the one who got away. Sometimes you idolize them in your head.”
I interrupt her. “I just told Stella that I thought we shouldn’t see one another—at all. I’m going to ask for a transfer and I’m not going up to the cabin at the same time as her.”
“Oh. Well…” Holly sits on the edge of her desk. “And that’s what you have to talk to Austin about?”
I clench my jaw, wondering what it will be like to live life after giving up the hope that one day, maybe Stella and I can be together. “I just want to reassure him that I’m not going to go crazy.”
She nods and sits in her chair. “He loves you. He worries about you.”
“He shouldn’t.”
“Well, he kind of feels like he’s your…”
I don’t bother to fill in the blank. We both know what word she was going to say. Father.
“I’m solid with my decision.”
“That’s good.”
The school buzzer goes off and I rush to my feet. “Thanks, Holly.”
“No. Thank you, Kingston.”
I nod and head to the door.
“Hey, my advice?” she says.
“Yeah?”
“I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just my opinion. But you need to listen to your heart, okay? Don’t take other people’s advice. You know where you fit. Listen to your gut. It’s you and Stella’s decision.”
“Thanks. It was good advice,” I say and walk out the door.
Heading down the hallway, I see couples lingering by lockers. It makes me remember how I waited for Stella to come out of the Lit classroom after fourth period. We’d walk down the hall to our next class. She was so easy to make laugh. I miss the easiness of us.
“Hey.” Austin stops me in the middle of the hallway. “I have to run and take care of something. I’ll be right back.”
“I already did it.”
He pulls me to the side of the hall, so we’re not trampled on by a bunch of high school students. “What did you do?”
“I gave Holly her shot.”
“Oh. Okay, thanks.” I can’t really tell if he’s actually happy I helped or not. “Let’s go to my classroom then.”
He shuts the door behind him and pulls out an apple, taking a big bite from it.
“I just want you to know that I broke off my friendship with Stella. It’s over. I’m going to transfer to another engine, and although I can’t stay away from her completely, I’m going to try my hardest.”
He rocks back in his chair, his eyes boring into mine. “And this is what you want?”
I lean against one of the student desks in front of his desk, crossing my arms. “No, but it’s what needs to happen. She wants someone who plays it safe. I’m not that guy. So there’s no shot of us making it. I’m not even myself when I’m around her. I hit Lou last weekend.”
He springs up and his chair creaks. “I told you it was stupid to give Lou your blessing to date Stella.”