“Milo, is something wrong?” I scan the halls much like he was doing, looking for whatever has him on alert.
“Nothing. We need to get to class.” I recognize a brush off when I hear it, I just gave the same line to Charlie. I spin back around, my steps a little heavier than needed, and stomp away. Milo lays his hand gently on my shoulder.
“You don’t need to run.” He doesn’t let go, instead he closes the distance between us, walking right on my heels. I navigate the halls until my classroom door becomes visible. When I turn to face him, he’s already looking down at me. “You’ll tell me if someone bothers you.” I guess he meant for it to come out as a request, but he fails miserably. It’s an all-out demand.
Narrowing my eyes at him I ask, “Why? What do you know that I don’t? And please don’t tell me…” I look around, making sure no one is listening to us. I lean up on my toes to get closer as I whisper, “…Delaney has remembered I exist.”
When I drop back on my feet, Milo grins down at me. “I don’t think she forgot about you. I think it’s more like she wishes she could forget about you.”
I roll my eyes. “As long as she keeps doing it, I don’t care what she’s telling herself.” Milo’s hand lands on my cheek seconds before I feel his lips on mine in a sweet peck. When he pulls away, he looks down at me. His eyes are blown wide, and his lips are parted. He looks as surprised by his actions as I am. A shy smile forms on my mouth. Milo just kissed me, and he looks positively freaked out, or scared. One or the other.
After a few seconds pass, his lips turn up with a self-satisfied grin. “You need to go to class.” His voice is a low whisper. I nod, agreeing with him, but continue to stand there looking at him. Milo uses his hands on my shoulders to turn me, holding me in place. The weight of the backpack falls on my shoulders as he slips it on. A slight push toward my class gets my feet moving in the direction I need to go. I don’t notice the people around me, I don’t even care my teacher is about to close the door as I slip past her. All I can feel is the softness of Milo’s lips on mine
Chapter 3
Dante finds me a few seconds after my class gets over. Typically, we all meet in my stairwell and share lunch, but today he directs me toward the cafeteria. I want to drag my feet, to argue that our lunch spot is so much better, but it’s like he knows me or something.
“Laura, Milo and Ollie are already waiting for us. You don’t need to hide away in some corner. we should have been coming here to eat ages ago. I think we just liked having you to ourselves.” I open my mouth to give him some reason why our private lunches are better, but he continues. “Milo told us he kissed you.” That shuts me right up. What should I say to that? Will he be mad? “Probably wasn’t the best idea considering we’re trying to keep our relationship under wraps, but I wish I would have done it first.”
My eyes snap up to his. Dante has a dark look. He’s one of the biggest guys in school, and before I knew him, I would never have wanted to tangle with someone like him. In reality, though, Dante is sweet and thoughtful. When he goes quiet, most people would think he’s being all dark and broody, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, he is intense, and yes, he does have an edge, but that edge is buffered with a big soft spot for everyone he cares about.
“You’re not mad?” My question comes out as a whisper, even though we’re mostly alone in the hall.
Dante wraps his arm over my shoulder and squeezes me to his side. “Sometimes I wish you would have grown up like us, knowing what to expect when you found us.” I open my mouth again to apologize, but he places his finger over my lips, shushing me. “But I know you wouldn’t be you if you had. And you are perfect just the way you are.” Dante’s words are spoken just as softly as mine were, the deep timbre of his voice rolling over the syllables.
Something inside me melts with his words, and I find myself wrapping my arm around his waist. I want to lay my head on his chest, to pull the feeling of contentment he’s exuding into me. But I know it’s dangerous, it’s not just his words but the closeness I feel to them when their gifts are connecting us. The last thing I need at school is for someone to see me sparking up.
“When are you going to shift for me?” I surprise myself by asking the question I’ve wanted to ask for a while. Dante releases me, and I feel the loss of his touch immediately. Wrapping my arms over my stomach, I wonder if I’ve pushed him too far.
“You want to see me shift?” His words are hushed, and if I weren’t waiting for his response, I wouldn’t have heard him. He reaches forward and grabs the handle for the lunchroom door.
The noise hits me like a wave, but he hears my answer anyway. “I do. But I understand if it’s private or something.” I try to smooth over my blunder. If that’s not something he’s ready to share with me, it’s okay. I can wait. I make a show of peering around the crowded room looking for Ollie and Milo. Dante brushes his fingers against mine as he passes. I know he did it on purpose. It takes away a tiny bit of the sting I feel at his rejection.
“They’re over here.” I tag along behind Dante, keeping my eyes on his back as he makes his way over to a corner table. It’s a long, picnic-style table that looks rather full. It’s clear this is where they usually sit, and there isn’t any space for me. I shuffle my feet, wondering why they thought this was a good idea.
“Hey, took you guys long enough.” Milo jumps up, pulling his legs out from under the table. “Here sit.” He motions for me to sit down in the spot he just vacated. Not wanting to stand any longer I slide in next to Ollie. Milo puts one leg under the table before ordering the other side to, “Scoot down a little.” His voice is rough, almost a yell as he makes the demand from the other end of the table.
Dante takes the seat across from me. When I meet his eyes, he shrugs, tilting his head toward the right. It’s then that I see Delaney in the spot next to him. I want to reach over and pull him to our side of the table, but when Milo places his hand on my arm, I stop myself from making a scene.
“I grabbed a few things from the hot line,” Ollie pipes up, setting a tray of crunchy tater tots in front of me. My mouth waters just thinking about them. I qualify for free lunch, always have, but I rarely eat in the cafeteria, so it’s not often I get anything other than the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I bring. However, I love the school’s tater tots. I’ve tried to recreate them at home several times, baking them and even frying them, but I can’t manage to get the crunch just right, like the school convection oven can.
I peer up at Ollie, wondering how he knew. He gives me a cheeky wink but says nothing. Milo drops my turkey sandwich next. Suddenly, the noise at the table picks up; I hadn’t even realized it had quieted with our approach, but now everyone is talking again, including Delaney.
“Are you still coming over tonight?” Delaney questions Dante. She has the straw to her cola poised at her lips.
Dante, digging into the turkey sandwich Milo also just gave him, huffs but nods his head. “We really need to get everything finished up this week. I have other things I need to be doing.” He looks up, catching my eye, but looks away quickly.