When we’d first started dating a couple of months ago, Daniel did the sweetest things, like bring me daisies stolen from his mom’s garden. He’d won me over all the way the day he’d changed my flat tire. But in the last few days, Daniel had gone from loving and considerate to demanding and offensive. Worse, he’d become hard of hearing when it came to the word “no,” and I wasn’t in the mood to fend off his pawing. I was so over him, no matter how uber-popular he was.
“Hey, Daniel,” John said.
Daniel ignored him. John rolled his eyes, then ambled away.
“You could try being nice,” I said, moving out of Daniel’s grasp. I wanted to end it with him right then, but a hallway swarming with people wasn’t the best place. “What’d John ever do to you?”
Daniel snorted. “He annoys me. I don’t know why you give that dork the time of day. C’mon, let’s eat.”
Dork or not, eating with John and my other best friend, Maya, sounded like much more fun. But Gina still needed to know I couldn’t go with her to Daniel’s party. An A-lister like her wouldn’t have a problem finding someone else, but she’d probably blow the whole thing out of proportion anyway. Maybe she’d even dump me.
Gina had been my first friend at Verdugo Hills Academy and introduced me to the cool people. She always had my back. At first, hanging with school royalty had been exciting, but being popular wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It took me three months with Gina to realize I preferred Maya and John, people who were easy to be around.
Daniel led me to the lunchroom and, after collecting some food, we settled next to each other at our usual table. Gina had beaten us there, stunning in a pink sleeveless blouse with ruffles for straps. Her short, auburn hair had been blown straight, bringing out the natural red highlights. As always, her makeup was flawless, just like her heart-shaped face.
Which reminded me that I still wasn’t wearing any makeup.
Her friend Natalie, who’d never warmed up to me, huddled with her. Natalie had potential beauty, but her ever-present scowl and matching mood always overpowered those piercing hazel eyes and short cap of black, curly hair.
Gina stopped talking mid-sentence and turned to us with a grin. “Hey, guys.”
“I’ll see you later,” Natalie told her, rising from the bench. She wrinkled her nose at me, then left. I knew Natalie was just jealous that Gina hung out with me more, but knowing Natalie’s reasons didn’t make her any less irritating. Thankfully, once I showed up, she didn’t usually stick around long.
I returned Gina’s smile, but it faltered in anticipation of her reaction to my house arrest. “How’s it going?”
“Babe, I’ll be back.” Daniel’s beefy hand darted out for the sandwich on his tray, then he left without waiting for a reply. Relieved to have him gone, I watched him join a couple of his friends.
“God, who died?” Gina asked.
“What do you mean?” Oh, crap, was my reluctance to confess that obvious?
“Look at you.” She quirked a brow. “You’re so junior high without makeup.”
“Oh, yeah.” I lifted one shoulder. “Ran short on time this morning.”
Maya appeared at our table, looking amazing even holding a plastic food tray. She was a guy’s embodiment of perfection with her long, wavy blond hair and voluptuous body. She occasionally complained how hard it was to find a bra that fit around her narrow ribcage, but could still hold all she had to offer. Like all that cleavage was such a burden. Poor thing.
“Hey, Autumn.” Maya turned to Gina, her tone going flat. “Hi.”
“Nice shirt.” Gina smiled sweetly. “How generous of your brother to go through his clothes for you.”
My mouth dropped open. Gina had never been nice to Maya, but she usually limited their interaction to giving her the cold shoulder. “Gina, what the hell?” I demanded.
“Holy Underwear Model.” Gina’s gaze riveted to her right. “Who’s the hottie sitting with Trevor?”
Following the path of her gaze, I froze. The din of voices, the distant clanging of trays and the smell of grease faded away when I recognized the guy with the dark hair and green eyes I’d gotten lost in.
My stomach dipped.
CHAPTER TWO
Maya glanced behind her. “That’s Zack De Luca.”
“And?” Gina prompted.
“Trevor’s cousin.” Maya laid her tray on the table, but remained standing.
As if he could feel me staring at him, Zack turned his gaze on me. I gave him a welcoming smile, hoping he’d forget I’d bulldozed into him earlier and how my dickhead boyfriend had behaved. No such luck. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head.