Page 53 of Cruel Destinies

“Come on, spill, Shea,” Arya insisted with a nudge.

“It’s nothing,” I blurted, my heart still beating a million miles a minute in my chest. “Just two guys who are kinda into me but don’t want to admit it. There’s really nothing to tell.”

Liar.

“That first dude looked older.” Ashlyn leaned over the table toward me, a spark of intrigue in her eyes. “You little minx.He’smy type.”

I snorted, even as possessive jealousy tugged at my insides. “Trust me, he’s super unavailable. They both are. Which is why there’s nothing to tell.”

They both gave me glances that said, “bullshit,” but I didn’t elaborate further. I wondered for a split second if I should just tell them. Keeping all of this bottled up was killing me, and I was sincerely desperate to get it out.

Finally, I decided that now wasn’t the right time.Coward.

“What about you, Arya?” I asked. She’d been notably quiet about her own love life, and I did want to know if there’d been any new developments in that area.

Even though I didn’t deserve to hear about it because I wasn’t willing to share…

Her cheeks colored and she bit her lip. “Well, all I will say is, what happens in the avian dorms stays in the avian dorms.”

I cocked my head at her with a frown.

“She and Tobias had sex,” Ashlyn whispered to me.

“Omigod!” I shouted, ignoring the few scoffs my outburst received from the patrons. “You banged the moody dragon and didn’t tell me?” Not that I had the right to complain, but it did sting a little.

Arya just shrugged with a coy smirk.

“How was it?” I asked.

“It was pretty damn great,” she said with a giggle.

“So, are you guys, like, dating?”

“They’re not putting a label on it,” Ashlyn interjected before Arya could respond. “Apparently, they’re just ‘hanging out.’”

Kinda sounded like my situation. Well, both of them.

“Will you stop it?” Arya chided even though she was smiling.

“Okay, you’re right,” Ashlyn agreed. “We’re supposed to be having a girls’ day out. No more guy talk.”

Arya said, “Great,” at the same time I said, “I’m good with that.”

We endured a moment of silence while we sipped our drinks and pretended there was nothing awkward about any of this.

The waiter came over then, balancing a full tray. He handed out the cheese curds first, placing steaming hot plates in front of everyone—shrimp and lobster ballerine for Arya, Manny's deli combo for me, and a green chili cheeseburger for Ashlyn.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” he said, his gaze lingering just a moment longer on Ashlyn than on anyone else.

We burst into giggles again as soon as he left.

“I’m sorry,” I wheezed between giggles, “but that dude is totally crushing on Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn scoffed. “Whatever, two-texter.”

I put up my hands. “I know. I know. I said I’m sorry.”

I popped a cheese curd into my mouth, feeling that satisfying crunch as the melted cheese oozed over my tongue. Heaven. On. Earth.

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