Page 22 of Jace

As I round the corner, I am not only met with Presley but with Luna, and Breanna as they are walking toward me from the other direction.

“She called us all in,” Bree says. “It’s gotta be bad, right?” Luna bites her lip like she is doing her best not to say what’s on her mind. When her eyes lock with mine she quickly looks away.

“Luna.” Reaching out, I take her hand and give it a little tug. “What do you know?”

“Nothing,” she says, only she still won’t look at me.

“Liar,” Bree interrupts, taking her other hand as the two of us play some crazy game of tug-o-war.

“Let her tell you.” She pulls her hands away. “And I am going to act like it’s the first time I am hearing it too.”

She hurries off, leaving Bree and I on the sidewalk staring after her.

“What in the hell is goin’ on?” I mumble, my stomach flipping around nervously. Did she finally off her insanely narcissistic, abusive ex and she needs help hiding the body?

“Only one way to find out.” Bree starts walking toward the café and I follow close behind. When we enter, we find both Luna and Presley already seated at a table in the far back corner.

Presley’s hair is all wadded up on the top of her head, and she’s wearing an oversized sweater and leggings with boots. She has no makeup on her face, and I know whatever it is she has to tell us it'll be bad.

After we all place our drink orders we lean in close and wait.

“I didn’t go home last night.” She is talking to all of us but looking straight at me. “We’d had all those shots and I was feeling really good. Not so good that I couldn’t think straight, but well enough that I’d forgotten I’d put my house key in the tiny pocket in the back of my wallet. So when it came time for me to find it, in my current state I’d thought I’d lost it or forgotten it at home.”

Presley then glances around as our waitress brings our drinks. I notice the look on Luna’s face, as if none of this is surprising, and in my mind, I’m already putting the entire story together.

“You stayed with Zac,” I stated, as I moved my attention back to Presley. She only nods her head, like she’s scared to say it aloud. “You are acting like you committed some kind of scandalous act.”

“I guess it could be considered scandalous.” It’s Luna that interjects and everyone redirects their attention to her. Until then I think she hadn’t figured out that she’d spoken the words aloud.

“You know!” Presley barks a little too loudly, gaining the attention of a few people around us. Uncaring, she continues on. “What did he tell you?”

Luna covers her mouth and tries not to laugh. She fails.

“He was making fun of me, wasn’t he? Oh my God! I’m mortified!”

“He was not making fun, he was torn, not sure you even remembered what happened.”

“Oh, I remember.” She widens her eyes and Bree and I sit silently observing their conversation. “In fact I am still feeling the aftereffects of exactly what happened!”

“Oh no,” Luna holds her hands up in surrender. “I refuse to hear the details as each one of those guys are like brothers to me and I do not need a play by play.”

“You had sex with Zac,” I interrupt as all three of them quickly shift their attention to me. Suddenly the smiles on their faces are replaced with those of concern which surprise me.

“Hello?” I hold up my hands, waving her on. “Carry on.”

When no one says a word I’m confused, then it hits me.

“You thought I’d be mad about this?” Luna and Bree worry their lips as Presley nods her head. “Does everyone think I have some hidden crush on Zac?”

When none of them respond my stomach feels like it bottoms out.

“Oh my god you all do!” Then another thought hits me. “Do Jace and the guys think so too? Like I’m sitting around harboring feelings for Zac, while pretending to be infatuated with Jace?”

“I just think all of us are a little confused about the connection the two of you share and just how it all has worked.”

“We’re friends.” This is insane. “We’ve only ever been friends. We watch movies, we make fun of people in those movies, we pig out on junk food and play cards. I force him to take me shopping and drink girly lattes.”

“That sounds like dating someone,” Luna interjects.

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