Page 37 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

“Hey, someone put it back here and just forgot about it,” I said. “Plus, I saw it first.”

Colton raised a brow. “Are you saying you want your chair back?”

I nodded. “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind,” he said. “You can sit in that fold out chair over there—or in my lap if you want. Either way, I’m not moving.”

“You’re disgusting,” I said with a huff and plopped into the metal seat across from him. It was cold, uncomfortable, and so un-like my library chair I could cry. Crossing my arms, I wiggled around, trying to find a comfortable position—but it was impossible.

Colton shook his head, and catching sight of his frown, I stopped moving.

“What?” I snapped.

“You going to pout the whole time?” he asked. “Because I really don’t want to listen to you whine about this.”

“I’m not pouting.”

“Yeah, you are.”

I wiggled again then sighed.

“Okay, fine,” Colton said, jumping to his feet. “If it’s so important, you can have your stupid chair back.”

Giving Colton a strange look, I stayed seated. “Why do you suddenly want to switch?” I asked.

He blinked.

“Did you do something to it?” I eyed the once loved seat with newfound distrust. “Plant a whoopee cushion under there or loosen one of the legs so the chair will break right when I sit down?”

He shook his head, running a hand down his neck. “That was in the fifth grade, and it was one time. Could you get over it already?”

No, I couldn’t. Colton had pranked me in front of our entire class on Valentine’s Day, and when I’d gone to sit at my desk, carrying a pan full of homemade cupcakes, not only had the cupcakes gone flying. Frosting got on my dress, in my hair. The cupcakes had been ruined, and it had all happened in front of Kyle—who I’d had (and still did have) a major crush on. He’d laughed it off, of course, but I’d been scarred.

“No,” I said. “I can’t even eat cupcakes anymore because of you.”

“Well, my hair was blue for weeks because of you,” he said back. “It’s not like you’re a saint, Sadie. You put that hair dye in my shampoo to get back at me. Hell, I couldn’t leave the house.”

“Did you think I’d let you get away with it?” I laughed, remembering his blue do. It actually had looked good on him—playing off his eyes and giving him kind of a punk-rock vibe—which annoyed me to no end. I’d done it over the holidays, so he wouldn’t have to miss any school, and they could change it back to normal before the end of the break. “You deserved it after what you did.”

“I said I was sorry,” Colton said.

I looked up at him. “I don’t remember that.”

“Well, I’m saying it now, okay? I’m sorry, Sadie. For the cupcakes, for the prank, all of it. Will you switch seats with me and take your stupid chair back now?”

I got up slowly and sat down even slower, releasing a breath of contentment, eyes falling closed, as the cushions hugged me like an old friend.

“Happy?” he asked.

I opened my eyes to see Colton sitting in the too-small-for-anyone-but-waaay-too-small-for-him fold out chair.

“Yes. Thank you,” I said.

“Yeah well,” he muttered. “Maybe next time you won’t question it if I do something nice for you.”

I scoffed at that, and he grinned in response.

“Yeah, you’re right. Doing nice things doesn’t sound like me,” he said. “Bad things, however, are right up my alley.”

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