Page 3 of Clandestine

For now.

There’s a glimpse of competition in Jackson’s eyes, and while that’s not what I had in mind, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone.

Fuck. Why am I standing here contemplating competing with my best friend over my fucking stepsister’s honor?

No. No.Fuck no.

I didn’t call her here for that. I called her here because I fucking missed her. I missed our friendship, and I won’t let my twisted and fucked-up feelings get in the way of that.

The tour bus is quiet, but we only have an hour or so more to drive before we pick up Sydnee. That’s the real test of this entire equation. What if Hale and Sydnee don’t get along? There’s the drama of Jackson and Sydnee fucking people together. Will that affect the way Hale views him? A smug smirk crosses my face, and Hale takes notice.

“What are you smiling about?” Well, I obviously can’t tell her the actual reason, so I give her a shitty lie.

“Just a stupid meme.” Which is worse? Rooting for Jackson’s downfall, or lying to her? The hell if I know.

Smelling her perfume again takes me back. The same perfume she’s worn for years, and knowing that she hasn’t changed it, does something to me. Maybe because it felt like when we stopped seeing her, it was a rebirth for her. It felt like she moved on entirely. Changed her hair, changed her mindset. But the perfume, the scent of her…

It brings me comfort, like maybe all isn’t lost after all.

“You still wear the same perfume.”

Hale looks confused by my observation. “You noticed?”

I wipe my hand down my face absent-mindedly. “Yeah, I guess.”

She hums to herself across the table and begins dealing the playing cards.

“I hope neither of you cheating fucks looked at my cards,” Jackson says as he takes his seat next to Hale. Bold move. She scoots herself toward the window, but Jackson just scoots closer.

My foot kicks out, and instead of my target, I nail Hale directly in the fucking shin.Hard.

“Ow!” She jumps in her seat, eyebrows pinching.

I wince right along with her. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. My leg twitched.”

She scowls at me but doesn’t spare me any more attention.

“No one looked at your cards, dork. I just finished dealing with them when you came back out,” Hale assures him.

“Pinky promise?” Jackson says, holding his pinky finger out to her. She rolls her eyes, but extends hers back to him, and when they lock their fingers together, I nearly groan. God, he’s touching her in the simplest way, but I fucking want it. How the fuck can I possibly tell her that?

The answer is that I don’t. And I need to get that through my head. There’s a real chance that this week could allow my best friend and my stepsister to reconnect and give each other happiness. He could give her things in a way that I can’t. He can hold her hand in public, and take her on dates with the whole world watching, and that’s exactly what she deserves. She deserves to be shown off and cherished.

Maybe Hale doesn’t belong to Neon Cherry. Maybe Neon Cherry, or part of us, belongs to her.

THREE

JACKSON

I thought that I was in love with Hale before. I truly believe that I once did. But seeing her now, and being so fucking close to her, I can’t help but to wonder if now is finally our chance. There is a look that’s lost in Colby’s eyes. And it fucks with my head. He’s in love with her, too. We’ve both always been hers.

The only difference is that I could be with her—openly, that is. Even though I respect my best friend so fucking much, Icouldbe with her. As I watch her laugh, my chest fucking burns.

“Go fish,” she says with a chipper voice full of sass. She’s cheating. She definitely has a seven, but I’m not going to be the one to call her out on it, notyetat least. I bump her with my elbow to signal that I know she’s playing dirty, and she shields her cards from me immediately with a devilish grin on her rosy cheeks.

When it’s my turn again, I decide to play dirty too.

“Do you have a seven, angel?”

---