Page 12 of Crew Princess
Heather had taken over Manny’s from her father, and she was now talking about doing some other franchise spots. Sometimes I forgot about that other world Heather was connected to—Channing too since he was going in on one of the franchises. Or two, maybe. I tuned them out when they talked about that stuff, usually slipping out the door and finding Cross.
Tonight, things felt different.
Not Cross, but the rest. The future. It was lingering, ever since Zellman had mentioned graduating. And the same old paralyzed emotion crept up my throat, threatening to choke off my oxygen…
Cross’ arm fell around my shoulders, and he pulled me back to his chest. He pushed a cold beer into my hand and lifted his mouth, pressing a kiss to the side of my lips. “You okay?”
We’d found a spot at the back of the party in the woods.
I’d settled against a tree that offered a view of Manny’s below. We could see all the cars, hear the customers going in and out. Heather stepped out once to yell at her brother and went back in. The door slammed shut behind her a second later, the sound echoing in the valley around them.
That was normal.
The familiarity had eased some of my tension, but now I had Cross for that.
As I rested against him, his hand trailed down and began rubbing my arm. He lifted his beer, taking a drag and just waiting.
He knew I’d talk.
Sometimes it took a minute.
“What are you doing next year?”Finally.
He stiffened, his voice low. “What do you mean?”
“You know.”
More tension, then his chest rose. “I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.” I stepped away, turning to stare at him.
Cross never lied to me.
He held my gaze.
I’d picked this place for a reason. I liked my privacy, and most of the others respected me, staying away. Only a couple of the Ryerson crew had positioned themselves not far from us. There were a handful of other guys scattered nearby. I suspected they were Fallen Crest because they were obnoxious, and they were wearing polo shirts. No one I knew from Frisco wore fucking polo shirts. Some of them had been looking over, their looks lingering more and more until Cross arrived.
I’d have to deal with them at some point, but I’d been putting it off because of my thoughts.
They were dark—then again, that term could be used to describe me.Iwas dark.
Cross glanced at them, resting his head against the tree. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“Yeah.”
He was right.
Right?
Now wasn’t the time.
But…
“I mean it.” I touched his shirt, fisting a hand in it. “We graduate in a month, and no one’s talked about the after.”
His hand went to my hip, slipping under my shirt, and he tugged me to him. My leg brushed against his, and I tipped my head back to see him.
He rested his forehead against mine, almost whispering, “What does it matter? We’re staying crew, no matter what.”
