Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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A GLOW CLINGS TO MASON in a way that I've never seen before. He's happy. Never has he ever smiled this much. It could be the fact that today is his birthday, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the situation with his parents has greatly improved. After his father apologized to me for his prejudice behavior, Mason told me it was the first time he'd ever seen his father apologize for anything. His father is proud and unbreaking. He truly believes he means it.
As someone who also has family members that have a prejudice mindset against people I love, I was quick to forgive them and hope for a better future between our families. It's the only thing I can think about as darkness sticks to the night sky and we make our trip downtown.
"You're glowing," Amber notes as she quickens her pace to stride next to me.
"Huh?" I look away from Mason and his friends as they enter the hotel ahead of us.
"You are shining pretty bright over there," Elliot notes as he strolls on the other side of me. "Anticipating retaining your title as Mason's girlfriend with a super romantic evening?"
"Girlfriend?" I hiss. "We're just friends."
"Elliot, cut it out." Amber flashes her tongue at him. "Ignore him, Pepper. He of all people should know how platonic relationships work."
"Sure," Jaden sings as he saunters past us. "If there wasn't obvious romantic chemistry heating up the atmosphere."
They're so overdramatic. As all of us squeeze into the hotel lobby, I squint at Mason and his rowdy friends. Are we being romantic? My stomach turns at the idea. No way. Sure, he just said he loved me yesterday. He also said he'd wait for as long as I needed. I want friends right now. Not a boyfriend.
Still, unease bubbles in my stomach and sweat glazes my gloved palms. Is something potentially romantic going to happen this weekend? I don't think I'm ready for that.
When we reach the front desk, Mason already has a handful of room keys with numbers on the top. "Okay, so there are seven of us and four rooms. I didn't book them so I-"
"I've got it." Jaden snatches the cards from Mason and turns to us. "I'm sharing a room with Elliot," he announces and begins passing out the keycards. "Philip is sharing with Carter. Pepper is sharing with Amber. Mason was getting the biggest room to himself."
"Oooh," Carter snickers next to me. "Is Mason going to invite girl over?"
A blush stains his cheeks and he scowls. "No, I'm not. Don't say things like that."
"Why would you even suggest that?" I mumble to myself. Just the thought of it urges vomit to churn in my stomach and fear to climb up my soul. My skeleton shakes inside me as flashes of crimson heat and azure chills conquer my body. I squeeze my eyes shut as the world spins around me. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think. Still, Lucas' face submerges through the fog, staring down at me, forcing me to become his. No! It never happened. My lungs tighten and I claw at my chest. I can't breathe. I bite my lip as tears come rushing forward. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Please don't make me. Not again. I can never touch another man again.
