Page 25 of Crushed By Love

Even if I don’t fit in.

Even if I have zero friends here.

Even if I’m too young to hang out because everyone goes to the bars that I can’t get into and I haven’t found anyone my own age yet. And even if Bree is probably out there somewhere plotting revenge for getting kicked out of the Kings’ lives.

I swallow hard and push those thoughts from my mind, then take off down the drive. All of three seconds later, a car honks and Ethan’s Land Rover drives up next to me.

“What are you doing?” Cooper demands as he rolls down the passenger window.

“What does it look like?” I shoot back, stopping on my bike to face them.

“I thought we talked about this,” Ethan growls. His face is in shadow from the driver’s seat but I can easily picture him when he’s pissed off. “You’re not to ride that bike around at night. It’s not safe.”

“It’s the Fourth of July. I’m going to the fireworks show.” I say it like it’s obvious, because isn’t it? I’m not going to stay back at the house and miss out on my favorite holiday just because I have to ride a bike to get down to the public beach.

“My parents have their own fireworks show already paid for and set to go off from our beach, you can stay back for that one.”

My mouth drops open. “They do? But how? Personal fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts.”

“Not illegal with a permit.”

Oh . . . maybe I should’ve assumed something like that was happening, what with the party going on and all. But do I really want to stay back at the house? I’m all dressed up and I want to get out of here, not stay. Besides, I have no interest in crashing Conrad and Malory King’s party, nor do I want to run into any of their adult friends. What do Ethan and Cooper expect me to do? Hide out in the bushes to watch the fireworks? No, not interested. I’m going down to the public show to fight the shitty crowds like a normal person.

“No thanks.” I take off on the bike again, pulling in front of them so they can wait for me to get out of the driveway.

Ethan honks again. “Don’t be stubborn.”

I wave back at him. He’s not going to stop me from going to the show I want to go to. Besides, it’ll probably be the better one. Am I really supposed to believe that the King’s private show is going to outdo the one put on by the island of Nantucket?

Well, maybe . . .

I loop around and go back to Cooper’s passenger window. He’s smiling at me like I’m the funniest person he knows. I glare like he’s the most evil, even though he’s really not. “You’re going down to the public show too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, you got us there. Get in. You’re coming with us.”

Ethan exhales a gravelly breath, making it very apparent that he doesn’t want me getting in with them, let alone going down to the public show at all. A flash of anger lights my temper. “No, I’m fine to get myself there,” I snap, taking off yet again. I pedal hard, but of course they catch up in all of two seconds.

“Just get in the damn car,” Ethan demands.

“No.” One word. Should be as simple as that, but nothing is ever simple with these two.

“I’m starting to think you have a death wish,” Ethan yells. It’s not often I’ve heard him yell before and it makes me listen. “First you go swimming in the ocean when you clearly don’t know how to swim, and then you get on a bike in the dark on the busiest night of the summer. Do you know how many drunk drivers are going to be on the roads tonight? Do you want to end up as roadkill?”

Okay, maybe he has a point.

With a dark glare, I concede, leaving the bike at the end of the driveway to pick up later tonight and climbing into the backseat. A thought strikes me that this won’t be the last time I climb into Ethan’s backseat and I have to shake my head to push the thought away, because no fucking way am I going back to lusting after these idiots.

Twenty minutes later and they have no trouble finding parking because they have no problem paying a local an obscene amount of money to use their driveway. When we climb out of the car, I plan to head in my own direction because I don’t want to spend the evening with these guys.

“Meet us back here after the show.” Ethan catches on. “I’ll take you home.”

And then I’m sure he’ll go to some after party. But whatever, I’ll need a ride. “Sounds good,” I agree.

But Cooper slings his arm around my shoulder and a stupid zing of electricity races through my body. “Nope. Ardie’s with us tonight,” he announces to his brother, then gives me a playful wink.

Ethan shoots him a dark look. “You’re not sleeping with Arden.”

He puts emphasis on my real name and I don’t know what to do with that.

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