Page 25 of Wicked Serve

“Wait wait wait,” Victoria says from her perch on my bed, brandishing her chocolate milkshake. We beat Merrimack in a hard-fought match earlier, and stopped for ice cream in downtown Moorbridge on the way to my house to do homework. “Back up.”

“Yeah,” Ellie says. She’s on the floor, textbook abandoned at her side, surrounded by several of my stuffed animals, including my favorite, a worn pink rabbit very cleverly named Pinkie. Once Victoria asked about the “Russian Situation,” any pretense of a post-game study session fell away. “This happened in the library?”

“Sounds hot to me,” Shona says with a shrug, her thin, dark braids falling over her shoulder as she scratches Tangy behind the ears. Of all my friends, she loves Shona the most; she’s barely given me half a glance in the past hour. I would be offended if I weren’t secure in the knowledge that at least she loves me more than Sebastian. “Then again, he’s very hot. Like, I’m gay as hell, but I can still appreciate him.”

“The scar is a game changer,” Victoria agrees.

I duck my head to hide my blush. The first time I worked up the courage to touch Nik’s scar, he startled and grabbed my wrist, but after a moment he nodded, giving permission. We were in my bed, awake past midnight, the sounds of the city providing a soundtrack to an otherwise quiet moment. He trembled when I brushed my lips to his cheek, and I felt victorious, even as my heart ached for him. A scar like that can’t have a funny story, after all.

“So, he dragged you into a library closet, Beauty and the Beast style—”

“Does that happen in the movie?” Ellie interrupts.

“—and had his way with you, but then he kicked you out—”

“Well, I did the dragging,” I say, my blush deepening.

“—can I not finish?” Victoria says with faux exasperation. “He kicked you out before he let you touch the goods. Did I get that right?”

I make a face as I sip my cotton candy milkshake. “Technically speaking.”

Whatever was going on with Nik the other day, I enjoyed the outcome. I just wish he had let me touch him back, or at least told me what was wrong. I should be glad that nothing else came of it—he didn’t text me after, even though I half expected it—but the thought of that being the end of our connection makes me sad, not relieved.

“Technically speaking, you kissed him again first,” Ellie says. She leans her head against Shona’s shoulder. Shona turns and kisses her. I smile at the sight; they’re so cute together.

“Ugh. Thanks for the reminder.”

She shrugs. “What do you want to happen?”

“She wants to bone him again, obviously,” Victoria says.

Shona snorts. “You should move on, Iz. Let the summer be the summer.”

“Why didn’t he just... let me return the favor?” I shake my head slightly. “Maybe he realized he isn’t into me anymore.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Victoria says dryly.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door. “Izzy?”

I choke at the sound of Cooper’s voice. At least we weren’t screaming Nik’s name or something equally embarrassing.

I pull open the door. “What’s up?”

Cooper leans against the doorway, shooting my friends a grin. “Hello, ladies. Nice match.”

Victoria perks up. “Is Aaron with you?”

“In the living room.”

“Babe!” Victoria shouts as she runs down the stairs. “I thought you said you had practice!”

“Yeah, didn’t you have practice?” Cooper and Aaron came to the match earlier, to cheer us on, but they had to leave early to get to the rink.

“Coach took pity on us and kept it short. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

I narrow my eyes at Ellie and Shona as I scoop up Tangerine. “If you make out, don’t mess up my stuffed animals. Especially Pinkie.”

When we’re in the hallway, I hug the cat closer. “Everything okay?”

---