Page 99 of Hart Breaker

“It’s not really a gift so much as a rite of passage.” Syd smiles as she taps the bar.

To that, they tear into the little boxes, where they each pull out a key.

“This is to my place. Mags, you can move in anytime. Iz, we’re adding on a room, and it will be done by the time you graduate.”

Their excitement is overwhelming, but so are most things lately. Freaking hormones.

“What about Syd?” Liz asks.

“Syd?”

“I bought the space I rent for the shop.” She claps. “My little apartment over it is getting a much needed reno now.”

We celebrate that the way we have done every milestone any of us have ever hit—with squeals, hugs, laughter, and sometimes tears.

While that is happening, I grab the four other little boxes and set one in front of each of them.

“Before you open these, you have to swear that what’s inside is only talked about between us.” I glance at Lo, who already knows. Hudson and I told our families a few days ago, and Mom is having this conversation with the aunts now, too.

When they open them up and pull out the little keychains engraved with “Futured Bridesmaids” on one side, they give polite responses, which makes me laugh because, of course, they knew they would be.

In a robotic tone, Lo gasps and says, “Oh my God, look what’s on the other side.”

And to this, I receive all the love from my best friends, who will be our child’s “Future Auntie.”

“Are you okay?” Hudson asks as he exits his vehicle and jogs to where I stand in front of the entrance to the fitness center at Blue Valley High.

“I am. I just need you to blah, blah, blah,” I mumble the last part because it doesn’t matter, and he’s not close enough to understand that.

“Yeah, of course.”

I walk in quickly, knowing he’ll have to catch up, and he needs to; I have fifteen minutes to get this job done, not a minute more.

“Brooksie babe, what’s going on?”

“I think it’s coming from this way.” I smirk to myself at my choice of words.

“What’s coming?”

You, in a couple minutes, future husband and baby daddy, I think.

“The thing,” I say, pushing open the door to the girls’ locker room.

“Am I even allowed to be in here?” he asks in a freaking adorable tone.

I hurry toward my senior locker and point to it. “You see that number?”

He nods and smirks. “Thirteen.”

I step toward him and grab his hips. “This was mine in high school.”

“Yeah?” he asks

I hook my thumbs in his waistband. “Fate, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re pushing down my sweats, Brooksie; I’d say anything you want me to right now.”

On my knees, I wrap my hand around the base of his cock and look up, sure enough, to see his teeth bared. I keep my eyes on him when I catch the little ball at the end of his piercing with my teeth and give it a tug.

---