Page 140 of A Lucky Shot

Blood rushed in her ears, and she pursed her lips to slow her breathing. Cass drew a shaking breath, unsure on what to feel. Of how to feel. She sunk onto her couch.

Yes

You are the first person I’ve told

I wanted you to be the first to know

Cass scrolled down to Josh Sexy Dimples and hit the FaceTime call.

Declined.

Not yet, baby

I’m sorry I kept the parts of myself I didn’t love hidden

When I was fifteen, I was such a nerd I was beat up by someone in band

I was grounded for buying a bag of weed that turned out to be stale oregano

I didn’t lose my virginity until I was 22

When I was 8 I fell into a lake in the winter and nearly got hypothermia. I’ve hated being cold ever since.

I had a goth phase

A photo followed, and Cass choked on a laugh. His skinny arms stuck out of a black tee shirt, and a shag of dark hair side-swept over one heavily kohl-lined eye. Besides the size of the arms and lack of eyeliner, his aesthetic hadn’t changed much.

I guess I didn’t really leave all the goth phase behind.

A splash hit her phone screen, and she scrubbed a hand over her cheek to catch the next teardrop.

Get ready

Libby’s coming to get you

On cue, a hard knock sounded at her door, and a key slid into her lock a second later. Libby busted open her door with a pained look between ecstatic and murderous on her face.

“Let’s go.”

Cass stared out the window of the passenger seat. The last of the thin afternoon sun glinted gold off the half melted ice coating the street. A jolt kicked through the seat back, and she turned a raised eyebrow behind her.

“Sorry,” Stephen muttered, trying to shift his stocky legs. “It’s a tight fit.”

Libby grinned into the rearview and angled her giant pick up into the tight spot between two cars. “I’d apologize for sticking you back there, but my passenger princess gets first dibs on riding shotgun.”

“Good to know where I stand,” he said. Libby twisted in her seat to pat his knee.

“What is happening?” Cass demanded for the fourth time.

“Priorities.”

A Closed for Private Event placard was propped in front of the tiny independent theatre’s box office. Bex waved from the front door, pointing urgently at her watch.

“Are we late for something?” Cass asked, feeling the start of a smile bloom.

“They’ll wait. You’re the main event.”

Everyone from the crew was there, and before she could say hi, they were shoving her butt into a seat and a bag of popcorn into her hands.

---