Page 41 of Fire Fight

Take that as a forfeit, you prick.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DRAKE

It’sa battle to keep my expression neutral as Cadence comes down to breakfast, still without her phone. When she sits next to me, her hand bumps against my pocket. Like I’m Captain Obvious and would store her device where she could easily steal it.

“Try a few inches to your left,” I murmur. “It’s like a magic lamp. Grip firmly and rub it until you get your wish.”

I clamp my lips to hide a smile as she scowls.

A furious little girl who’ll have learned a valuable lesson by this time tomorrow. A lesson in why it’s a bad idea to fuck me over with an unwanted party invitation.

It enrages me that with a few words, she’s committed hours of my free time to the useless endeavour. It disgusts me to hang around with people who don’t know me but think they want to. Or, even worse, think theyunderstandme on adeeper levelbecause they stare at the back of my head in class or salivate when I bend over in something tight.

Much as I hate Gretchen, she’s about to prove valuable because I hate losing control of Cadence worse.

While she hurries off to Hudson’s, I speed to school, relaxing when I pull into the carpark and see no sign of our neighbour’s car.

And my luck holds as I approach Gretchen at her locker. “Hey,” I say, tugging on her sleeve to interrupt her conversation.

Her expression transforms from disgruntled to joyous in a split second. “Hey, yourself.” She jerks her head at the girls standing beside her. “You know Rox and Flick, don’t you?”

Their faces are so forgettable I wouldn’t have a clue. “Ladies,” I drawl, watching them turn red, then drop my voice low, just for her. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“I’ll catch up to you,” she says, dismissing her friends without a second thought. Once they’ve left, she leans in closer, and I mimic her body language until we’re almost touching, suppressing the urge to shudder.

I loathe her.

From her insipid expressions to the shallow posts on her socials, Gretchen has tailormade her image to be the opposite of everything I admire. A ruthless social climber. A girl with no authentic connection to anyone or anything except her own ambition.

“This is awkward,” I start. “And you’re welcome to decline if there’s a reason, but I wondered…”

I let the silence grow until her posture is ripe with anticipation. “Yes?”

“The grapevine tells me you’re throwing a party next month. I hoped I could wangle an invitation.”

Her face flicks through so many expressions it’s joyful to watch. It lands on eagerness.

“Sure. You know the address. Show up any time after seven.” Her warm breath puffs into my face and it takes everything Ihave not to flinch away from the sour acid stench. Her insides must be as curdled as the rest of her.

“Thanks.” I let my face fill with relief, sagging against the lockers so our shoulders lightly touch. “To tell you the truth, I thought Cadence might have been saying something behind my back to turn everyone against me. When she told my father about your party, he specifically asked if I’d been invited, and she said I wasn’t.” I fake the longest sigh in the universe. “We used to go to the same high school, and I think she’s worried what I might tell people, so she’s alienating them against me first.”

She rests her hand on my arm, face scrunching in sympathy. “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. Cadence told all of us she’d never met you.” Her brow creases. “And I specifically asked her to invite you to the party. You will always have an open invitation to come to my place. You don’t need to wait to be asked.”

I press my palm against my chest. “Thank you. I can’t say what a relief that is to hear.” I slowly shake my head. “It’s been hard to make friends here, since the school is so tightknit, but I’d be honoured to count you as one.”

Inside I wince. That line is too cheesy, even for her.

But there’s no outward sign Gretchen thinks my words are anything but genuine. So, of course, I push for more. “I had one last favour to ask you…”

“Anything.”

“There’s something I need to give Cadence, but she’s avoiding me.”

Her glance flicks over my shoulder and I turn to see Cadence along the hallway, Hudson beside her. The moment she catches me looking, she backtracks out of sight, her performance perfectly on cue.

“See?” I turn back to Gretchen who nods, face rich with sympathy. “But my dad will kill me if I don’t return it to her.”

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