Page 40 of Pretty Little Lies

“No.” Mae doesn’t even spare it a glance. “I want cereal.”

My nostrils flared, I feel as though I live in an alternate universe sometimes. Mae polished off the last of the cereal this morning before school. Even asked me to throw it on the grocery list, but it’s as though that never happened.

“Don’t have any,” I remind her. “How about?—”

“McQueen!” My heart plows into my chest at the sound ofthatfamiliar voice from behind. My brain calculates my surroundings, who’s with me, more questions,fuck my life, everyone.

Fuck me.

Turning around—because Reeve will hunt me down this damn sidewalk—I don’t have anything creatively to say or come up with to keep this conversation short and sweet.

Not that it would work.

Reeve’s smile is the first thing I see.

That fucking smile.

Shit should be illegal, not that it’d matter. He’d still flaunt it. He understands the power behind it. And he doesn’t need a cape or the ability to fly because that damn thing will melt you right down to your panties, into a puddle of nothing but hopes and fantasies of how fast and hard he’d fuck you.

“Ladies,” he greets my sisters, still bearing that swoony grin. He’s in a light blue tee that has the bandHeatwaveon it and sweatpants that have me looking a little too closely. “Where are you all heading off to?”

“Home,” I deadpan, forcing myself to capture his gaze again, silently throwing out a warning to treadverylightly on what he’s doing right now.

He notices Ellie and nods at her. “Get your nails done?”

“Y-yeah,” she replies nervously, poor thing. He offers her that award-winning grin and flicks his sun-filled hazels back to me. Except they quickly drift in a quick assessment—my neck, where Levi grabbed me, my face to where he hit me, proceeding down to the rest of my body.

“You girls wanna head intoSweetie’sand grab some candy for girl’s night?” I ask my sisters, thankful that Reeve stopped us literallyrightin front of the entrance.

Mae’s already at the door in record time, needing zero more coaxing from my ass. Ellie follows, sparing another glance at Reeve from my peripheral, to which I offer her my own casual smile. “Be there in a minute. Grab my candy.”

My sisters disappear in the shop, and Reeve takes the opportunity to ease closer, manufacturing hundreds of goosebumps to line my skin. “I had to see you.”

Steering my focus back to him, that same award-winning smile has already weakened, and this new side of Reeve isn’t one I can say I particularly enjoy seeing.

I expect it from Torin, as his glower is legendary at this point. But Reeve makes up for it by brightening it up.

Again, I’ve relied on the shit.

“Why didn’t you get your nails done?” I raise a brow, and he gives a slight shake of his head with a sigh treading right after it. “You always just think of everyone else but yourself, baby?”

“I can paint my own nails.”

“That’s not the point,” he retorts softly, strands of blond hair wafting softly around from the light breeze. “The point is that you need to take care of yourself.” I don’t respond because he’sright. I just don’t spend the time, nor do I seem to be able to find the energy. “You’ve been on my mind, and it’s driving me crazy.”

“You could’ve just texted—” His face scrunches, because hehastexted me. I just haven’t chosen to respond, so I offer up, “I’ve been busy.”

“Good.” He shoves his hands into the cotton pockets of his sweats. “How are you feeling?”

“Annoyed.”

He doesn’t flinch or give away how he feels about that answer. “Better than upset. Have you heard from him?”

I tsk because, yeah, I have, like an hour ago.

And this is weird.

The whole lying and not seeing my best friend just because. Add on that I’m chalking it up to the guy who always has my back when he doesn’t need to and I feel like a piece of shit.

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