Page 63 of Wicked Knight

“Girl, tell us what happened.” Eilish shakes her fist. “That guy is soooo freaking hot.”

“I was stuck with him for three hours. He was so nice to me. He was telling me about the new songs he wrote and the band’s upcoming tour. Of course, I made sure I got backstage passes for all of us.”

“You did!” Eilish is so excited, the popcorn jumps in the tub when she does.

“I sure did.”

“Oh. I love you.” Eilish slides off the sofa and gives Savannah a big hug.

I hug her, too, when Eilish is done, then we return to the sofa.

“It’s nice to have something to look forward to,” I say, trying to sound like my usual self.

“Well, some of us have a lot more to look forward to than others,” Savannah says, and she and Sawyer give Eilish an accusing stare.

I must have missed something, but anything like that will have something to do with Lucian Sokolov, Eilish’s supposed best friend who we know she’s secretly in love with.

He’s in Russia for a placement at his family’s company. He’ll be back in January.

From the blush spreading across Eilish’s cheeks, I can tell my assumption is right. This is about Lucian.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Eilish waves her hand, brushing off the notion.

“We heard you on the phone yesterday talking to Lucian.” Sawyer giggles.

“Sounded like a pretty heated conversation to me,” Savannah jumps in.

Eilish’s face turns as red as the fire extinguisher on the wall. “You guys were listening in on me?”

“You told us to come by, but it seemed like you forgot, so we didn’t disturb you.”

“So, you eavesdropped instead?” Eilish gives them a wide-eyed stare, but I know she’s not angry. Embarrassed, yes, but never angry.

“Well, we wouldn’t call it that.”

The two of them fall into a series of giggles again that sounds like a coven of cackling witches.

“What’s the story, Eilish? What’s happening with you guys? You do know we’d all be happy if you and Lucian ever got together.” Savannah gives her a wistful grin.

“I know. But we’re not… there yet.”

“Sounded like you were yesterday.”

“How about we see what happens when he gets back?”

That’s new. Usually, Eilish would shoot down any talk of her and Lucian getting together straightaway. Now it’s looking like a possibility if she’s saying that.

I’d be thrilled for them if they got together. Many of us have been routing for that since high school. We’ve all known each other since we were kids running around in the playground.

I remember she was always with Lucian. Always together. If they weren’t holding hands, the other wasn’t too far behind.

They were just like Dmitri and me. There wasn’t a day that went by when I wasn’t holding his hand, even when we weren’t exactly little kids anymore.

He’d hold my hand just because that’s what we did. People were too scared of him to tease us. It was painful to let go after the incident.

God… everything reminds me of him.

Even this conversation that is in no way about Dmitri and me.

---