Page 35 of Creeping Lily
“I’m aware,” she says. “But Lily’s not interested. Don’t force something on her she doesn’t want.”
“You’re protective of her,” I say quietly. I watch the dorm doors swing shut behind Lily and Trick, my gaze lingering longer than it should. The silence stretches, but my chest feels heavier with every passing second—like my heart just followed her inside.
Bethany steps closer, tracking my eyes before letting out a slow sigh.
“What are you doing, Justin?”
I don’t look at her, but I can still feel the heat of her stare boring into the side of my head. My sister’s always been like this—calling me out without mercy, knowing when I’m full of it before I even open my mouth.
“Bethany—”
“No,” she cuts me off, lifting a hand to silence me. “Lily is my friend. I won’t let anyone hurt her.”
“That’s not my intention,” I say quickly.
“But that’s exactly what you’ll end up doing if you keep pushing her toward Trick. She doesn’t want to be with him. She doesn’t want to be withanyoneright now.” Bethany’s tone softens. “She’s built herself this perfect, rigid plan, and she doesn’t allow for anything she can’t control. But I’ve seen the way she looks at you. I know she’s scared of what that might mean—whatever the reason. Let her choose. In her own time.”
“He’s my best friend,” I say, swallowing the guilt that’s been sitting in my throat all night.
Bethany just shakes her head, glancing up as Trick emerges from the dorm with a spring in his step.
“You’re not doing either of them any favors,” she says.
“He’s my best friend,” I repeat, but my voice sounds thinner this time.
She gives me a look that’s all razor edges. “He might be your best friend, but Lily’s mine. And I will do whatever I have to do to protect her.”
Trick jogs toward us, grinning like the night’s been his personal victory lap. “We good?” he asks.
I nod, pulling Bethany into a quick one-armed hug before slipping into the driver’s seat.
“I kissed her, man,” he says as we pull out onto the narrow drive that winds across campus. His voice is light, smug.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel. He wasn’t gone long. What kind of kiss was it? How far did he push?
“You move fast,” I say, forcing the words past the knot in my chest. It’s too soon—for him to be kissing her, for me to be thinking about her like this, foranythingthat’s brewing between us. But control has always been my thing, and Lily Snow is shaking it loose in ways I can’t explain.
“She tastes like cherries,” he says suddenly.
The comment catches me off guard. We don’t kiss and tell, not like this. Something’s different about Lily, and it’s not just me who feels it. Does he sense it too? Or is this just his way of reminding me she’s already claimed territory?
“What is it?” he asks when I don’t reply.
“What?”
“I told you she tastes like cherries.”
The smart move is to pretend I didn’t hear him. Pretend I’m not affected. Pretend she’s just another name I’ll forget tomorrow. Because the truth—the real truth—is that Lily Snow isn’t just a girl.
She’s an assignment.
And in my world, you don’t screw up assignments. No matter how much you want to.
“Who?” I say flatly, eyes on the road, already locking my mask into place.
18
LILY
