She shrugs. “Nothing. Just that maybe it would have been easier.”
“Oh, come on. I wasn’tthatbad. If anything, you were the one with the sharper fangs.”
“I don’t mean you. Well, not really. You were a royal jerk.”
I did it to force you to open up to me.“Says the one who put crickets in my backpack without realizing it until I got to school.”
She covers her mouth to conceal her giggle. “I forgot about that. And it wasn’t actually me. That one was Hannah and Kip.Hannahwanted to put raw meat in there, but Kip caught her. Said he wasn’t a party pooper, so he jumped on board, drove us to the pet store, and bought us two dozen crickets.”
That motherfucker. “You’re kidding me?”
“Nope,” she snickers. “Made us both swear to take it to our grave that he was never involved.”
“That asshole told me he was going to make you pay for that shit.”
“More like came home and gave us his pool day. Said he’d never laughed so hard than when you opened your bag and shrieked like a little girl when they started jumping out.”
It all makes sense now. Only Kip knew I was deathly afraid of crickets. Some people had phobias of water or giant snakes. Mine was goddamn crickets. “He’s gonna pay for this.”
“Oh, let it be. It was over fifteen years ago. Plus, he was just trying to help.”
“Help me shit my pants in public? One jumped out and stuck to my face!” She almost trips while laughing. I grab her arm to steady her. “And how was he helping? That shit gave me nightmares for months.”
She wipes the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Just Kip being Kip. Always wanted to bring happiness to people when they needed it. Is this it?”
She cuts the conversation short, stopping at the neon sign. I want to drill her more. Why would Kip think she needed happiness? Did he know her secrets? I spent those last couple of months fighting to get past that damn layer, and he already knew?
“Smells good. Are you going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to treat me to lunch? I would have never agreed if food wasn’t involved.”
Dammit. I make a mental note to kick Kip’s ass and then drill him on what the fuck he knows about her. “Sorry, I was just staring because you have shit on your face.” I reach out and flick off an invisible booger. “There. I can eat now. Let’s go.”
* * *
The food is so good, it sucks. It’s so good, Makayla keeps moaning with each bite, and my dick keeps swelling against my jeans, wanting out. Whenever she opens her mouth, I have this crude vision of my cock replacing her fork. Fuck, I’m an asshole.
“Remember that one time we got into it at the dinner table at the Matthews’?”
“Shit, which time?” I ask, trying to flip through the mile-long Rolodex.
“When I had the water gun, shot you under the table, and told everyone you peed your pants.”
Oh, yeah. That time. I almost actually peed my pants from fury. It took everything in me not to stand up and yank on her pigtails.
“If I remember correctly, I got you back, though.” Her cheesy grin falls.
“I remember you took it too far. It was just water. You squirted the ketchup at my crotch and told everyone I got my period at the table.”
Damn, that was a low blow. “Well, it was harmless fun—”
“Yeah, if I hadn’t actuallyhadmy period!”
I cough into my hand, making a poor attempt to conceal my amusement. “Oh shit, really?”
“Yeah, really! You forgot I was older than Hannah. Hence why I hadboobs.”
My eyes drop to her chest. “Well, not that I ever looked—I’m lying—you always had nice ones, I must say.”
She throws her napkin at me. “Not funny.”