Page 90 of Just a Little White Lie

I huff and stomp out of the kitchen.

“Lauren, wait!” Luke tries to call me back, but I ignore him, charging into my room and snatching the four money envelopes.

Jack’s not lounging on my bed anymore, and the searing disappointment actually hurts, but I guess I’m on a different mission right now, and Jack will be waiting for me at the end of this bumpy road.

I fling my door open and nearly crash straight into my brother.

“What are you doing?” he asks. “Why’d you just storm off?”

I hold up the envelopes. “I’m trying to prove a point. Look.” I open the one from my parents and show him how much money I’ve accumulated. “And here’s your rent.” I take out the money and hand it to him. He pinches it between his fingers and frowns at the fourth envelope. “What’s that one?”

“Oh. I, um…” Staring down at my scribble, I read the words. “Haven Misfits Fund. It’s for the students I’m teaching. The dance crew.” I let out a sigh, and for some reason, my voice starts to wobble. “They don’t have a lot, you know? They’re the charity cases of the school, and I just… want to do something nice for them. They never get to go out and do anything special. They’re always missing out, and I want to arrange a night for them. Maybe a dance or a movie or something.”

He takes it off me and opens it up. “Where’d you get this money from?”

“I took it out of my Spend envelope.”

His gaze jumps up to meet mine. For a second, I have no idea what he’s thinking. He’s probably in shock. His little sister is giving her money away?

But then his expression starts to soften, a smile lighting his eyes. A sniff of amusement fires out of him, and then the miraculous happens.

He pulls three twenties out of his rent money and slips them into theHaven Misfitsenvelope. “Good job, sis. I’m proud of you.”

My eyes instantly start to glisten, and I have to blink a few times before I manage a shaky whisper. “Thanks, bro.”

We share a grin, and he leans forward and pecks my cheek before walking back to the kitchen.

I rest my head against the doorframe and run my thumb over the name:Haven Misfits.

I never thought I could fall in love with teaching again, but this feeling sparking inside me right now… who knew a bunch of rebellious outcasts could give me such big feels.

JACK

I’m sitting at a small high table at the local pub. “I Will Never Let You Down” is playing in the background. It’s enough to turn into an earworm as the words spin around in my mind.

I watch Luke weave his way through the tables to reach me. He’s got a bottle a beer in each hand and places mine in front of me before he even sits. As soon as he perches his butt on the stool across from mine, he pierces me with a look that says it all.

The line “I will never let you down” just happens to play while he’s glaring at me, and I have to swallow and take a big swig of my drink before I can find my voice.

What does he want me to start with?

“I’m sorry”?

Because I’m not.

I don’t regret one second of giving in to my feelings for Lauren.

I should probably tell him that, but how do I say it without sounding like a first-class asshole?

He’s my best friend.

He trusted me.

And I let him down.

That glare is starting to grate, so I set my bottle on the table with a sigh. “I should have told you.”

“Damn right,” he mutters.

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