Page 27 of Fighting Fate

She waves at him with one finger. “Have fun.”

He kisses her on the cheek before jumping up from the table, grabbing his food, and running off toward the nearby table.

I wrinkle my nose. “Babe?”

She shrugs. “We’re talking.”

I give her a pointed look. “He kissed you on the cheek in the cafeteria. A guy doesn’t do that unless he wants to make his intentions clear.”

Harper’s cheeks turn as pink as her hair. “I just got out of a relationship. It’s too soon to jump into another one.”

“It was aone weekrelationship,” I remind her. “You and Finley barely dated long enough for you to call him your boyfriend. And it’s clear you like Reed.”

“I can’t just jump into another relationship right away.” She looks at Hunter. “You know dating rules, right? I have to wait a little while first.”

Hunter shrugs. “I’ve never had a girlfriend, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t really a time limit on these things, especially when your last relationship only lasted a week.”

I bite my lip to keep from grinning.

“Okay, fine.” Harper throws her hands up in defeat. “I’m scared to commit. There, I said it.”

I furrow my brows. “What do you mean you’re scared to commit?”

“Because.” She frowns. “I was super into Finley. I thought it was love at first sight and that we’d be together forever. Then we started dating. And within two days after we decided to commit to one another, it grew stale and boring. I just don’t want that to happen with Reed. Because what I felt for Finley is nothing in comparison to Reed.”

Hunter laughs, so I elbow him in the gut, glaring at him. I turn my attention back to Harper. “You can’t let what happened with Finley scare you off from ever committing again. If you like Reed more, things aren’t going to get boring like that.”

“What Trouble said.” Hunter leans forward. “Finley was exciting because he was your first real boyfriend. He was fun because he paid attention to you. It wasn’t real attraction. You like Reed and he likes you. What more is there to think about? Date him already.”

Harper tilts her head to the side. “Huh, maybe you’re right. Finleywasthe first guy to ever really show interest in me.”

“Kind of like how Cove was obsessed with Preston for a while,” Hunter says. “Not because she liked him, but because the guy wouldn’t leave her alone.”

I roll my eyes. “I thought Preston was hot until I really talked to him. Clearly I’ve matured since then.”

Hunter snorts.

“Should we talk about the dead like that?” Harper asks.

I chew on my lip, almost forgetting that Harper doesn’t know.

The entire school thinks that Preston Lomax is dead. They think he died in a car accident a few weeks ago, but Hunter and I know the truth. When Preston tried to kill me, Hunter had him taken to a high security prison in Switzerland. At this point, I’m sure he’d rather be dead.

“Dead or alive, the guy was a womanizer.” I raise an eyebrow, daring her to argue.

Harper grins. “If he were alive, he’d probably like hearing you call him a womanizer.”

She’s probably right about that.

What made me think crushing on a guy who convinced five cheerleaders to share him as their date at a dance was a good idea? Clearly, I am as naive and stupid as Hunter most likely thinks I am.

“Harper, maybe you can pick out my next crush. Because, clearly I’m not good at picking guys,” I say.

She puts a hand to her chest. “What makes you think I’m good at picking guys? Or are you forgetting my last boyfriend had that title for a week? And I would’ve dumped him sooner but we didn’t talk for, like, four days.”

How did I miss out on all that? I feel like a bad friend. Then I realize I probably missed it because Preston Lomax tried to kill me and I’ve been dealing with the stress of having a hit out on my life.

Despite that, I really should try to be a better friend.

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