Crush

“Did you ever consider maybe the Creator had a plan for us, too? That we were created for a reason? That we weren’t just some horrible cosmic joke?”

I really want to do is bury my head in a good book and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist

What’s the point of being that old if you don’t know a lot about a lot?

He’s been in a funk all morning, and I’m going to need him to check his attitude at the door if I hope to keep my wits about me in the Boneyard. Hudson can make me forget everything else in a blink when he pushes my buttons. Zero to sixty in 2.8 seconds.

“What are you, a Bugatti?” he asks. “That’s the only car in the world that can go that fast.”

“So,” Xavier says, leaning forward so our gazes are locked. “He’s in there right now?” He taps the side of my head gently.

“Does he think he can shake me out?” Hudson asks dryly. “Or is he just trying to stare longingly into my eyes?”

“Emotions are absurdly messy all the time.”

“Girl, I like your style.”

“Good,” I tell him as I slap my hand against his. “Because you’re pretty much the only one in this whole school who does.”

“That’s totally not true,” Eden says, dropping back to wrap a hand around my shoulder. “Any girl who can keep Jaxon and Hudson Vega in line at the same time is a girl I can get behind.”

I just shake my head. “You’ve got a very broad definition of ‘in line.’”

“Hey!” Jaxon yelps. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I roll my eyes at him teasingly. “It means that I’m not sure who’s more trouble. You or your brother.”

“My brother,” he and Hudson say at the exact same time.

“I rest my case.”

“Any girl who can keep Jaxon and Hudson Vega in line at the same time is a girl I can get behind.”

I just shake my head. “You’ve got a very broad definition of ‘in line.’”

“Hey!” Jaxon yelps. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I roll my eyes at him teasingly. “It means that I’m not sure who’s more trouble. You or your brother.”

“My brother,” he and Hudson say at the exact same time.

“I rest my case.”

One of the great things about my friends is they tend not to associate with assholes—which is a good quality to have in friends, if you ask me

Stop, I say again as we start to walk out onto the field. I actually have to pay attention now.

“Okay, okay.” He stops at the sidelines and watches as we head, single file, onto the field. We’re almost to the purple line when he calls, “Hey, Grace?”

“Yeah?” I turn toward him instinctively.

He gives me a little chin nod. “Break a hip.”

I burst out laughing all over again, and as I do, my stomach unclenches and the last of my nerves dissolve