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Kai, Lyric, River, and I, along with a handful of Maisie’s other close friends, spent the entire afternoon decorating and getting everything set up for tonight. I don’t have to wonder if she’ll be surprised. I know she will be.

It’s going to put last year’s party to shame. Thoughpartymight be a bit of a stretch. We really just went to dinner and then went back to our dorm and got drunk on alcohol Kai bought for us. It was low-key but fun. This year, however, Lyric and I wanted to do something more for her. Part of it is because we both feel guilty for being so MIA this year. The other is because we love Maisie and want to show her how much.

It can’t be easy for her, watching her two best friends so happy in their love lives while she’s still living in denial over the fact that Macallan Stewart thwarted her last year and she’s spent every day since trying to exact her revenge, to no avail.

Not that any of us are going to point this out to her. I’ve tried, and it did nothing but piss her off, so I’ve opted to bite my tongue and let her do whatever it is she feels like she needs to.

Besides, I’m not really one to judge. I’ve done worse in the name of getting the last word in.

“Are we almost there, at least?” she asks the group.

“Two minutes,” Kai says from the driver’s seat.

“And Jackson is meeting us there?” she confirms.

“Yep. He’s already there,” Lyric answers this time. “Someone made us late.” Lyric turns her head to look at me, giving me a pointed stare.

“Don’t glare at me. Talk to your brother.” I hitch a thumb at the man next to me, who looks so handsome in his dark jeans and blue button-down that I can barely keep my eyes off him... Or my hands, for that matter. Hence why we’re late...

“I offer no apologies.” He drops an arm over my shoulder, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Worth every second,” he murmurs so only I can hear.

“I’m going to pretend like you were busy unpacking and not”—she gestures between the two of us—“doing whatever it is you were probably doing.” She makes a face like she’s just bit into something bitter.

“Like you two don’t fuck like rabbits,” Maisie fires to Lyric with a knowing smirk.

“Um, brother in the car.” River shifts uncomfortably.

“Like you have room to talk.” She turns her attention to us. “You two are worse than they are.” She points at Kai and Lyric. “And that’s saying something.”

“I offer no apologies,” River repeats a second time, his smirk morphing into a full-blown smile.

“I’ve been abandoned for dick.” She huffs, but it doesn’t hide the glint of humor in her expression.

“There are worse things to be abandoned for,” I offer.

“Spoken like someone who’s not on the receiving end of her two best friends leaving her high and dry.”

“Mais...” Lyric starts.

“I told you I’d stay with you for the rest of the semester,” I remind her.

“And have to deal with you two...” She gestures between me and River. “I’d rather live alone.”

“At least this way, you get the room all to yourself...” I nudge her again with a lift of my eyebrows. “You know, to do... whatever.”

“I could do that even when you lived there.” She nudges me back.

“Yeah, but now you can do it without causing my eyeballs to bleed,” I tease.

“We’re here,” Kai announces before Maisie can say anything back, pulling the car into a vacant spot across from the restaurant.

“What is this place?” Maisie looks up at the awning, where the name is so faded it’s illegible.

For someone who grew up not far from here, we had to find a place she wasn’t familiar with so that she wouldn’t piece together what we were up to. This was Kai’s suggestion. Whenyou walk in, it’s just like any other run-of-the-mill bar and grill. But the cool thing about this place is they have a back room that’s cut off from the rest of the restaurant, with its own private bar and stage, which is what we rented out for the night. Not that any of us girls are legally old enough to drink, but that’s where dating older men comes in handy.

“Claire’s,” Lyric answers. “And don’t judge it just yet. I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but trust me, the food is amazing.”

Kai kills the engine and we all climb out of the car.