Page 54 of The Broken Note

“She’s good. And no, we haven’t raised enough funds yet.” Serena squares her shoulders and forces a smile. “Don’t try to change the subject. We were talking about you and Dutch, remember?”

“Exactly!” Breeze shrieks.

I scrunch my nose. “Can we not?”

“Cadence, open your eyes and smell the damn coffee!”

I sniff her drink. “It smells like iced tea.”

“We talked about this!” Breeze shrieks, smacking her hand on the table and making all the cups and cutlery dance. “We don’t date jerks, remember? We don’t date people who treat us badly. That’s not chic. It’s not romantic. It’s just heartache waiting to happen.”

“I said I’m not dating him,” I mumble.

“So you just waltz around tonguing hot bad boys in dark stairwells for fun? Is that it? Because that’s not the Cadence I know.”

I nab another fry. My stomach’s starting to growl. “Are you going to spend my entire break yelling at me over gossip?”

“It’s not gossip if there are pictures.”

“Like pictures can’t be taken out of context?”

“How else can you explain a photo where Dutch Cross, the very recognizable leader of The Kings, has his hands buried under your skirt?”

I clear my throat. The red flush is spreading from my face to my chest. “Photoshop.”

Serena dunks fries into her milkshake. Laughter shakes her shoulders. “Very plausible.”

“Thank you.”

Breeze huffs. “You’re stuck, Cadey. You’re head over heels and now you’re totally blind to all the red flags.”

“I’m not blind to them, Breeze. I’m just… dealing with a lot. And Dutch is stubborn. Even if I tell him to bug off, he always shows up.”

“And harasses you?” She peers at me. “Does he still harass you?”

I keep quiet, but the truth is I don’t know how to answer that. Dutch helped me find my sister. He bought me shoes when he saw I was limping. He took care of me during lunch. Today, he could have flipped about the ring, but he didn’t. He didn’t even want the money back.

The Old Dutch—the beast who was trying to run me out of Redwood Prep, would never have been so calm and understanding.

“Why aren’t you answering?” Breeze scowls.

“Because I’ve already told you I’m not dating him. Anything I say won’t change your mind.”

Breeze narrows her eyes at me.

I narrow mine back at her.

“Ehem,” Serena raises a hand, “not that I’m Team Dutch or anything, but he wasn’talwaysa bully to Cadence. There were times he was almost sweet.”

“Name one.”

Serena scrunches her nose, a sign she’s in deep thought. “He upgraded her meal card. She gets the VIP treatment at lunch now. First in line. First choice. All the best food.”

“Food? He’s a nice guy because he gives her food?”

I nudge Breeze in the side. “Food is Serena’s love language.”

“Whatever.” Breeze rubs her forehead. “I’m getting a headache.” Her eyes flash on me. “Just know that if Dutch Cross ever shows up in front of me, I’ll karate chop him in the neck. I don’t care that he and his brothers are hot as hell. Or that his eyes are pretty. Or that he’s talented with a guitar. Or that he’s rich and—”