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CHAPTER 1
Ophelia
The notification soundfrom my phone goes off, making my heart beat faster. I know its him. I grab my phone from the bed beside me, and a glance at my cracked phone screen confirms my suspicions.
Carter:
Leave the window unlocked.
I chastisemyself as I mumble, “And for you, Carter… I will.”
I delete his text and toss the phone back on the bed with a sigh.
I know I’m worth dinner and a movie, but I keep my standards low. Carter smells good, he’s pretty to look at, and he has those V-shaped muscles that run diagonally from his hip bones to his pelvis. He’s beautiful, and all the girls at school want him, but I won’t go all the way with him.
I do just enough to keep him coming back. And I know I’ll open the window.
The truth is: I’m lonely.
Lazily, I moan, stretching my tired muscles as I pad barefoot across the room. I undo the latch and push the window open a crack for good measure. It’s been a mild winter, and the fresh air feels good.
I stare out into the night. The street is quiet here on our end of town. Carter lives in the estates they call the Plaza—sprawling, single-family homes with perfectly manicured green lawns circling a neighborhood park. I’ve never known what it feels like to have walls you don’t share with strangers.
The rumbling sound of a motorbike engine breaks the peace. To my left, I see two kids still wearing their green uniform blazers from our school, riding the raucous bike. A guy is driving, and a girl, her plaid skirt rolled up short as the popular girls do, is perched on the back, her arms wrapped around the boy’s waist.
I remain hovering by the window to see if I recognize them.
The girl on the back taps the driver on the shoulder. He slows down and pulls to a stop outside the door to my building. She tugs her helmet from her head and cradles it to her chest.
It’s Ailani, theKA LAHawaiian drinkware tumbler heiress. Groaning, I wish I’d ducked out of her sight below the window ledge, but it’s too late. I should have known she spotted me the moment the bike slowed down.
Ailani dates Giovanni, the guy driving the bike. He doesn’t bother removing his helmet. He’s one of the few Italian kids at our school, and his father is the CEO of a marketing company in Milan. The two lovebirds came into my work earlier, ordering fries and milkshakes.
Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be the kid on the other side of the counter. Being able to order whatever I want,then pay with Daddy’s credit card. Honestly, the entitlement doesn’t look appealing.
Ailani shakes her long braid from the helmet, beaming ten thousand euros of veneers at me. “Hey, Opie! Done flipping burgers for the night?”
“Yeah, thank God.”
“You look like Juliet waiting for her Romeo up there!” she laughs.
“I wish. It's just me here tonight. Well… goodnight.” I pull my head back in the window, but Ailani stops me, calling out to me again.
“Speaking of Romeos… I heard you and Carter were a thing.” Her voice tightens as she narrows her brows at me. “Is that true?”
“Carter?” My voice comes out high, off. “Why would you say that?”
She tilts her pretty face up to me and shrugs. “You know how rumors fly around our school.”
She waits for my reply, but I don’t have one.
“Anyway.” She lifts the helmet to put it back on. “Keep up the good work, Opie. Those fries were on point.” Her laughter disappears behind the helmet; the giggles aren’t altogether cruel but not exactly kind. The two of them speed off.
“Thanks, Ailani,” I mutter to the empty street. “Some of us have to work for our money.”
And why was she asking about Carter? Irritation gnaws at me. Are kids at school really talking about us? I haven’t told anyonethat he’s been coming over. I doubt he’s hanging out with his football buddies and bragging about hooking up with me.
We don’t even do that much—kissing, cuddling, and crazy oral sex. But I never let him return the favor. It’s too intimate with his face down there, and it’s messy.