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“Who’s that smile for? Something smells fishy.”

Chapter 6

I fumble, nearly droppingmy phone, and turn toward the voice. Curly blonde hair and a sly smile appear in my vision.

“Shit, Summer. Stop snooping.”

She waggles her brows. “You’re hiding something. Don’t think I didn’t notice all those strange trips to the library.”

“Unlike you, I can’t work hardandplay hard. If I play hard, I won’t graduate. And look what happened, I’m the only one who didn’t get into Columbia. All of you guys did!”

I groan and step out into the night, a sudden brisk wind whipping my hair over my face.

Gee, thanks, universe. Rain while you’re at it, won’t you?

The failure stings, but I’ll survive and find something else to go after because the clock keeps ticking and if I believe it, it’ll come true.

I know those mottos will come in handy.

“So, you going to the library again? Why don’t you just work from home? You guys have this gorgeous mansion and you’re rarely there.”

“I focus more when I’m around people.”

And it’s lonely at home. Eight thousand square feet with more rooms than a family could possibly use, and no one is ever there. Liam lives with his best friend, and Charles is rarely home. Walking around those empty hallways, thinking about better days when Mom visits or when Uncle Ian swings by and whisks us off to Coney Island or somewhere fun, is just plain depressing.

My phone pings, and she leans down to peer at the screen. I angle it away from her.

“You never answered my question. What were you looking at?”

“Just a message from my friend.” A tickle niggles my chest. Is that who Keeper is? A friend?

Well, of course he is, Lexy. What else can he be?

And I still have my missing in action “boyfriend,” Dayton, to deal with. The last few days I’d barely heard from him other than the occasional generic “I’m busy but miss you, babe,” and “my family wants to meet you in person—they’re excited about a Vaughn–Holden relationship, but don’t worry, babe, I don’t care about your last name.”

Maybe with graduation around the corner, I should just let our relationship fizzle out. That’s what a lot of high school couples do, right?

A headache forms at the base of my neck and I hear the distinct roar of a motorcycle.

“Firefly, over here!” Liam waves from a few feet in front of me, clad head to toe in black leather.

Before I answer, he tosses a helmet at me and he’s lucky my reflexes are fast because if they weren’t, that thing would’ve smacked me in the face.

“Warn a girl next time!” I grumble as he ruffles my hair before I put on the helmet and climb on the back of his bike. Summer laughs and throws us a peace sign before getting into her car.

“I knew you’d catch it. But then, if it hits you in the face, that’s probably not a bad idea. Get your head out of the clouds.”

The clouds.My heart skips a beat when I think of Keeper’s words.

“Why are you smiling like an idiot? You’re not thinking about the asshole, right?”

I shove him and ignore his questions. “Jerk face. What are you doing here?”

“Prying the answers out of you, Firefly. You’re always at the library and I want to know why. Is Dayton giving you shit about college? You know, you don’t need to listen to him, right?” Liam growls, and I canfeel the vibrations from under his jacket as he whisks us off toward Ravenswood.

“I never asked for your opinion,” I yell over the traffic noises.

“Shit! I can hear you just fine without all your screaming.”