Page 71 of Blackwood

You’re not his to hold, not his by right.

He’s playing a part, but I wrote the play,

And you, Izzy, were mine before he ever looked your way.

He’s attached a screenshot. One Knox must’ve posted to The Trifecta’s Instagram stories. It’s from the final beat of our dance with the guys. Josh has his hand on my waist, my leg hooked up his hip, our faces too close to be innocent.

Ellie leans over. “Who is it?”

I click my phone off. “Nobody. Let’s go dance.”

Chapter 25

CADE

Carrington Row - Wexley University

541 Days Since Zeke’s Death

I don’t do Row parties. Never have. Too loud. Too drunk. Too full of testosterone and bad decisions. However, it’s about to be my senior year, and something told me to show up tonight. Maybe it was Cal. Maybe it was August. Maybe it was some unhinged whisper in my head that said,go see what all the damn fuss is about.

And I’m so glad I did. Because there she is.

She’s in deep purple, curves framed by slits and cutouts that scream confidence without begging. Hair long and black, cheeks flushed, and those damn steel eyes. Every move she makes is sharp and sinfully fluid, like the music’s part of her blood. I’ve never seen anything like it. She dances like the floor belongs to her. And fuck me, maybe it does.

Ellie’s best friend. Her shadow. The girl who stole a jet ski on our family vacation and nearly got us banned from the entire resort. The girl I used to pick up from parties at two a.m. barefoot, laughing, and begging me for fries and mint chocolate chip like it was life or death.

I didn’t really see her then. Not until Nashville. And even then… not like this.

God, she’s beautiful.

Ellie’s beside her, golden and chaotic like always. Haley’s on the other side, sharp, hot, and untamed. Together they’re The Trifecta. But it’s her. The girl in the middle. The one I can’t look away from.

Cal’s arm slides around her waist as the crowd roars. He tips back a shot with her, smug as hell, wearing that stupid grin like he knows he’s touching something sacred. My jaw tightens.

I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t want. But I do. Because it’s her. I feel it in my chest. I feel it in the sharp punch of breath I lose every time she laughs. When her head tilts back and that smile flashes like a damn firework, I swear something inside me breaks. She’s the one Lex and I swore we’d find.

And the craziest part? I’ve known her since before I could fucking drive.

I step off to the side, near the bar where the crowd thins and the view gets clearer. I grab a beer I won’t drink, and let it sweat in my hand while I watch her. She’s out there now, hips rolling to the beat, sweat glistening across her collarbone like diamonds. Her girls are with her, a synchronized mess of mayhem and sin.

She flips her hair over her shoulder, grinds low with one of the football players, then spins away before he can even touch her. Unbothered. Untouchable. Unaware that every part of me is currently wired to her.

I slip a hand into my pocket and pull out my phone, heart pounding like I’ve already jumped off a damn cliff.

ME:Babe. I think I found her.

LEX:Cade. I love you. But don’t you fucking dare get my hopes up unless you’re sure.

LEX:You bring home another maybe and I swear to God it’s your ass on the line. Literally.

ME:It’s Bella

LEX:Bella? As in Ellie’s little glitter shadow you used to complain about all the fucking time? The one you had to drive to Philly to pick her drunk little ass up at three in the morning?

ME:Technically yes… but trust me. It’s her. I know it is.

LEX:I hope you’re right. Don’t fuck it up. I mean it. Your fucking ass Cade.