Page 39 of Filthy Little Pretties

“Your Grey.”

Her head snaps to mine, and without hesitation, she answers.

“Absolutely.”

“And Liam?”

She pulls down the mirror and rubs her finger in the shiny goop before bringing it to her full lips, rubbing them together.

“He’s my Liam,” she finally answers, grabbing a McDonald’s napkin to wipe her finger. “I’ll never choose a favorite. You should know that by now.”

Brake lights begin to flicker, and the sound of people crawling back inside their cars surrounds us. I release the brake and twist the key, the purr of the engine sounding. Donovan smiles at me as I shift into first and look at her.

“Times have changed, Cherry. I’m gonna make you want to pick.”

“Never. Gonna. Happen,” she mouths, relaxing back into her seat.

Donovan

IWATCHED THE SUN SETbehind the trees, leaving a chill in the air. Grey pulled over an hour ago and put the top up, giving me his school sweater out of the trunk before getting back on the road. It’s moments like this, when I see the thoughtful boy inside the man, that terrify me.

It’s one thing to be attracted to someone and quite another tolikethem. Those ideas can most certainly be mutually exclusive, but it’s when they cross paths that hearts can be broken, and bad ideas can fester. Grey and I are best friends, so it goes without saying that I like him. But I also worry that I’m beginning tolikehim, too.

“Jesus, it’s so dark out here.”

“That’s the country for you.” He smiles, glancing at me as I roll the sleeves on his sweatshirt up.

“The roads are empty. It’s creepy.”

The car begins to slow as he pulls to the side of the road, causing me to look around nervously. “What are you doing? Is something wrong?”

“No, Little Miss Paranoid. Do you want to see how fast this baby goes?”

A smile breaks out on my face, and I almost bounce in my seat. Hell yes, I want to find out.

“Umm, yes.”

He wags his eyebrows and hits the button for the top. But I wince. “Wait, maybe we shouldn’t. I don’t want to get you in trouble. What if the police catch us? My father literally just told me not to end up in one of his papers.”

He laughs and shakes his head.

“Is this you on the straight and narrow? What do you think, there are photographers hidden in the trees? Don’t worry, I do what I want, remember…without apology. I thought I was the king of the Upper East Side.”

“This isn’t the city, jerk.”

“Relax. You can have a little fun without the roof coming down. I promise not to tell.”

My eyes search his, debating the word fun. It’s been dirty to me for so long. Fun was pills, alcohol, sex, and parties. Fun was self-destruction and the pain of knowing I failed each time I tried. But I’m not trying to implode anymore. Fun gets to be what it is…fun.

“Fine, but if we get caught, I’m telling the cops you kidnapped me.”

“Fair enough.” He grins before revving the engine.

I bounce up and down, gripping the dash, but it’s of no use once he guns the car, peeling out so fast that my body is thrust back onto the fine leather seat.

“Holy shit, Grey!”

But I don’t hear him answer; instead, I feel the kick of the engine as he shifts. My body bobs forward and whips backward again, but this time I grab the top of the windshield on the convertible, holding strong. My eyes grow wide as we speed down the long stretch of empty highway.