Devious Little Liars: A High School Bully Romance (Saint View High Book 1)

by Elle Thorpe

  “You’re perfect, you know that?” he said, kissing my shoulder.

  “We are,” I corrected. “We’re perfect.”

  In that moment, I believed it.

  30

  Lacey

  The next morning, I woke up warm, cozy, and wrapped around Banjo. There wasn’t any other place in the world I wanted to be but right there in his arms. My limbs were heavy with relaxation, my breathing slow. His arm slung across my naked torso drew my attention. I traced over the smattering of freckles on his skin, winding my fingers from his wrist, up his forearms, and along his biceps.

  “Morning, princess,” he mumbled without opening his eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Late,” I whispered back. “We need to get up and check out.”

  His arm tightened around me. “And if I just wanted to stay here all day?”

  “The hotel might have a problem with that. And my aunt would probably come looking for me.”

  “She thinks you’re at Jagger’s. She’ll never find you, and then I can keep you.”

  My heart clenched. He painted a pretty picture with those words. A day of lying around, naked with the boy who’d taken my virginity in such a perfect fashion was truly tempting. But I knew Banjo wouldn’t have the cash to pay for another night in this hotel, even if it was cheap. And I wouldn’t embarrass him by paying for it myself. Plus, I’d only just smoothed things over with Selina. I didn’t want to risk ruining it again.

  I kissed his shoulder, then wriggled out from his grasp, searching the floor for wherever I’d dropped my bag.

  Banjo shifted over onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. The sheets rode low on his hips, barely covering his erection. “You sore?” he asked, watching me pull on clothes.

  I shrugged. “Only a tiny bit.”

  A frown creased his forehead at that, and he looked so adorably worried that I put one knee on the mattress and leaned across him to kiss it away. “You didn’t hurt me. Last night was great.”

  His hand grabbed the back of my neck, and he deepened the kiss.

  I batted him away. “Stop it, before I fall back into bed with you. Come on, get up.”

  “Already up,” he drawled, cocky smirk back in place on his tanned face. “Want to come see?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Not what I meant, and you know it.”

  He grinned, then jumped out of bed, erection jutting out from his hips. I stopped what I was doing, just to watch him.

  He made a show of checking the time. “Still got ten minutes ’til checkout…”

  I threw his T-shirt at him. Because if he didn’t cover up soon, I’d be tempted to take him up on that offer.

  Banjo got dressed in record time, and we did a quick scout around the room, making sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. He opened the door and waited for me before pulling it closed behind us. I shifted my bag onto my shoulder, and when Banjo put his arm around me, you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

  “Thank you for last night,” I said quietly.

  He dropped a kiss on my upturned face.

  “Well, well, isn’t this interesting? The princess and the court jester, doing the walk of shame.”

  I stopped and spun around at the familiar voice that came from behind us.

  Banjo glanced over his shoulder and groaned. “What do you want, Gillian?”

  Gillian carried a duffle bag, last night’s cheerleader’s uniform poking out of the open zipper. My Banjo bubble popped. I hadn’t even considered there might have been other kids from school staying at the same hotel. But of course there would have been. It was a long drive back to Saint View, and the game had ended late. There’d probably been a party. The Saint View kids wouldn’t have thought twice about crashing. Or hell, maybe they’d had their own, elsewhere in the hotel. I hadn’t even considered it. I’d been too caught up in what I’d been planning to do with Banjo.

  She widened her eyes, all fake innocence. “I don’t want anything. Just merely tucking this away for future reference. See you two back in Saint View.” She shot me a triumphant look, like she’d won something over me. Then turned on her heel and flounced down the stairs, disappearing out of sight.

  “Hey,” Banjo said, putting his hands on my arms and twisting so I faced him. “You’re trembling. What’s wrong?”

  I glanced down at my hands. They were balled into fists, and he was right. I trembled head to toe.

  “I’m going after her.” I still hadn’t had it out with her over what she’d done to me at school.

  Jagger had managed to get the worst of the spray paint from my locker, but it had left an ugly red smear that looked like blood. I was so sick of Gillian’s shit, and this weekend, she’d seen me kissing not only Rafe outside his car, but leaving a hotel room wrapped up in Banjo’s arms. I may as well have just given her a can of accelerant to throw on my burning body. This would be all over school by the time we got down to Banjo’s car if I didn’t do something about it. I took off after her.

  Banjo caught me around the waist before I’d taken three steps. “Hey, chill. As much as I’d love to see you and Gillian in a catfight, that isn’t happening on my watch. Let her go. She isn’t worth it.”

  “She’s going to tell everyone. About you and me. And Rafe. She’ll tell Colt.”

  Banjo shook his head. “Let her.”

  I sighed and pushed away from him, heading down the stairs, but no longer intent on chasing down Gillian. Banjo chattered beside me about the game, as if he’d instantly forgotten about her. But I hadn’t forgotten. And I knew it would only be a matter of time until the entire thing blew up in my face.

  Banjo dropped me home, and I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between moping over whatever Gillian’s plan for exposing me would be. And girlish squeals as I replayed the previous night with Banjo. Meredith called me right in the middle of my inner turmoil.

  “What time are you picking me up?” she asked without saying hello.

  “For what?”

  “The Saint View beach party? Remember? You said you’d give me a ride?”

  “Oh, yeah. That.”

  “Oh no. No, no, no. Why do you sound like you’d rather eat your own eyeballs than go to a party tonight?”

  “One. Ew. Two. Do we have to go? I’m not in the mood to be around people.”

  “Oh. Okay then.”

  Guilt ebbed at my conscience. I’d promised to spend some time with Meredith. And introduce her to my Saint View friends. I missed her. And I really did want to somehow combine the two sides of my life. That was never going to happen if I sat at home on a Saturday night, licking my wounds and waiting for Gillian to destroy me. It wasn’t in my nature to be so easily defeated.

  “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  “Yay!” Meredith yelled. “Owen is coming, too. He’s meeting us there after his polo match or something.”

  I rolled my eyes. I should have known. “Did you invite anyone else I should know about?”

  “Nope! Just the two of us. See you at eight!”

  I hung up and flopped back on my bed. It was already mostly dark outside, and if I was picking her up in less than two hours, I needed to get ready. So I pulled up Spotify, connected my phone to the Bluetooth speakers in my bedroom, and put on a Chainsmokers album to get me in a party mood. I wished I had something to drink. It would have been easy enough to sneak downstairs and steal a bottle of something from the fully stocked bar my uncle had kept. But thinking about going to his den, where he’d spent so much of his time, just saddened me. The den had a smell to it that I’d always associated with him, and I didn’t want to remember how much that smell had always comforted me. Or worse, find it no longer smelled like him at all. That would be unbearable.

  Plus, I was driving, so drinking wasn’t a good idea. Instead, I got up and made myself get dressed, knowing I’d feel better once I was actually out. I wasn’t going to hide in my bedroom because Gillian was a bitch. By the time I picked up Meredith, my mood w
as a thousand percent better.

  She climbed into the passenger seat and threw her arms around me. We hugged awkwardly across the gearshift.

  “It’s been forever!” she declared.

  It hadn’t even been weeks, but admittedly, that was weird for us. For years, we’d seen each other every day. We’d spent each school day together and then hung out all weekend, in between my music practices. A twinge of guilt flickered when I thought about my music. This was supposed to be my year. And then my uncle had died. I’d started at Saint View. Lost my head, and maybe my heart to a boy. Maybe more than one boy. Started some sort of war with another. And music had been pushed to the back burner. There was just too much going on. Banjo and I hadn’t even started our music assignment, and the recital wasn’t that far away. It was already October, and the end of the year wouldn’t be far behind. I vowed to talk to him about it tonight and nail down a time to practice.

  “So tell me what’s been happening at Edgely? Anything new and exciting? Is everyone losing their minds, suddenly being in a co-ed school?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I’d be surprised if someone isn’t pregnant already.”

  Meredith checked her reflection in the little mirror on the back of the sun visor. “Rumor mill says it’s Calia Jankins. She’s been mysteriously absent after hooking up with Leyton Cowley.”

  “No way? She was as prim and proper as they come in Providence.”

  “Just goes to show, you never really know a person…”

  For some reason, I thought of Colt. I barely knew him at all, and yet, somehow, he was never far from my mind. It irked me I still didn’t know why he hated me so much.

  “And what about your Saint View posse? You and Banjo seemed pretty tight at the beach the other day.”

  I chewed my lip, trying to stop the smile spreading across my face.

  Meredith knew me too well and pounced. “Girl! You went there, didn’t you?”

  I shrugged. “Might have.”

  “And? Don’t hold out on me, I want all the details.”

  Happiness bubbled through me until I felt lighter than air, and I spilled all the dirty secrets of my night with Banjo, while my best friend hooted and hollered from the passenger seat. It made the drive to the beach pass quickly, and Meredith was still fanning herself as we pulled into the gravel parking lot.

  “Well, now I’m even more determined to get me a Saint View boy tonight. I want someone to throw me down on the bed and do it rough and dirty.”

  “I’m sure if you lead with that, you can have any guy here you want.” I laughed at the idea of walking up to a random stranger and telling him she wanted to be thrown onto a bed and taken roughly. Thing is, I wouldn’t put it past her. She’d do it, without batting an eyelid.

  “Lead on, sister.”

  We picked our way over the sandy path that led down to the beach through the sand dunes. Darkness had completely fallen while we’d been driving here, and we both flicked our phone flashlights on in order to make sure we didn’t trip over dried seaweed. But once we hit the beach, the glow from several bonfires cast a pleasant glow, and we both shoved our phones in our pockets.

  Meredith hooked her arm through mine, and we giggled together, wandering around the crowd looking for familiar faces. Or for faces Meredith might want to know intimately before the night was through. I searched the crowd for Banjo or Rafe but couldn’t see either of them. In fact, it was an oddly small turnout for a beach party. I hadn’t seen a single guy from the football team. I spotted Jagger sitting with some friends and towed Meredith in her direction. I introduced them quickly, and to my surprise, Meredith threw her arms around Jagger. Jagger glanced at me over Meredith’s shoulder, a ‘what the hell?’ look on her face.

  “Thank you for looking after my girl. I already adore you for that,” Meredith gushed.

  At that, Jagger shrugged and hugged her back. But then they both turned to me.

  Jagger smiled. “She’s been a handful. But I kind of like her.”

  “And she kinda likes you, too,” I quipped.

  “Aww, group hug!” Meredith called, pulling both of us in.

  When we moved away, Meredith’s eye caught on something over my shoulder. “Okay, don’t look, but who is that hottie sitting across from the bonfire?”

  Of course, Jagger and I both turned around.

  “My God!” Meredith hissed, “don’t you know the meaning of the word ‘don’t’?”

  Jagger laughed but grabbed Meredith’s hand. “Trenton Parks. Come on, I’ll introduce you. You coming, Lacey?”

  I shook my head. “I’m going to get us some drinks. I’ll be back.”

  Jagger nodded, and I knew she’d take good care of Meredith for a few minutes. Judging from the way her and Trenton were ogling each other, by the time I got back, they’d have their tongues down each other’s throats anyway.

  I cast an eye around the beach, settling on a smaller group huddled in a circle, and determined that was where the keg was. I made a beeline in that direction, dry sand squishing between my toes with every step. I still couldn’t see Banjo anywhere, so I shot him off a quick text. I stopped when the little bubble appeared, signaling he was typing a message, and waited for his reply. It came back almost immediately.

  Banjo: Sorry, babe, Coach called a last-minute meeting. The entire team is here. Cheerleaders, too. Call you in the morning.

  Disappointment deflated my good mood. That meant I’d come out tonight for nothing. I’d wanted Meredith to get to know my friends, and two out of three now weren’t coming. But one glance back at Meredith and Jagger, and I realized it didn’t matter. The two of them chatted up a storm with Trenton, all three laughing with the glow of the fire on their faces. Meredith sat closer to Trenton than any stranger needed to sit to another. Unless they were hoping said stranger would lean in for a kiss.

  I didn’t know Trenton at all, and I’d have to ask Jagger about him later, but for now, Meredith and Jagger both looked happy. That pleased me. It was the beginning of my two worlds coming together.

  “Lacey,” a voice called to my left.

  I peered into the darkness of another beach path. I had to wait a few moments for the guy to move into the firelight, but when he did, I realized it was only Owen.

  “Hey.” He smiled at me.

  “Hey, yourself. You made it.”

  “Thanks for the invite.”

  I didn’t mention I hadn’t actually invited him. That was beside the point now anyway. Plus, it was nice to see him. I still knew so few kids at Saint View, and they all had their cliques. With mine being mostly AWOL, it didn’t hurt to have an extra person to hang out with. “I was just going to the keg to get drinks. Come with?”

  He nodded eagerly, then threw an arm over my shoulder, squeezing me. “So how have you been? It’s so good to see you without your bodyguard.”

  “Bodyguard?” I frowned. “Oh. You mean Banjo?”

  Owen wrinkled his nose. “Is that his real name?”

  “Yes.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  I bristled. “What exactly is wrong with his name?”

  Owen must have heard the tone in my voice because he smiled widely, shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing. It’s just unusual. Let’s get those drinks.”

  I led the way to the keg, and Owen held out plastic cups while I filled them. We moved back to the fire, and I took an overflowing cup from him, taking a large gulp. Fizzy beer filled my mouth. He handed a cup to Meredith, and I gave an extra one to Jagger. They were both still deep in conversation with Trenton, so Owen and I sat beside them, and I let him dominate the conversation with his polo stories.

  The fire flicked up orange, blue, and green flames. They were magnetic, stealing my attention, though Owen didn’t seem to mind. After a while, I stopped pretending to listen. The flames drew me in, pulling me closer, calling to me. The heat became uncomfortable, and instinct yelled to move back, but I stubbornly refused. Was this what my
uncle had felt, lying on the floor while the flames destroyed everything around him? Had he been conscious while they’d inched closer? Or had he died the moment the knife had entered his body? Sharp pain splintered through me at the thought of him bleeding out, maybe begging for his life, while his murderer lit a fire around him.

  “Whoa, Lacey. Get back.”

  I blinked, Owen’s face coming back into focus. He grabbed my wrist, a little too sharply, and examined it. “Are you burned?”

  I pulled my hand away. “I’m fine!” I said too loudly, shaking myself out of my own head. But that only served to spin my vision in dizzying circles. I moved back to the edge of the group, letting the cool night air blow over me. My skin felt chapped and raw from the heat of the flames, like I’d been sunbathing on the beach at the high point of the day.

  At some point, Owen handed me another beer, and we tapped our plastic cups together. I giggled when beer sloshed over onto the sand.

  “Oops,” I laughed. I glanced around. “Where did Jagger and Meredith go?” They weren’t sitting beside me anymore.

  He looked at me a little strangely. “Jagger went to make a phone call. And Meredith went off with that Trenton guy. She said she’d find her own way home. Remember?”

  I didn’t remember at all, but I had been lost in the flames for a while and hadn’t really been paying attention. I shrugged.

  “Are you okay?” Owen asked, tilting my head in his direction.

  My vision blurred for a moment before he came into focus. “Yeah, sure. I’m fine. I think I just—oh shit.” My stomach lurched.

  Owen’s concern amped up. “What? What’s wrong?”

  I jerked my head toward the fire. On the other side, a pair of dark eyes watched me, his usual frown marring his beautiful face.

  Owen frowned. “You know that guy?”

  “Yeah, I know him.” Sort of. Did anyone really know Colt? Surely there was someone he let in. Maybe he poured all his secrets out to Gillian while he was dick deep inside her. Heat flushed my body, and my head spun. I didn’t want to think about him dick deep in anyone.