“Ugh.” she sighs. “I’m not you, Big. I can’t just make a move. I’m confident, but I’m also traditional. I want him to ask me.” I shrug and she watches me apply my mascara, sucking her lip between her teeth.

“Ask me whatever it is you want to ask me before you chew off your bottom lip,” I say, giving her a sideways grin.

“Are you and Adam still a thing? Like, when this thing is over with Kip… are you going to date him again?”

I tuck my mascara bottle into the small silver sequin purse I brought and turn to face her, confused. “What? No, not even close. Adam was fun last year and we’re still good friends, but he’s president and he doesn’t have time for a girlfriend. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be me.”

“Why?” She follows quickly.

I shrug. “I don’t know, I’m just not into him like that anymore.” My Little has never asked me about Adam, not even when I was dating him. Why the sudden interest? “Why do you ask?”

She shrugs, turning back to the mirror. “I don’t know, I was just curious. Just wondering if you’d have someone to fall back on, I guess.” She says the words, but I know Cassie well enough to tell when she’s hiding something, and she definitely is. Does Adam still have a thing for me? Has he talked to her about me?

Oh good God, that is one meatball of drama I do not need on my plate of tangled noodles right now.

Jess, Ashlei and Erin burst into the bathroom, laughing as they push through the crowd of girls standing between us and them.

“J-Love is D-Runk,” Ashlei says, still giggling.

“I am not!” Jess counters through laughter, but she slurs her words a little. “I’m just having fun. You should try it.”

“No Violet Vulva tonight, J-Love?” I ask, quirking a brow.

She holds up her index finger and waves it side to side. “Nope. Let’s just say there’s a little garden that’s not so innocent anymore.”

“Ew!” We all scream, but then burst into laughter. Even Erin is laughing and seems relaxed, which makes me feel comfortable enough to goof off. We’ve been dancing all night and she’s acting cool, even when she sees me and Kip together. Maybe I was imagining things this morning.

“Kip gave me a gift in that garden, you skank. You ruined my Valentine’s Day.”

Jess waves her hand. “Oh hush, I didn’t fuck on your precious glasses, you prude. Just on the bench where he gave them to you.”

I shove her playfully. “Bitch.”

“You love me.” She sticks out her tongue before her face falls completely serious. “I have to pee.” And with that, she’s stumbling to a stall.

“Speaking of Kip, how’s it going?” Ashlei asks, leaning against the wall to take pressure off her heels. I rub my palms against my dress and try to act cool.

“It’s fine. We’re having fun, everything is going according to plan.”

Liar.

Erin’s face has fallen, her lips narrowing into a thin line. “The dance is almost over. I think you should do it soon. Use Adam.”

“What?!” Cassie and I both say at the same time. I turn to look at her, but her mouth is open, jaw to the floor staring at her Grand Big.

“Why would I need to use Adam?” I ask, my eyes still on my Little as I speak sideways to Erin.

“It’s believable. It’s obvious Adam still has a thing for you, so tell Kip you have feelings for him, too. Tell him you were using him to make Adam jealous and it worked.”

I swallow hard, the sickening feeling returning to my stomach. After the garden, I felt amazing – Kip and I danced all night, snuck drinks from his flask and bought drinks when it was tapped out, fed each other chocolate dipped strawberries and practiced poker faces with my glasses. We were goofing off all night, people-watching and being us. And I liked us. I wanted there to be an us for just a little while longer.

But time is up. Ding! Dinner is served in the way of my heart on a silver platter.

Erin eyes me hard, not budging.

“Um, I need some fresh air. Good luck, Big. I love you.” Cassie bolts out of the bathroom before I have the chance to stop her.

What the fuck? Way to leave me hanging, Little!

“Who died?” Jess asks, drying her hands on a paper towel as she rejoins us, her eyes scanning our faces. Ashlei gives me a sad smile, shrugging her shoulders a little before answering.

“It’s time.”

My throat feels like sandpaper, each breath rubbing it raw as I try to swallow it down. Jess sobers slightly, her eyes finding mine. For a few moments, we just stand there, everyone’s eyes on me as I grip my purse tight, my knuckles whitening. Finally, Jess reaches out for my hand.

“Well, I guess there’s no better time for shots than now.”

She pulls me from the bathroom, Ashlei and Erin close behind. We head toward the bar and I scan the crowd until I find Kip. It’s like he was watching me the entire time, as if his eyes are trained to spot me like the missing puzzle piece he needs to complete his picture. He smiles, his teeth blazing against his tan skin as he watches me. My heart races, thumping against my ribs like an erratic bird in a cage. It hits hard against my bones, desperate to break free from me, the captor. I try to calm it down, to soothe it with words in my head, but the only words I have to offer are the ones I’ve recited. The ones I’m about to say to Kip.

My heart wants a divorce, and I don’t blame it.

I wish I could separate from me, too.

I am high. Not from marijuana, but from a different kind of drug – one that only Skyler Thorne can provide. After last night, I wasn’t sure what tonight would be like. I was apprehensive, afraid of the fake smiles and high walls. But after the garden, Skyler opened up to me again. That same amazing smile came out, that playfulness that is only her. We’ve danced and kissed and everything feels perfect. And for once, I don’t give a damn about poker. Tonight is just about us, about escaping from reality for a while and living in the world where we get to be together like any other normal college students.

Drunk on a flask full of whiskey and each other.

I’ve felt her moving in the sexy red dress she’s wearing all night and now all I can think about is getting her out of here. I want to make her feel wanted, desired, needed. I can still hear the sweet sounds that escaped between her lips when my hands were on her body and all I want is to amplify them. I want to make her feel like nothing she’s ever felt before.

Fuck. They need to install cold showers at these damn venues.

“Might want to take it easy there, Poker Princess. I don’t want to have to carry you back to the house.” I laugh, stealing a kiss and the shot glass from Skyler’s hand before she has the chance to down it. We’ve already killed my flask and a few drinks and I just watched her take two shots in a row with Jess. Skyler actually introduced me to her sisters tonight, the ones she’s always with. I knew her Little, but tonight I met Jess and Ashlei who are absolutely crazy as fuck – in a good way. They’re fun, but definitely trouble dressed in high heels. Erin has been a little too close for comfort all night, too, and right now I feel her eyes glaring a hole in my side as I hold up the shot to toast the girls.

Only I would get wrapped up into my crazy ex-girlfriend’s Little.

Skyler doesn’t fight me when I take the shot. She doesn’t spout off some feisty line or smile or punch me in the side. Instead, her immense blue eyes grow even larger as she watches me drink it and I notice a slight tremble in her lip. I finish the shot and grab her hand, tugging her away from the bar.

“Are you okay?”

She doesn’t say anything. For a moment, she stands there staring at where her hand is grasped in mine, almost like she’s studying the way our fingers lace together. Finally, she simply shakes her head no.