Page 13 of Devious Knight
“Whatever. Come on, let’s gooo.”
“Fine.” She joins him and Annika, who links her arm with hers.
“We’re going shopping,” Sawyer announces, glancing mischievously at Savannah.
“Yeah. We have one of our special errands to run,” Savannah concedes. “So we’ll see you guys later.”
Sawyer tugs Savannah’s arm and the two saunter away while giggling like pixies.
Mackenzie and I look at each other, then shake our heads. We've come to know that those ‘special errands’ they’re talking about mean they’re going to swap places. They’re probably going to fool some poor guy who won’t know what hit him until it’s too late.
The last two people standing from the group are Mackenzie and me.
Since Annika started spending more time with Thorne, these days Mackenzie and I pretty much find ourselves like this. By ourselves.
I’d be inclined to worry about her when I head off to England but Mackenzie is the sort of girl you never have to worry about. She’ll always be okay and always have friends.
In high school she could still be the queen bee captain of the cheerleading squad and hang out with people like me.
She looks at me with perfectly arched brows. “Cake and coffee? Please say yes. I’m desperate. You look kind of desperate, too. I noticed Kade doing his creepy thing again.”
A chill crawls over my skin at the mention of Kade. “Yeah. He was.”
“Are you okay?” She holds my gaze, seriousness washing over her face.
“I’ll be fine.” I’ve been saying that for months and every time those words pass my lips I’m less okay than I was before.
“You don’t look fine, Isabelle.”
“I will be. Kade is just being an asshole again. I just have to ignore him.” If only it were that simple. “Also, when have I ever said no to cake?” I grin, ruffling the black lacey hem of my dress so my obvious need for a subject change doesn’t look as obvious.
“Never. Which is why I love you. You’re the perfect cheat-day partner.” Mackenzie pumps her fists as if she’s doing a cheer. She also seems to sense my avoidance tactic. I’m glad she goes with it. Kade is the last person I want to talk about. “I just wish I could eat as much as you and never gain a pound. I’m the one who’s doing ballet. And cheerleading on top of that.”
“Which means you’ll burn off the extra calories when you train.” I nod vigorously. We have the same conversation almost every day.
“I guess so.”
Mackenzie is always on the latest diet, but she looks like a Barbie doll. There’s not an ounce of fat on her for her to worry about, but I suppose I would be worried about my weight, too, if I were around a group of entitled girls who talk about body image all day every day.
She sighs and blows out a ragged breath. “At this point, I almost don’t care. This is an emergency so I need strong, strong coffee and triple chocolate cake. Consequences be damned.”
“What’s going on?” Something must have happened for her to turn to triple chocolate cake.
“Let’s talk away from here.” Cautiously, she glances over her shoulder at the group of Delta Kappas standing by the conference hall.
When Levi Sluskia ? looks back at her, I sense something is up.
She slips her arm through mine and we walk down the path.
“My dad wants to marry me off,” she explains when we reach the riverside and are away from everyone else.
I look at her, my lips parted in shock. “Are you serious?”
“Serious as fuck.”
I would hate to be in such a situation. Dad has always been open with me on the subject of marriage. While it’s the expectation, he promised he’d never force me to marry anybody. “Has your father picked someone for you?”
“Not yet, but he mentioned Levi, who I absolutely can’t stand.”