Wild Like Us (Like Us 8)

Maybe I should go to college and take up Acting 101 to save other people from myself. “I didn’t see anything,” I lie.

She smiles, but her face is as red as mine. I mean, we’re all pretty open and talk about sex, but it’s not like I’ve ever heard Thatcher tell Jane that he wants to stick it in.

“That is a big fat lie, Sullivan Meadows,” Jane notes sweetly. “But I appreciate you lying on my behalf.”

“What’d you see?” Moffy asks me.

I look to Jane, wondering if she wants this unleashed.

“A sext,” Jane answers.

“You sext?” Luna smiles but glances nervously at her own phone. Waiting for her dad’s reply. Uncle Lo might just be drawing out his reaction to put his daughter on edge.

“Sometimes.” Jane studies the way Luna stares at her phone. “Did your dad respond?”

“Just now, he did. He said, we’ll talk more when you’re home. Glad you’re okay, and remind me—what’s Akara’s number again? He’s going to call Akara.” Her head whips to Moffy. “This is bad, right? If he’s calling Akara, then he’s going to get Donnelly fired.”

“Kits won’t fire him,” I cut in. “He wouldn’t.”

Moffy nods. “And Farrow will vouch for Donnelly.”

“Plus,” Jane adds, “Uncle Loren already has Akara’s number. So he’s most likely trying to make you sweat it out.”

Luna’s shoulders loosen. Relaxing more, she dips back into the thick mud.

All this talk of Donnelly reminds me of something. “I heard that Donnelly hasn’t brought anyone back to his apartment in a while,” I tell my cousins. “No hookups or dates. Akara and Banks said it was strange for him.”

The air thickens more than the mud.

What the fuck? You’d think I dropped a heavy-duty explosive, when I thought I was just giving a tiny morsel of bodyguard gossip that I could share with family. No one says anything. Jane is looking to Moffy, who looks to Luna.

“What’s going on?”

Now Jane is looking to Luna.

Luna draws a muddy star on the stone ledge, but her amber eyes ping between all three of us before landing on me. “I wanted to tell you for a long time—I really did, but I couldn’t. The more people keep finding out, the harder it is to keep.”

My frown deepens, heart starting to race. “About what?” Drugs. I can’t help but jump to secret drug usage because of Beckett.

“A year ago,” Luna begins, letting her light-brown hair get matted with mud, “Donnelly and I hooked up—just oral. On me.”

My brain explodes. Holy fuck.

She continues fast, “If my dad ever finds out, it could be ten times worse than whatever his reaction is to Donnelly tattooing me, so I’ve been trying to keep this under wraps. Different people just keep finding out on accident, but I’ve hated that you don’t know.”

That actually makes me feel better. But when she lists out who knows—Jane, Maximoff, Thatcher, Farrow, Oscar, and Jack—my stomach somersaults knowing just how on the outs I’ve been. I guess Charlie and Beckett aren’t aware either, but I always thought Luna and I were closer after rooming together.

With how poorly I lie, maybe Luna felt like she couldn’t trust me. I guess I can’t fault that reasoning. I wouldn’t want to accidentally cause her or Donnelly pain if he were to get fired.

“You can’t tell anyone, please,” Luna pleads. “Not even Akara.” She barely pauses. “Donnelly is way older than me, so murder might actually be on my dad’s agenda if he finds out.”

Yeah, I can’t see that going well considering Uncle Lo was really hard on my parents for their age-gap when they were dating. But maybe time heals all, and he’s changed.

Luna has these soft, pleading doe eyes.

I want to do right by her. By my friends. To have good friends means that I need to be a good friend too.

Secret-keeping isn’t usually my strong suit, but I’m going to try to gain more experience on that front. “I won’t fucking tell, I promise.” I shift closer to Luna in the mud. Like moving in liquid cement, it takes effort, but I slip between Luna and Jane, and Luna and I curl pinkies in a bigger promise.

My mind is gathering more logic. So if Donnelly and Luna hooked up once, and Donnelly is strangely not seeing anyone, does that mean…

Oh.

Fuck.

Luna and Donnelly.

They’re…dating?

Moffy already looks concerned. Big brother mode is on.

I come out and ask Luna, “Are you and Donnelly in a secret relationship or something?”

Jane rests her chin on her fist. “Exactly what I was going to ask.” So Jane and Moffy have no clue about this. They only knew about the hookup from a year ago, and with that info, plus the rumor I just told them, they theorized a secret relationship like me.

Luna shakes her head profusely. “Nonono.”

“We’d understand if you are, and you can trust us,” Jane says, setting down her phone and goblet on the ledge. “We’ve all been there. Except Sulli, of course.”