The Heartbreakers

7.

No Angels

Lenley

I RISE FROM A FITFULslumber, marred by strange, vivid dreams.

Dreams where I was kissing someone but I couldn’t see his face and when I finally could, it was Darrius but then his features would magically scramble and morphed into Peyton’s and then Channing’s and Jameson’s.

I swing my legs out of bed and check on my phone as I yawn, rubbing my eyes to banish the last remnants of sleep.

There are thirty-two missed calls from Kiara and about ten from Darrius.

They’re definitely the last two people I want to talk to today I think, as I step into the bathroom and begin to shed my PJs after taking care of business.

I don’t even know how I feel to be entirely honest. I’m heart broken and angry.

Of course I’m mad at Darrius, because he can pretend all he wants but he admitted that he’s always known how I felt about him. Granted, I understand that he doesn’t feel the same way about me, but of all the girls in California, did he have to date one of my best friends?

Which takes me to the fact that if I’m mad at him, I’m even more mad at Kiara.

She’s known that I was in love with Darrius since we began middle school. I’ve confided in her and Sarah every step of the way.

I’ve cried on their shoulders every time Darrius would go out with someone else and they know that I’ve been waiting for him to notice me this entire time.

Even without thinking about girl code and all that bullshit, she should’ve never even looked at Darrius as anything more than a friend. He should’ve been off-limits to her, like I would never have dated any of her exes.

I know that Darrius can be extremely charming, God knows I’ve always been firmly under his spell, but as my best friend she should’ve resisted his advances.

If anything, Kiara should’ve talked to me before they hooked up. Not after they’d decided to date.

I’m thoroughly heartbroken and it isn’t only because it’s more than clear that the boy I’ve loved since I can remember will never feel the same way about me. I’ve also been betrayed by one of the few people I trusted the most.

The only reason why I’m not boarding the next flight back to Europe is that kiss with Peyton. And his offer to get back to Darrius with his and his teammates’ help.

I’m tempted to accept his offer for many reasons; one of them is that kissing him was amazing. Even better than I’ve ever imagined it would be with the guy I love. He and his friends are some of the most handsome guys I’ve ever seen and the thought of kissing each of them and doing a lot of other things ...

“You’ll have more orgasms than the unlucky girls who hook up with Penn. Because our job wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t teach you how to take what’s yours.”

Jameson’s promise causes a flicker of heat in the pit of my stomach.

Can I do that? Can I have sex with three men just because I find them attractive?

I make my way downstairs to the kitchen, switching on the keurig for an iced latte and looking for some fruit to cut up for breakfast.

I find a note from Mom.

Hey sweetie, I have a meeting with Kyle, so I’m going to see you at the office later on for your official induction.

Oh, right.

I totally forgot that today is the first day of my internship with the Cove Angels.

I sigh, sitting at the kitchen table and sipping on my latte; I’m not sure I’m ready to see Darrius quite so soon after last night, but I guess it’s going to have to happen sooner or later.

A knock on the patio door that opens onto the backyard pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Hey babe!” Sarah walks into the kitchen dangling a bag of fast food in front of me. “I was going to bring croissants but you just came back from France, and somehow I think Star Cove’s best bakery wouldn’t be able to measure up to what you could find in Paris. So I got us some nice, greasy breakfast sandwiches, perfect hangover food.”

I accept the bag, grateful about the fact that at least one of my besties still cares about me.

Her blue eyes meet mine, assessing me. “You don’t look too rough after last night.”

I smile and unwrap my sandwich with a shrug. “Why, thank you. Are you disappointed that I don’t look like shit?”

She shakes her head. “Fuck, no. I was looking for you last night and I bumped into Darrius and Kiara, so I thought ...”

I appreciate her concern but there’s something I need to know before we talk about last night. “Sarah, I’m not going to be mad if the answer is yes, but ... did you know?”

Her eyes widen. “I swear on everything I hold dear, I didn’t have a clue, Len. I had the feeling that Kiara was hooking up with someone new because I haven’t seen much of her for the past couple of weeks, but I didn’t know it was with Darrius.”

I nod. “Right. But if you had known, I’m pretty sure she would’ve made you promise not to tell me until she could speak to me. If that’s the case I want you to know that I understand, and there are no hard feelings about it. At least not with you.”

She takes my hand in hers. “No. If I had known, I would’ve never let you get blindsided by the news. I get what you’re trying to say, but she lost the right to my loyalty the second she betrayed you. Especially, since it isn’t the first time she acts like our friendship is worth nothing to her.”

There’s a hard light in her eyes and I realize that I’ve been gone for a while and people’s lives didn’t exactly stay frozen in time to last year. “What do you mean? Has she done anything wrong to you?”

Sarah lets go of my hand, clenching her fists. “Yeah. It happened after you left and I knew how heartbroken you were when you finally felt like talking to us, so I didn’t want to make things worse. I knew you needed both your besties, and to be honest, I never thought Kiara would do something like that to you too.”