Inside was a beautiful silver bracelet. It was one of those kinds that had a hinge, letting you open it to put it on, and then snap it shut to keep it safely on your wrist. I was almost afraid to touch it, like touching it would make it stop being real. It wasn’t overly jeweled or fancy—it couldn’t have cost even a fraction of some of the jewelry I’d worn to parties back home—but it meant more to me in that moment than anything my parents had ever gotten me.
“Oh my god… I don’t know what to say…”
“If you don’t like it we can get you a different one—”
“No!” I shook my head emphatically, pulling the bracelet from the box’s velvet bed. I pulled it apart, and the metal glinting in the November sunlight as I snapped it into place. I smiled at how it fit against my wrist. The coolness chilled my skin pleasantly.
“I love it.” The grin that stretched my face was so wide it almost hurt. Then it dimmed a little as I shook my head. “But why—”
“Just because.” Bishop shrugged, but the intensity of his hazel eyes didn’t match his casual tone. “We figured it’d be a good present. Princesses like jewelry, right?”
I rolled my eyes but stepped closer to press a kiss to his cheek. My hand rested on his chest as I rose up onto my tiptoes, and I swore I could feel his heart jump beneath my palm. His body stiffened slightly, and when I pulled away, I hesitated, our faces still so close together that I would’ve barely had to move to kiss him on the lips.
We’d done far more than kiss before. He had put his mouth on the most intimate part of me, had touched every inch of my skin.
But this felt different, somehow.
Like the small space between us was full of possibility, and like the whole world would change if our lips met.
I didn’t kiss him. And he didn’t kiss me. But we stayed like that for another heartbeat, letting the possibility echo between us.
When I finally pulled away, I realized the other two boys were watching us—and so were the crowds of students pouring out of the school. But for once in my life, I didn’t second-guess or worry about what anyone else thought. I kissed Misael and then Kace on the cheek, their breath caressing the side of my face as they held almost perfectly still.
“This princess loves it.” I smiled at the three of them, running my fingertips over the cool metal of the bracelet. “I just… wasn’t expecting it. Thank you.”
Bishop nodded, clearing his throat and pressing away from the car. “Besides. We got the perfect place you can show it off. We’re going to another party this weekend.” He cocked his head, looking down at me with a grin that made my heart skip. “You’re invited. Obviously.”
I chuckled.
“Obviously.”
Twenty-Eight
I wore the bracelet almost religiously for the rest of the week, taking it off only when I needed to take a shower. Mom had seen it, eyed it, and said nothing about it. We had gone back to essentially ignoring each other since the day she’d been so rude to Bishop—she was going out more and more often, and I was generally left to my own devices.
It was fine with me. It meant I didn’t even have to bother sneaking out the window when the boys picked me up for the party on Friday. It was in a neighborhood a few miles away, and we drove with the top up. Bishop had resisted for as long as he could, but the temperatures were dropping now, especially at night, and the last few drives to school had been freezing.
The party was at a house I’d never been to before—Jessica wasn’t playing hostess this time, although I was still hoping she’d be there. She and Liam ate lunch with us almost every day, and although I doubted our paths would’ve ever crossed if I hadn’t fallen in with the Lost Boys, I considered her a real friend by now.
Just like last time, loud music assaulted my ears as we approached the house. The place looked packed to capacity, and people were spilling out into the front lawn, laughter and loud shouts filling the air. Bish had told me it would be a mix of upperclassmen from Slateview and another high school on the same side of the wrong side of the tracks as ours. That was part of why the Lost Boys had decided to go to the party—trouble was more likely to break out when kids from rival schools got together.
And that explained why the place was so crowded. There were as many familiar faces as there were unfamiliar, and I instinctively pressed closer to the Lost Boys, feeling Kace’s arm slip around my waist as Misael’s hand ran through the hair at the back of my neck.
The music pulsed loudly through the two-story row-house the party was being held in. The bass-heavy hip-hop I was used to hearing at Jessica’s parties was replaced by rift-heavy metal. It was strangely appealing—raw and primal somehow.
“Gonna get us drinks,” Bishop called over the blaring music. “Mingle and stay out of trouble.” He looked specifically to Misael when he said that part. The boy beside me laughed and flipped him off.
“Come on! I’m always on my best behavior!”
“Yeah, sure you are.”
Bishop went off toward the kitchen with Kace at his side, and the crowd parted for them like a wave. Misael jerked his head toward the far side of the room where Jessica and Liam stood, and I nodded in answer to his unspoken question. He grinned, then threaded his fingers through mine, lifting my hand to his mouth to kiss my knuckles before leading me across the room.
The crowd parted for us too, and I squeezed his hand a little tighter as we walked, still feeling the imprint of his lips on my skin.
That sort of thing had been happening more and more often in the few days since they’d given me the bra
celet. I wasn’t sure if it was the gift or my reaction to it—or maybe a bit of both—but it felt like something had shifted between us. Deepened, somehow. Little gestures of affection were becoming common among all of us, and it made me feel both giddy and warm to think about it.