Devious Little Liars (Saint View High, #1)

by Elle Thorpe

But he barely hovered on Meredith a second before he switched to me. His eyes locked with mine, and the corner of his mouth tipped up adorably.

“Go get you some. That boy is down for it, for sure. And I sure as hell am not going to talk you out of a little distraction. You need it. Go get your pussy munched.”

Um. So. Love Meredith

I’d thought the alcohol might help with that, but I was pretty buzzed, and yet the memories were still sharp as tacks.

Fuggin truth. Alcohol will dull certain things, but what your drinking to escape from will always ring through crystal fucking ckear. Every time. FAX YO

He brought it to the end of his cigarette, dragging hard to light it. When he straightened, he blew a lazy cloud of smoke out the corner of his mouth, his gaze trained on me the entire time.

Makes me want a cig damn

I wouldn’t know. But I wasn’t about to tell him that. Not even Meredith knew that I was still holding on to my V card.

“The pauper bows to the princess, Colt. You’d do well to remember that.”

“So, your plan is to just go all high school detective like you’re Veronica Mars or something?”

“Can we talk?” he asked me. “Banjo!” Colt said again. “You’d better go. Your king is calling.” “He’s not my king,” Banjo muttered. “Could have fooled me,” I said quietly. There was no malice in my voice this time, though.

“I hope not. A roomful of unconscious men doesn’t sound like much of a party. They kind of need to be awake to be any fun.”

I grinned. “I don’t think that’s how this is supposed to work. I offer to touch your dick, and you instead decide to feed me?” He scrubbed his hands over his face and groaned. “Come on. Let’s go get that food before my dick realizes what I’ve done.”

“Well, same. So you’re as big a ho bag as I am.” “And that’s why we’re friends.”

“I like you, funny girl.

But nothing had prepared me for Lacey in a bikini. All I could think about doing was ripping it off her.

Once we stood face-to-face again, she bit her lip. I popped it free from her teeth. “Stop it.” “What?” she whispered. “You wear your heart on your sleeve, princess. And it makes it real easy to know what you’re thinking. So stop it.” “Stop wearing my heart on my sleeve?” “Stop wondering if I find your body attractive.” “You didn’t say anything…” “I don’t need to. I’m going to show you instead.”

“I love it. Your brother obviously doesn’t know how to win my heart.” Banjo went quiet. “Is that what I’m doing?”

“You’re perfect, you know that? I can’t believe I just admitted all that to you and your only reaction was to say that it was hot.”

Alarm bells went off in my head, and yet, the rest of my body wanted to melt into him like a Goddamn ice cream on a summer day.

“Thing is, Colt,” I said quietly, my voice as deadly as his was. “You can try, but I’m not breakable.”

And wondered how this had all gotten so messed up, so fast.

But I realized in that moment, that aside from Meredith, I’d become closer with these three in a few short weeks than I had with any of the people I’d gone to school with for years.

What did it matter how we got rid of Lacey? All I knew was that I couldn’t be around her. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

“Be good to our girl.” My heart thumped. Our girl. Was that what I was? Warmth kindled inside me when Banjo nodded.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” he said, kissing my shoulder. “We are,” I corrected. “We’re perfect.” In that moment, I believed it.

It would be hours later before I realized Banjo had never said I love you back.

He’d said I was breakable. He’d been right.