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A shot of espresso and then steamed milk with a frothy finish. Barely coffee!
My guess was I’d gotten it from my father, but I’d never asked. He had no idea I existed, which was fine by me. He wasn’t missing from my life; he just wasn’t a part of it. And I didn’t imagine I would ever need him to be. I had my mom.
She never did because my mom was the most beloved teacher in the English department
Last week at our all-school meeting, I had been announced as this year’s salutatorian.
I wish we could go back, I thought, the words a murmur in my mind. I wish we could go back to the very first night…
It would sound like bickering to anyone else, but Leda was the ray of sunshine to Josh’s seriousness. Any true romantic would agree that they were a perfect match.
“Excuse me, but endlessly exasperating?” my mom said once her boyfriend had disappeared into the kitchen. “I’d say he finds us endlessly fascinating.”
“This was delicious,” I told Josh, holding up the empty bowl. “I’d give it a VFG.” We always rated Josh’s recipes. VFG, or “very fucking good,” was the top honor.
Daniel
okay is he the Jester
The theme was really fucking clear here. I was nice, well-liked, respected, and polite. But I was also a goddamn Goody Two-Shoes.
Tag. Taggart Swell, this year’s Jester.
“Don’t worry, Mom,” I murmured, feeling my eyelids flutter closed. Today had been a lot. “I am a vault.” But was I?
Tag Swell had a Midas touch.
YOUR MIDAS TOUCH PN THE CHEVY DOOR
Again, curiosity made my mind spin. But curiosity also killed the cat, I reminded myself.
If we still did this every day, I’d never fall out of love with him. One night, I felt myself flush. One night, and one night only.
“Alright, it’s simple,” he said. “Complex, but ultimately simple.” His five fools leaned in, eager as ever. What were we doing that involved keys? I held my breath as our Jester took a deep one, then said, “We’re going to steal the Almanacs.”
“Cheers, fools,” he said and drained the flask before stowing it back in his backpack. “Now it’s time to take the stage.”
“And I feel safest with you, Hopscotch.”
“It looks like you’re playing an invisible game of hop—” “Don’t!” I’d read his beautiful mind. “Don’t even think about it!” But he smirked, as if to say, Too late.
Don’t let him pull away, I told myself, but it soon grew harder and harder to hang on to him.
“Hiding the Almanacs as close to the office as possible is the safest and most unexpected move.” “And the funniest,” Alex said with
From the sound of his voice, I knew he had an answer, but I also knew it wouldn’t be what I so dreamed of hearing. I asked you because I trust you. I asked you because I miss you. I asked you because I love you.
“Although after you turned six, it became difficult wrangling you into bed with Taylor Swift blasting on the other side of the door. You always wanted to go dance with the girls in the common room.” Honestly, it explained why my go-to karaoke song was “The Story of Us.”
A deep ache settled in my stomach. Because I missed Tag’s voice too. I missed his confident cadence. I missed his soft whispers. I missed his easy laugh.
“Where was Daniel when you snuck out tonight?”
“You’ll come back?” I murmured hazily. “When have I ever not?” he murmured back, raising our laced fingers to kiss the inside of my wrist. It sent sweet shivers through me. “And why would I ever stop?”
His voice vaporized my nerves.
“Blair isn’t a girlfriend, Lily. Blair is a Band-Aid.” He paused. “Well, more like a box of Band-Aids.” I stopped in my tracks. “A box of Band-Aids? What does that even mean?” “Hey, does Lily need a Band-Aid?” Tag whisper-shouted back to us. “I’ve got some in my backpack.”
“You’re my prom date,” I told his glinting green eyes, a smirk on my face. “Because, Tag, you know you’re the—”
I’d also caught a whiff of a Dave Matthews concert once or twice.
This is where we met, I thought once the footpath ended and we were dumped out into the dark meadow. This is where Tag and I first met.
“Give me the crown,” I said, holding out my hand for the headlamp. “Give me the clue and the crown so I can ascend and achieve everlasting glory.”
“What about you?” I asked. “What scares you?” “Never talking to you again,” he answered. Just. Like. That. “The Jester didn’t tap you to get Leda’s keys,”
It was probably best to throw Daniel a bone. Because he would never guess that code.
“Hopscotch for the win!” I grinned, but before we could share it, he hugged me.
Tag abruptly pulled back. “What?” Shit, I thought. It’s “Man, I’ve missed your mouth” all over again.
“You’re hot,” I told him, then cringed. “I mean, you’re sweaty.”
Tag lying to me was unacceptable, even if he did want to carry my groceries.
His touch was achingly familiar, so intoxicating that it made my heart throb. Smoosh, I wanted to whisper before I forced myself to focus on something else.
“He’s just your prom date, Lily. It’s not like you’re the First Lady.”
My lungs beat like a bird’s wings, almost unable to breathe. How dare Daniel? How dare he let Tag struggle like that?
“That’s sickening,” I said softly. “I want to vomit.” “Be my guest,” he croaked as he dropped back down to his knees and grabbed the duct tape off the concrete floor. “Like I said, Daniel’s an asshole.”
“Because I wanted to talk to you, Hopscotch. It was you I wanted to scheme with…”
Tag let go of the flannel and laughed into the night. “What was that?” My voice was weak. “A kiss.”
“I wish you had come over,” I whispered. “I would’ve loved to make bullet points and annotate maps and consult a rhyming dictionary with you.”
My heart swelled, absolutely spellbound. It felt like magic had been injected into my veins. Even if this was nothing but pretend.
Tag sighed and dug out his phone. “Once you join the Jester,” he muttered as he tapped out a text, “you’re loyal to the Jester.”
“Yes, we are—have been, actually—but it’s not public yet. We agreed to wait until after graduation.” He smiled. “This is Lily’s year.”
I shook my head and smiled when Puck let me scratch behind his ears. “Very nicely done,” I told him. “Now let’s go finish this.”
Tag whispered as I sat back down and wrapped him in my arms, tears pooling in my eyes. “You don’t know what’s going to happen…” “No, I don’t,” I whispered back, watching the dented white Prius blink its headlights before stilting to a stop. My heart rattled in my rib cage. “But I’m ready for it.”
