As I watched, her head dropped down, her shoulders sagged, and she placed the mug to the side. A disgusted sigh came from her before she reached inside a bottom cabinet and poured something in her coffee. I knew it wasn’t creamer and I knew it was alcoholic. That empty feeling doubled inside of me. I went to my room. My arms and legs were numb now, but I tried to shower and dress in a hurry. When I went back down the stairs, my mom was still at the sink. Her mug was raised back to her lips. When I went outside and looked through the window, I knew I was right. A blank stare was on her face. I raised my hand to her, but there was no reaction. Her eyes never blinked. She never wavered in her stance.

So I left.

When I got to the food court in the mall, I slipped underneath the counter at the coffee shop. Ben pivoted at my abrupt arrival and had an eyebrow arched high before I even met his gaze. I cringed at the curiosity in them and steeled myself. “What?”

His mouth gaped open at me for a second before he snapped it shut in a dramatic fashion. Then he wiggled his eyebrows and pointed over my shoulder. “Your bff is here with all his godly basketball buddies.” Then he gestured towards the trendy clothes shop closest across from us. “And I think Casey and her winos are going to move in for the kill.”

I cringed again at the sarcastic pleasure he laced each of his words with. “Sometimes, Ben, you’re too interested in everyone else.”

He shuddered and clasped a hand to his heart. “I cannot believe you would dare say such a thing.”

I rolled my eyes and filled a coffee for myself.

He groaned as I put the lid on and sipped it. “Why you drink that without sugar or cream is beyond me. It’s foul, Alexandra. Foul, I say!”

I was about to respond when a customer approached our coffee hut and I took care of their order. A steady line formed after that. It was an hour later before I was able to drink my own coffee.

Ben reached over me for a lid as he handed the last order away, but then he checked me with his hip. “He’s still there. And he keeps looking over here.”

I knew who Ben was referring to. He was under the same assumption as Angie that Jesse and I were meant to be. We weren’t. Obviously. But I couldn’t help myself and looked over. Immediately I was caught and captivated by him. His friends were laughing around him, but Jesse stared straight at me.

I sighed and looked down. I couldn’t handle him, not now, not after last night and how he basically threw me out.

Ben gasped. His hand smacked his own chest and his stomach jiggled from the movement. He hissed, “He’s coming over here.”

And he was. Jesse stood from his table. A few of his friends glanced over, but no one stopped him. They went back to their stories or lounging in a cool way, the stance that jocks perfected long ago.

He had showered. His jeans rode low on his hips, but he had a simple black shirt on. It didn’t matter how simple his clothes were. He always looked beautiful. My stomach crumbled up and shattered into pieces as I admitted that last thought to myself, but then he was almost at the coffee hut.

“Hi, Jesse!” Casey stopped in front of him. Her hands were poised on her hips, which were prominent under skin-tight white jeans and a pink top that fit like a second skin. She flipped her platinum blonde hair over one shoulder and laughed in a flirtatious manner.

Her friends gathered behind her. All of them looked just like her, and Ben had once whispered that he thought their secret mission was to copy the leader until they took her down. When I caught a few of their hungry gazes, I wondered if it was true. If they waited in line until it was their turn to be the leader. When that happened, what guy would they go after?

Ben hissed again beside me. “Succubi. They’re all succubi.”

I nudged him as one of the girls flashed us a dark look. “If they are, you don’t want to take on a demonic beauty queen.”

He shifted to the side and lowered his voice. “That’s true, very true.”

Jesse had moved around Casey and she followed behind him. As he neared the coffee hut, she looked up. The light in her eyes dimmed and her smile slipped. “Oh. Hi, Alex.”

I gave her a polite smile, but gritted my teeth on the inside. “Hi, Casey.”

“How are Angie and Justin doing? I heard they had a fight last night.”

My eyes narrowed at her. “If they did, I’m sure they’ve made up by now. You know how those two are, always hot together.”

She snorted and flipped her hair back again. “Whatever. They’re not going to last. Justin was with me before. Everyone remembers the two of us. We were the perfect couple.”

The corner of Jesse’s lips twitched and I knew what he was thinking. My eyebrow arched. “Then why’d you throw yourself at my brother?”

Casey’s smirk vanished and her eyes grew heated. “Your brother was a good guy. And he shouldn’t have been with that ditzy airhead. I was doing him a favor when I broke them up.”

“And when you dropped Justin, your perfect boyfriend, at the same time?”

Her fury blasted me and she slapped a hand down on the counter. “Hear this, Alexandra Connors. I’ve always liked you and I will always have a special place in my heart for Ethan, but if you piss me off, you will have me as an enemy.”

I held my breath. I didn’t care about anything Casey threatened, but I couldn’t look away from Jesse. He had been amused at the beginning, but a wall slipped down again. The same blank mask was in place, but he reached forward and removed Casey’s hand from the counter. Then he moved to stand in front of her with his back to the coffee hut. Her eyes snapped to his, but the slight delight that sparked drained along with the blood in her face. She grew pale and backed away.

His voice was soft. “I think you should leave.”

A chill went down my spine. He was quiet, but there was a lethal undertone to his voice. Casey reacted to it. Everyone reacted to it. Ben’s eyes widened and he backed against the farthest corner we had. His hands shook, but he pressed them behind him and turned away. I caught the blush on his chubby cheeks and grinned.

Then I turned and my smile left.

Jesse placed my shirt on the counter. He lifted dead eyes to me. “I found it.”

“Thanks.”

A few of Casey’s friends arched their necks to see what he had put on the counter, so I snagged it quickly and stuffed it underneath the counter. I knew my own cheeks were red and I looked away. “Did you want something else?”