“You can’t even get our leftovers,” Preston says, laughing at my brothers. “The only girls who want you are the dogs and your own sister.”
They walk out laughing. Even Colt grins as he strolls after them. I glance sideways at Dixie, who’s gone red as a lobster again.
“He’ll be eating his words soon enough,” Duke says with a grin. “When we’re fucking all their girlfriends.”
My brothers go off to class, and Dixie grabs my arm. “Oh. My. God. Those are yourbrothers?”
“Yes,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And no, I can’t set you up with them.” This is one thing that hasn’t changed. I’m used to this line of questioning. I’m used to girls trying to get close to me just to get to my brothers. I’m used to them dumping me when they find out my brothers won’t date my friends.
“Oh, I wasn’t…” Dixie gets all red and flustered again. “I mean, they wouldn’t go out with me.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“Because,” she says, widening her eyes at me like it’s obvious, like I should know why.
I shrug. “They don’t date my friends. So if that’s what you’re after, let’s skip the pretense of friendship, and you can go after them. Going through me to get to them isn’t going to work.”
“I’m not.” Dixie draws back, and I realize I slipped into defensive mode without meaning to, that I’m being a total bitch.
“I’m sorry,” I say with a sigh. “It just happened one too many times. When a girl starts being nice to me for no reason, I assume. Which is shitty, and I should work on that.”
“You’re suspicious when people are nice to you?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Fucked up, right? But also pretty typical for my old school.”
“Wow,” she says, shaking her head. “Does that mean… I mean, you’re being nice to me. Should I be suspicious? Because you probably shouldn’t be friends with me. I’m the Darling Dog, and you… You could be, like, a Doll and the head cheerleader all at once.”
“Been there, done that,” I say. “I’m ready for a change.”
“But you’re gorgeous,” she says, her face flushing. “I’m not even pretty.”
“Shut up,” I say. “You’re pretty.”
She ducks her head, shaking it back and forth. “Look at me. I’ve never even had a boyfriend. The only reason I go here is because my aunt married the mayor.”
“First off, I’ve never had a boyfriend, either. And secondly, who says you’re not pretty? The Darlings? Fuck them. My brother thinks you’re sexy.”
“What?” she squeaks, skidding to a stop in the hall. “He said that?”
I shrug. “Okay, he said something rude about your tits, but that’s what he meant.”
“Really?” Dixie’s practically glowing as she adjusts her boobs, pushing them up and adjusting her bra.
“This school is fucked up,” I say. “Don’t put too much stock in what people here think. This whole town is backwards.”
She seems to think about this for a minute before nodding and continuing down the hall. I fall into step beside her.
“So, I’m the Darling Dog now? What exactly does that entail?”
“Well, different things,” Dixie says, blushing again. “Actually, I should probably give these back now that you’ve been claimed…” She trails off and touches her dog ears.
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry that you’ve passed on the title to me.”
“No,” she says quickly. “I’m not. Here.” She yanks off the headband and reaches back to unsnap her dog collar. “They’d probably be mad if they saw me wearing them now that they took away my title, anyway. It’s better if I give them to you.”
“You can put them right there,” I say, pointing to a trash can.
Dixie’s eyes widen. “Devlin Darling put this collar on me. I can’t just throw it away.”