"Colt," Luca warns, turning to face him and walking backward for a few steps.
"Don't worry," I shoot over my shoulder. "I know how to handle the Dunn twins." I wink at him as he howls with laughter.
"You two are in so much trouble," he muses as he turns left out of the room and we go right.
Leon takes my books from me once more and Luca threads his fingers through mine. I still for a beat. While the move isn't unusual, Luca has always been very affectionate. It only takes a second for his warmth to race up my arm and to settle the last bit of unease that's still knotting my stomach.
"Two Americanos and a skinny vanilla latte with an extra shot. Three cupcakes with the sprinkles on top."
I swoon at the fact Luca remembers my order. "How'd you—"
He turns to me, his wide smile and the sparkle in his eyes making my words trail off. The familiarity of his face, the feeling of comfort and safety he brings me causes a lump to form in my throat.
"I didn't forget anything about my best girl." He throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close.
Burying my nose in his hard chest, I breathe him in. His woodsy scent mixes with his laundry detergent and it settles me in a way I didn't know I needed.
Leon's stare burns into my back as I snuggle with his brother and I force myself to pull away so he doesn't feel like the third wheel.
"Dunn," the server calls, and Leon rushes ahead to grab our order while Luca leads me to a booth at the back of the coffee shop.
As we walk past each table, I become more and more aware of the attention on the twins. I know their reps, they've had their football god status since before I moved to Rosewood and met them in high school, but I had forgotten just how hero-worshiped they were, and this right now is off the charts.
Girls openly stare, their eyes shamelessly dropping down the guys' bodies as they mentally strip them naked. Guys jealousy shines through their expressions, especially those who are here with their girlfriends who are now paying them zero attention. Then there are the girls whose attention is firmly on me. I can almost read their thoughts—hell, I heard enough of them back in high school.
What do they see in her?
She's not even that pretty.
They're too good for her.
The only difference here from high school is that no one knows I'm just trailer park trash seeing as I moved from the hellhole that is Harrow Creek before meeting the boys.
Tipping my chin up, I straighten my spine and plaster on as much confidence as I can find.
They can all think what they like about me, they can come up with whatever bitchy comments they want. It's no skin off my back.
"Good to see you've lost your appeal," I mutter, dropping into the bench opposite both of them and wrapping my hands around my warm mug when Leon passes it over.
"We walk around practically unnoticed," Luca deadpans.
"You thought high school was bad," Leon mutters, he was always the one who hated the attention whereas Luca used it to his advantage to get whatever he wanted. "It was nothing."
"So I see. So, how's things? Catch me up on everything," I say, needing to dive into their celebrity status lifestyles rather than thinking about my train wreck of a life.
"Really?" Luca asks, raising a brow and causing my stomach to drop into my feet. "I think the bigger question is how come you’re here and why we had no idea about it?"
Releasing my mug, I wrap my arms around myself and drop my eyes to the table.
"T-things just didn't work out at Columbia," I mutter, really not wanting to talk about it.
"The last time we talked, you said it was everything you expected it to be and more. What happened?"
Kane fucking Legend happened.
I shake that thought from my head like I do every time he pops up.
He's had his time ruining my life. It's over.