by Selena
“Crystal, actually.”
“Well, Crystal Actually,” she drawls. “Believe it or not, I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat.”
I snort at that. “Oh, right. The mayor’s daughter wants to be dragged around a party in her bra with a leash around her neck and barked at when she walks by.”
“Yeah,” she says. “I got it all, don’t I?”
“Sorry,” I say, feeling shitty for assuming to know anything about her. To her, maybe it really does look like I have it all. Four protective brothers, a wealthy family, and the one thing she really wants—Devlin Darling’s undivided attention.
“It’s okay,” Dolly says glumly. “Everyone thinks that.”
“If I could trade with you, I would,” I assure her.
She laughs quietly. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“Well, it’s not really an option, so there’s no use arguing about it,” I say. “I’m sure you have your reasons for wanting Devlin, but trust me when I say that I don’t.”
“They all say that,” she says with a sigh.
“Who? His dogs?”
“Yeah,” she says. “One of the guys usually throws them a pity fuck as a kind of consolation for all they had to go through. And the thing is, they end up wishing they could be the dog again when their turn is over.”
“Wait, were you a Darling Dog?”
“Oh, honey,” she says. “Bless your heart.”
“Is that a no?”
“Gosh no. I was the original Darling Doll. That’s why people call it that. After me.” She sits up straight when she says this, as if she’s so proud that the Darling boys’ groupies are named after her.
“I’m assuming no one can go from Dog to Doll and vice versa.”
“Course not,” she says. “Though the Dogs keep dreaming one day they will.”
“Uh huh,” I say. “And what exactly is the difference between one of these dogs, who chase after the Darlings wanting to get back their position as whipping boy, and the dolls who chase after them wanting basically the same thing?”
“To the Darlings? There’s probably not much difference. I don’t know. A Darling Dog might last for a whole year, or a whole semester. A Doll is lucky to get a month or two. I bet you’ll know Devlin better than most people when he’s done with you.”
“And yet, I’ll be scum to the rest of the school. Pathetic, worthless trash that he got tired of and threw away. While you get a whole legion of groupies named after you.”
“I supposed it’s a matter of perceived value,” she concedes. “A girl they date has value afterwards. If she’s good enough for a Darling, just about any guy wants her. A Dog is all broken when they finish with her. She’s forever ruined for other guys.”
twenty
A tapping on my window wakes me. I sit up and rub my eyes, my mind heavy with sleep and confusion. It’s not even fully light outside. I’m about to lie back down when the tapping sounds again.
What if it wakes my brothers?
Shit. I scramble from the bed and go to the window. Outside, I can see a shadowy figure silhouetted against the bluing sky after dawn.
“Go away,” I hiss, but of course he can’t hear me. I unlock the window and crack it a few inches.
“What dawn outside yonder window breaks?” he says in a dramatic voice.
“Shhh,” I hiss. “And go away.”
“Let me in,” he says. “I just want to talk.”
“You gave up that chance when you ditched me in the middle of nowhere,” I say. “You’re as bad as the rest of them. Worse. They never pretended to be my friend.”
“I’m sorry,” he says, giving me some really fucking adorable puppy dog eyes. “Let me in, Fair Verona.”
I feel my resolve crumbling as laughter wells inside me. “You know that’s the city where they lived in Italy, right?” I say. “It’s not a person.”
“Whatever,” he says. “Let me in, Juliet, or I’ll stand out here until it gets light.”
“Or I call the cops on you for harassment.”
His eyes narrow. “Are you the one who called the cops on the fight?”
“What? No,” I protest. “I may be a bitch, but I’m sure as fuck not a rat.”
“I didn’t think so.” He pops the screen from my window in two seconds flat and sticks his hand through the gap.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“I brought your phone back.”
I pull open the window, and Colt ducks through and hands me my phone. I snatch it and then cross my arms over my chest, only realizing I’m still in Devlin’s shirt now that his cousin is standing in my room. “I figured Devlin would be the one to come busting into my room at dawn to torture me some more.”
“He’s sleeping off last night,” Colt says, eyeing my bare legs below my underwear and T-shirt.
I slip back to the bed, pawing some pillows behind me and sitting up with the blankets pulled up to my waist. It feels weird to be talking in the dark, so I switch on the lamp.
Colt glances around my room. “That’s a lot of pillows for one person.”
“What are you here for, again?” I ask.
“To say I’m sorry about last night.”
“Oh,” I say, too surprised to have a snarky comeback ready.
“I really do want us to be friends,” Colt says, sinking onto the edge of my bed beside me. “I think you’re awesome. And not one bit doglike in any sense of the word.”
I snort. “Is that what you tell all the girls the morning after you hold a knife to their face and threaten to permanently disfigure them?”
“You know, we really are like Romeo and Juliet,” he says, grabbing a handful of pillows off the floor and settling at the foot of my bed with them. “Betraying our families to have the greatest love affair ever known.”
“Is that what this is?” I ask. “I thought it was more like your family repeatedly assaulting mine.”
“You know that’s not what happened,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. I notice he’s wearing the same jeans and polo he wore last night. Of course. He drove Devlin home and crashed there.
“You’re right,” I admit.
“If Devlin hadn’t pulled me out of the way, they would have permanently disfigured me,” he says. “Or killed me. Your brother wasn’t going to slow down just because a person was standing against that car.”
I stare at the shape of my legs under the blankets because I can’t speak. I haven’t wanted to admit that truth even to myself. I refuse to watch the video that everyone else in the school has seen a dozen times, the one with Devlin kicking my brother on the ground. It makes Devlin look like a monster, but that’s not the reason I haven’t watched it. I haven’t watched it because I know what happened off screen, behind the cameras, the parts artfully cut by the photographer. And those parts make my brothers look like monsters.
“What are we going to do?” I whisper.
Colt’s hand moves over the top of the blanket until it finds my foot. His fingers close around it and squeeze. “We have to do something,” he says. “Before it goes too far.”
I nod, swallowing hard. A swell of something light and intoxicating builds in my chest. Hope.
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s make a truce.”
twenty-one
Some people get respect by earning it, by being the best at something like football or by never betraying what’s right. Others demand it with fear and intimidation. Some people earn their wealth by starting from nothing and doing what has to be done to make something of themselves. Others rest on their family name, on a fortune earned by the sweat of their grandfathers. They can call me a dog, but I won’t bow to the entitled assholes of this world who haven’t earned my submission.
“You feeling better?” Royal asks when I walk into the kitchen. My brothers are slouched in chairs along the bar, a plate of picked-over fruit in the center.
“Fine,” I say, hopping onto a barstool and snagging a glass of orange juice
they left for me.
“Guess what?” Duke asks, a big grin spreading across his face.
“Wait,” Royal says, holding up a hand. “How’d you get home?”
I shrug and pop a grape into my mouth. “Dolly gave me a ride.”
“You said Dixie’s friend was giving you a ride home,” Royal says, narrowing his eyes at me. Damn him and his twin instincts, and thank god we don’t have twin telepathy, which I swear Duke and Baron do.
“Yeah,” I say slowly. “Dixie’s friend Dolly.” I stare at him like he’s crazy even though my heart is hammering. I hate lying to my brothers, especially him. But sometimes it has to be done.
“Dolly Beckett,” King says. “The mayor’s daughter?”
“Yes,” I say, rolling my eyes. “What’s with the inquisition? I told you she was giving me a ride home, and she did. End of story.”
“Why didn’t you just say Dolly was giving you a ride home?” Duke asks. “And by the way, you can let her know she can ride me home any time.”
“And that’s why I didn’t say her name,” I say, shaking my head.
“You can’t be friends with her,” Duke says.
“I’m not.”
“Good,” he says. “Because I’m not gonna be able to hold up my end of the agreement if she’s your friend. I’m sorry, sis, but that ass is just begging for a good Dolce dicking.”
“TMI,” I say, filling my plate with whatever’s left of my brothers’ breakfast. “But you should probably clear it with Dad if you’re going to pump-and-dump the mayor’s daughter. I don’t think that’ll go over too well with Mayor Perv-o Beckett.”
“The mayor can eat my ass,” Duke says. “I’m not afraid of him. He’s the mayor of what? Thirty thousand people? Oh, gosh, I’m shaking in my boots.”
“That clown has no power,” King agrees. “It’s not like he’s the mayor of New York.”
“He’s already helped us all we needed him to,” Baron says, flashing me a grin.
“Wait,” I say, dropping my fork. “Really? That’s what you were going to tell me?”
“Yep,” Duke says, holding up his hand. I slap him five before hopping off the barstool to hug them all.
“We got a tryout,” King says, grinning as he lifts me off the floor and spins me around.
“That’s amazing,” I say honestly. I know how much this means to my brothers. I’m nervous as hell for what I have to do, but maybe they’ll take it better now that they’re in such a good mood.
“I have some good news, too,” I say, resuming my seat. “The Darlings are ready to put all this behind us and make peace.”
“I knew we’d break them,” Duke says, slapping fives with Baron.
“Who told you that?” Royal asks, his intense, dark eyes fixed on me.
Blood rushes in my head, but I keep my voice even. “Colt.”
“When?”
“This morning,” I say.
“You gave him your phone number?” Royal asks, his eyes darkening even further.
“Yes.” I resist the urge to add more, to say that we have a project together or something else to excuse it.
“Why would you do that?” Royal asks, his hand clenched on the bar. I should have known he’d be the hardest to convince, the one who wouldn’t let me off easy. He never has.
“Because I like him,” I say. “And he likes me. He asked me to Homecoming tonight, and I said yes.”
“This better be a fucking joke,” King says.
“It’s not,” I say, now making shit up on the fly. “In fact, that’s where I really went last night. I went to get a dress.”
The vein in the side of Royal’s temple is throbbing so hard I can see it. Duke looks like his head’s about to explode, and Baron is just gaping in utter confusion.
“You’re not going to that dance with a Darling,” King says, his face reddening and his eyes blazing with anger.
“I know you hate them,” I say, holding up both hands. “And if you say I can’t go, then I won’t. But before you decide that, I want you to hear me out. Okay?”
Royal slams his fist down on the counter. “Fuck. No.”
“Come on,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I said I wouldn’t go if you didn’t want me to, even though I really want to.”
“Have you been sneaking around with him?” King asks.
“No,” I snap. “I wouldn’t do that. We’ve never even kissed.”
“You better not have,” Duke says.
“Give me a fucking break,” I say, my own anger rising. “The four of you have fucked more girls than there are in this entire town, and I can’t even think about kissing a boy? I can’t have a crush, or buy a pretty dress and go to a dance like every other girl in this country? That’s bullshit, and you fucking know it.”
“You’ve been to a dance,” Royal says quietly.
“With some lame-ass friend of yours who wouldn’t even dance with me because he was afraid you’d kick his ass if he touched my hip,” I say. “You guys are my brothers, and I love you, but I’m not five years old. I’m sixteen, and my body doesn’t belong to you.”
“You already fucked him, didn’t you?” Duke asks.
I resist the urge to throw my orange juice in his face. “No, but if I did, it would be none of your business,” I snap. “I’m old enough to date, and Colt’s nice. If you’d give him a chance, you’d know that.”
“You really like him, don’t you?” Royal asks, staring at me like I’m a stranger.
“He’s funny, and he makes me happy,” I say, lifting my chin and refusing to back down, even though the look my twin’s giving me crushes my soul. “Besides that, he’s going to call off his cousins so they don’t get back at you for destroying Devlin’s car, which by the way can’t be replaced at the dealership like the Range Rover. This stupid out-pranking each other thing isn’t funny anymore. You could have killed Colt.”
“I wish I had,” Royal growls, glowering at me.
“And in return for him doing that,” I say. “You’re going to drop the charges against him.”
“Like hell,” Royal says, touching his bruised face.
“And he won’t press charges against you for attempted murder,” I say, giving him a hard look.
“No way,” King says. “He’s going to do all that if he wants to talk to our sister.”
“There’s no point,” I say, crossing my arms. “If you’re all going to be assholes and hurt him, I won’t see him. I’m not going to put him in danger.”
“Fuck,” Royal says, dropping his head and rubbing the spot between his eyebrows. “You like this guy.”
I sigh. “Look, it’s about more than whether I like someone. You’re all going to be on the team together. And I’m sure you know better than anyone that being on a hostile team that doesn’t want you there isn’t going to work. They won’t play for you if you’re responsible for getting their star suspended.”
“They will once they see us play,” Duke says.
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter if you’re just as good. They’ll sabotage you. The whole team will boycott. People in the south are different. A name is here is like blood. They’re loyal to that.”
“She might have a point,” King concedes quietly.
My other brothers stare at him. “You’re really going to give up?” Duke asks.
“I’m not giving up,” King says. “But even if Devlin’s off the team for good, the other two are there. And they’re good.”
I know my brothers well enough to know there’s another reason King gave in. He knows I’m right about the pranks. They’ve gotten dangerous, and if there’s one thing stronger than King’s pride, it’s his protectiveness. He won’t say it because he doesn’t want to wound any egos, but he doesn’t want our brothers to get hurt, either.
“I guess if we’re really going to quit, we might as well quit while we’re ahead,” Duke says. “We hit last.”
“And it’ll look like they gave in,” Baron points out.
“We wrecked Devlin’s car and got him suspended, and now we’re all friends? Looks like they’re the ones who broke first.”
Royal just glowers at me. I smile at him and hop off my chair. “Well, we didn’t find a dress, which means I’m going shopping with Dixie today. I’d better get going.”
“Why don’t I join you?” Royal says.
“You want to go dress shopping?” I ask, planting a hand on my hip.
“How else are you going to get around?”
“Wouldn’t be an issue if I had my license,” I sing-song as a reminder.
“No way am I trusting you with a car now,” he says.
A shock of hurt hits me with his words, even stronger because that distrust is warranted. It’s true that I’m going to Homecoming with Colt, and that he makes me laugh. It’s true that I’m going to ask Dixie to go last-minute dress shopping today, not sneaking off to meet Colt for a secret rendezvous as Royal obviously thinks. But there are other lies laced in with the truth, and other schemes behind my words. My side went surprisingly well, but I’m not sure how easily Colt will be able to convince his family.
I go up to my room to shower and message Dixie.
UnsweetDolce: Hey, girl. I might need to invoke the emergency friend favor.
DixieDog: OMG what happened? U ok?
UnsweetDolce: Yes, but I need a dress for tonight.
DixieDog: No way! You’re going to HC? With who?
UnsweetDolce: Colt. Don’t freak out and say Darling in that creepy way.
DixieDog: Totally freaking out!
UnsweetDolce: Help me find a dress? If not, no prob. My brother’s going anyway.
DixieDog: Your brother can’t help you dress shop.
UnsweetDolce: Is that a yes? Thank you so much! Sorry it’s last minute.
DixieDog: You’re saving me from a trip to the country club. I should be thanking you.
An hour later, we pull up outside Dixie’s. She comes running out and hops up into the back seat. “I cannot believe Colt Darling asked you to Homecoming,” she gushes. “Tell me every single detail.”
I glance at Royal, who’s grinding his teeth but currently not speaking to me.