My cheeks heat, I try to scowl but smile anyway. “There will be no rubbing or sucking.”

He pulls a sad face. “At least let me down easy. Instead, you just shove me off the horse and trample me to make sure I’m dead.”

I give him a light shove. “And yet, somehow, I think you’re going to power through.”

He laughs, then looks over my head. “There’s the hero of the hour; little shit better have my sucker.”

“What is with you and sucking?”

“What is with you and not sucking?” He looks genuinely confused.

Quinn finally makes it to us and tosses Ambrose two suckers and one for me. “Sorry, they were out of the pink. By the way, I can totally see your nipples through your shirt—“

“—What is wrong with you two!”

“What?” Quinn frowns at Ambrose. “What did I say?”

Ambrose winks at me and unwraps his bubble gum sucker, then shoves it into his mouth, and suddenly, all I can think about is, well… sucking.

My eyes lock on the way his mouth pops it in and out, tongue swirling.

“Shhh.” Quinn leans in. “He’s auditioning for a porno.”

“Ass.” Ambrose shoves him, and Quinn shoves back. “So what did the principal say.”

“You mean when I told her I slipped?” Quinn starts sucking on his own sucker, and I’m surrounded by hot guys licking things. Ahhh! “She asked if I needed to see the nurse.”

“Ohhh, that’s why you got two suckers.” Ambrose nods.

Quinn stares down at me. “I was a very good boy.”

“Did she give you a sticker too?”

He literally pulls up his sleeve and shows me a heart sticker; I want to roll my eyes but laugh instead. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

He bows. The bell rings, and teachers start ordering kids to go back into the classrooms. I suddenly wish I could just stay outside in the parking lot with these two confusing guys watching them lick suckers while imagining the ways one of them used to lick me.

It’s going to be a long day.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ambrose

School moves by at a snail’s pace. By the time I have practice, I actually want to skip and just check in on MB, especially because she’s probably with Quinn. Would it kill her to make friends with some of the girls?

A few girls on the cheer team walk by and wave; I have to force myself not to cringe. Did they just get back from a makeup tutorial?

They all look like they’re either thirty or fifteen, no in between. I wave, sigh, and grab my shit from my locker.

The smell of her perfume fills the air around me. I smile and turn, only to realize it’s Tessa.

What the hell?

She’s wearing the perfume I gave MB when she first moved in? The same brand? What are the coincidences, and why the hell is she even ruining the smell of the girl I like too?