Taking a long drink of her chocolate glazed cappuccino, Katy slammed it atop the saucer, causing some of the liquid to spill over the edges of the cup. "Seriously, that hits the spot!" The little burp she unleashed afterward was just the icing on the cake.

Her manners were mortifying. Sure, I wouldn't consider myself to have impeccable table manners by any means, but c'mon, Katy was ridiculous. And it wasn't only her being a slob. I mean she literally had begged the nice lady waiting on us to put her chocolate milk in their fridge, and when the waitress patiently explained doing so would be against the rules, Katy marched outside and placed it on the windowsill by our booth. That way it would stay cold and she could keep an eye on it, she explained.

Why she had that, or why she brought it all the way to my school eluded me. She had kept her promise, however, waiting for me outside when the final class of the day ended. I hadn’t bothered asking her how she had gotten there so early. There was no reason to when it was obvious she had skipped class. We had to field some questions from a few of my classmates about who she was on our way to the coffee shop. They were all answered with a wink, her claiming we had a lot of history together and needed to get intimate again.

There was no way that was the word she was looking for, but Monday certainly would be another interesting day.

I stirred a little sugar into my coffee, assuming I would enjoy a touch of contrast to the pure bitterness. Placing my spoon on my napkin, I took a sip and immediately regretted it. It was sweet. Too sweet for my tastes, and I would have preferred to have it straight black.

I must have pulled quite the face because Katy chuckled at me. "You could probably do with some more sugar."

Shaking my head, I replied. "I think that was the problem in the first place."

"Weird, but who am I to judge?"

Exactly. I wasn't about to take critique from somebody who had more chocolate syrup in their cup than a cappuccino.

She took a sip of that horrid concoction. "How have you been doing since being over at that rich folks’ school?”

“Rich folks, huh? Me and Ethan got in on a scholarship."

“Semantics, semantics.” She flicked the rim of her cup. “I assume it can’t be going too badly if you got that volleyball chick on your side.”

“Nora?” I asked, figuring that was who she was referring to.

“That sounds about right. She was blonde, angry, short. Looked like she was about to kick everybody’s ass. Sara seriously was lucky she left when she did. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened to her if Nora got ahold of her.”

“Nora can be a little intense, but she means well.”

Katy laughed. “I’m sure she does, but she’s not actually the one I’m curious about. What’s the deal with you and the girl that looks like Sara? You two dating?”

“Not at all. Rika and me are friends.”

“Really? She looks like your type. I’m surprised you didn’t ask her out yet.” My blush proved to be a dead giveaway and she took the opportunity for what it was. “You did ask her out, didn’t you? Tell me!”

Against my better judgement, I told her all about the events leading up to the night of the fireworks display and Valentine’s Day. All the while, she listened intently, blowing on her drink and causing the steam to wash over her face. It was kind of silly, considering the drink was nowhere near hot enough to bother her earlier. By the end, she had the entirety of her drink downed, and I had ended my story and taken to looking out the window. The snow which had been held at bay for the past few days had picked up again, burying her half a gallon of milk in a white blanket. Couldn’t wait for her to complain about having to shovel that out later.

“Super cute! You and Nora seem like you would be a good couple.” Katy crossed her arms and leaned into the booth, indenting the red cushion underneath her back. “Something seemed a little off between those two, Sara and Rika. It wasn’t that they knew each other, it was more like she knew too much for somebody who never went to Asheville. At least, that’s what some of the girls told me they overheard when they walked out together.”

I snapped back from the view outside the window to her. “She already told me she heard about it from a friend.”

“That would explain it. Anyway, you never did answer my question.” 

How was I doing at Lakewood Academy? It felt like a loaded question. Of course, it wasn’t; I already knew she wasn’t one to do that to someone. It was easy to picture in my head, yet I wasn’t sure if I could put it into words. We had laughed, and cried, and pulled through it all together. There were some times when I wondered if it was going to be any better here. I knew, though, without a doubt, that I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

These precious memories we made.

“Better. It’s going much better.”

She smacked me on the shoulder, wearing a wide grin. “Good. I’m happy for you.”

Her happiness about my happiness was so genuine that I was getting embarrassed. "Enough about me. What have you been up to?"

Her smirk was triumphant. "Well, I'm glad you asked. I got taller and more tan over the summer."

I rolled my eyes, downing the rest of my coffee. "I can see that just by looking at you."

Her smirk turned feral. "I knew you'd been staring at me. Didn't want to call you out on it, but it's hard to blame you. I am a sight to behold, but alas, you can't touch."

Tch. She was annoying. Super annoying. Maybe I hadn't noticed last year because she was so quiet, but man, did I feel like an idiot for ever admitting I admired her courage to barge headfirst into challenges.

"Anything serious ever go on in that head of yours anymore?" I asked.

"Hmm..." She acted like she actually had to think about it. "I was so focused on becoming captain of the volleyball team that I guess I haven't done much else."

"That's not a bad thing. You always were one to hyperfocus on one goal anyway."

I left her whole-hearted pursuit of Ethan unsaid. It seemed we were both thinking about it, however.

"You probably don't want to hear about it, but I'm over Ethan."

A potential landmine. She offered me an easy solution to defuse it and avoid the topic altogether. The old me would have taken the offer in a heartbeat. 

"If he caught your attention, he must be pretty great."

"He is. It's too bad it won't work out."

"Why won't it? Nothing's holding you back."

"I missed my chance, but it's fine. You don't need to worry about it." She gulped down the remainder of her drink. "I didn’t want to cut this short, but I gotta take care of my little sister today."

"Seems like you actually can be responsible when you need to be."

Laughing, she pulled me to the counter with her. We paid for the drinks, and the gentleman in a blazer wished us well on our way. I made certain I was completely bundled up before venturing out into the cold. The moment I stepped outside, she yanked me around once again to grab her milk. Once that was secured, I offered to walk her home since the weather was nice, and it would give us the opportunity to talk a little more. She accepted, and we were off to her place.

LonMair399

Volume 1 of Harem Protagonist’s Sidekick has released on Amazon, and I could not be more excited! It is an edited version of the web novel and has an absolutely beautiful cover. It is currently set at the absolute lowest price Amazon allows me to sell it at, so consider checking it out at the link here. I would really appreciate it!

(P.S. If volume 1 manages to sell 50 copies or more, I will do a double-release of chapters on whatever day that happens.)

See you all on Saturday!