Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were the girls’ long days, having two classes in the morning and one in the afternoon, giving them time for lunch in between. They usually went to the cafeteria during their break, which gave them a couple of options, or one of the few fast food options in the school’s mini food court—Adalyn’s obvious favorite.

They also usually met Elle and Maria at the cafeteria, but Adalyn wondered if they might eat off campus today, considering who was just a few feet behind her, following her, distracting the hell out of her.

“You okay?” Lake whispered for her ears alone.

No. “Yes.”

Her friend’s face didn’t look like she had bought the lie.

Reaching the cafeteria, Adalyn was shocked to see the other girls already sitting at a table with their food. By the look on Maria’s face, she didn’t seem pleased, especially as she watched Angel take a seat at the table next to theirs with the other Carusos.

Honestly, Adalyn’s face didn’t look happy either, but hers was because of the food on Elle’s plate, which consisted of beef tips in some gross-looking brown gravy, and Maria’s plate, which was the same every day—some leaves from the salad bar. Ew.

“That looks good, Elle. I think I’m gonna get that.” Lake eyed her plate.

Adalyn practically choked on the bile coming up from her stomach. “The hell it does!”

“I think it tastes pretty good,” Elle said, taking a bite.

Even Maria made a disgusted face at her. “That’s why I got a salad.”

Rolling their eyes, they all snapped at the beautiful blonde who cared about her appearance a little too much, “You always get a salad!”

“You’re really gonna eat that gross stuff that looks like it cost them five cents to make?” Adalyn looked at her BFF, praying she said no.

“I grew up on poor people food, remember? I was raised to never turn down good-looking, cheap food. You two will never understand.” Lake looked back at her friend and Maria, knowing Elle had grown up frugal, too.

“You’re nasty, and I can’t believe you’re gonna make me eat leaves instead of going to the food court.”

“I’ll take you,” a laidback voice spoke, making them all turn their heads to see Angel appearing as laidback as his voice.

“Really?” she asked, contemplating it, even though that meant she would be alone with him. She then looked toward Tom to see if he would even allow it and was answered with a nod.

Hm, I don’t know if I should …

Maria flipped her hair. “Salads taste goo—”

“Let’s go.” Adalyn quickly stood, cutting off her nonsense and hurting the blonde’s feelings, if she even has any.

“This is to pay for her food.” Tom handed a platinum card to Angel.

Adalyn was already halfway to the food court before he placed the card in his pocket. Chicken nuggets wait for no one.

“I’ll take the twenty-piece nuggets.” She smiled at the cashier before turning to look at Angel. “You want anything?”

“Um, no thanks.”

While he handed the card over to the cashier, a beautiful bag filled with nuggets was brought to the counter.

“Thank you, God,” she said, taking the bag and filling it with ketchup packets before going to a small table.

Angel joined her as she pulled the contents from the bag and began pouring out ketchup to dunk the nuggets in.

Popping one in her mouth, she tried to break the awkwardness between them. “You sure you don’t want anything?”

A nod was all she got from the tatted man sitting across from her, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed in front of him. He looked like he had not a care in the world.

“How’s your first day going?” she asked, trying to start another conversation with him.

This time, all she got was a shrug.

Her blood was beginning to boil now. She didn’t care for his attitude and wondered if she had a penis, would he talk to her then?

“Are you ever going to say more than two words to me?”

“I said I would take you here, not talk to you,” he told her simply.

Smiling big, she couldn’t help herself. “And I said I wouldn’t tell anyone about your thieving hands, but it just might slip out.”

His black depths flashed at her before a long, ink-covered hand reached out toward her. She didn’t know what to expect and was shocked when he took a nugget from her pile and dipped it in the ketchup.

“You talk a lot.”

She pulled them closer to her. “And you steal a lot.”

“You can’t really eat all those, can you?” he asked before placing the stolen one in his mouth.

“Watch me.”

Going back to his uncaring pose, he was the one to keep the conversation going. “Does Lucca always buy your food?”

It took her a second to realize he must have been referring to Lucca’s name being on the card Tom had given him. She thought it was a weird question for him to ask, yet she figured she wasn’t telling him anything he wouldn’t know soon enough. “He makes sure we’re not only safe here at school, but taken care of, too.”

The hidden look on his face was telling her he had an opinion on that.

“Something wrong about that?”

Reaching over slower this time, he took another nugget. “I think he babies you girls.”

She couldn’t be more appalled. “He does not.”

“Does, too. I doubt any woman or girl in the Caruso family has a job.”

Adalyn had to actually think for a second. “That’s not true at all.”

“Are they married to soldiers?” he asked, knowing all too well what the answer was.

So what? “The ones who are married to men higher up all have children to take care of—that’s a job.”

“Yes, it is, but not all mothers have the luxury to get to be stay-at-home moms.”

“I know that, but what do you want me to say? Sorry that Lucca and our family are letting us get an education to work in the future? It’s not like we’re being lazy.”

Stealing another nugget, he smiled devilishly as he dunked it into the ketchup generously. “No, but you are spoiled.”

“Will you stop stealing my freaking nuggets!” She pulled them even closer to her and to the very edge of the table. “And I’m not spoiled! I feel sorry for the women in the Luciano family,” she scoffed.

“You shouldn’t. We take great care of them.” That devilish smile still clung to his lips as he finished with a wink that almost made her forget about his sexist comment.

“I bet you do,” she said so sarcastically she hoped he couldn’t hear the secreted swoon in her voice. However, she was sure he noticed by the smug look on his face. Instead of mentioning it, though, he said something else as he leaned back.

“Your friends are coming.”

“Is Maria with them?” Taking a bite of a nugget, she could only hope.

Crossing his arms over his chest, his face went back to not giving a fuck. “Unfortunately.”

She actually chuckled before she remembered she was supposed to hate him. “Thief.”

“Brat,” he whispered under his breath as he got up to let the girls have the table.

Dammit, Adalyn, get yourself together.

“How were your nuggets?” A suspicious-looking Maria asked as she sat down next to her.

“Amazing.”

When Maria went to open her mouth, she stopped her.

“I swear to God, if you say your salad was, too, I’ll take your heels off and pull a Maria on yourself.”

The pretty blonde snapped her mouth shut.

Elle’s big blue eyes became curious. “What’s a Mari—”

“Maria,” Lake began quickly, knowing the subject needed to be changed, “can you please tell Adalyn that there’s no unspoken rule that, if you go to McDonalds at one in the morning, you’re automatically considered a fat-ass, no matter your size, but if you go with a friend, it’s considered ‘cool’?”

As she reached to steal a juicy nugget, it didn’t take her a second to answer, “I can’t because it exists.”