Page 21 of Her Forever SEAL

“Let's make it happen.”

Rylie looked at the empty plate. Then at the cooling rack, still full of cupcakes. Then back at Sophia.

“Can I have another one?”

Sophia was already getting up for seconds.

6

The Eastlake Branch library was quiet on Wednesday afternoons, which was exactly why they used it. The study room in the back, glass walls, a whiteboard nobody ever used, a table big enough for four with room to spread out, was almost always available after three. Then there was the librarian, Mr. Okafor, who would bend over backward for Cat. If she said they needed extra time, he would make sure they got it. If she said they needed an extension cord, he found one. She didn’t bat her eyelashes or anything, she was just… nice. And bubbly.

Kayla got there first, which was her habit. She picked the chair facing the door, which was her father's habit, and she’d picked it up. She pulled out her history notes and her highlighters and arranged everything the way she liked, then she sat back and waited.

Cat came in two minutes later with her backpack hanging off one shoulder and a venti something from the coffee place down the block that was definitely not allowed in the study room and that she was definitely going to drink anyway.

“Don't,” Kayla said.

“It has a lid.”

“Mr. Okafor⁠—”

“Loves me.” Cat dropped into the chair across from her. Kayla rolled her eyes. It was so true. Actually, all the teachers loved Cat, even when she hadn't done the reading, which was most of the time. “Also I have gum. Do you want gum?”

“I don't want gum. I want you to put the coffee on the floor.”

“It's not coffee, it's a caramel latte, and I’ll put it on the floor when it's empty.” Cat pulled out her history textbook and opened it to a page that was clearly not the right page. “Where are Bree and Mandy?”

“Coming.” Kayla checked her phone. No messages. “Probably.”

Cat looked at her over the top of her textbook. “You okay?”

“Fine. Why?”

“You're doing the thing.”

“What thing?”

“The thing where you arrange your highlighters by color and then rearrange them and then arrange them again.”

Kayla looked down. She had, in fact, rearranged her highlighters twice since Cat had sat down. She put them in a pile. “I'm fine.”

Cat looked at her for another second, with an expression that said she didn’t believe her, but she let it drop. Kayla appreciated it.

The door opened and Bree came in, backpack over both shoulders, hair in a ponytail that was slightly off-center in a way that suggested she hadn't looked in a mirror before she left the house. Which was weird. Bree always looked in the mirror. She had a whole system. She sat down next to Kayla, pulled out her textbook and said, “Sorry, the bus was slow,” in a voice that was even and normal and told Kayla absolutely nothing.

“Where's Mandy?” Cat asked.

“Right here,” Mandy said as she dropped into the last chair. She pulled her hair up into a knot, and looked around the table. “Okay. Chapter fourteen. The causes of World War One. Let's get this over with so we can talk about Connor.”

Kayla felt the heat move into her face before she could stop it. “We're not talking about Connor.”

“We're absolutely talking about Connor.” Mandy opened her textbook without looking at it. “He was watching you at lunch again.”

“He was not.”

“He was,” Bree said, and there was something almost relieved in her voice, like she was glad for something ordinary to talk about. “He sat at the table where he could see you from across the cafeteria and then pretended he wasn't looking every time you turned around.”

“That is not—” Kayla stopped. “How do you even know where he was sitting?”