Bad Idea Read Free Page B

purse and showed
Riva the Honda logo on one of them.
    “I came to see if you want to get out of
here.”
    She usually did this with Jo, but she went
alone often enough that her best friend wouldn’t be suspicious.
Besides, Jo really seemed to think she had that boy on lock. Daisy
doubted she’d be texting for a ride later.
    Riva’s eyebrows climbed. “Like, totally
out?”
    “Yeah. Wherever you want to go.”
    “Can your car drive to Mars?”
    “I wish.” Daisy spun the key ring on her
finger. “What do you think? We should decide while we’ve still got
cover on the way to the parking lot. Once everyone’s in class, the
deans are going to notice us heading out that way.”
    “Listen to the pro.”
    Daisy shrugged. “This place sucks sometimes.
And the beach is a lot prettier, and it isn’t far.”
    “Not too cold, either. I guess that’s one
thing Florida’s got over New Jersey.”
    “Yeah, we’re sort of famous for that.” Daisy
threw the keys, caught them, and closed her fist around them. “So,
are we doing this?”
    Riva’s eyes were still wary. “Why are you
being so nice to me?”
    Daisy hesitated. Because I have the hugest
crush on you wasn’t going to work. She also couldn’t say, Because I just heard you like girls, and I’m really hoping
that’s true and that you’ll tell me all about it. She didn’t
want to outright lie, though. She settled on something true but
vague.
    “Look, whatever was going on just now, I
think we’re all scared something like that will happen to us. If I
ever did wind up getting stared at like that, I hope someone would
take me to the beach.”
    “So, like a pay it forward sort of
thing.”
    “I guess.” Daisy wanted to do better than
that, though. Riva looked so fragile. Daisy wanted to give her a
little more. She adjusted her purse on her hip and pretended to
study her fingernails—though she didn’t paint them, so there wasn’t
much to look at. “Also, I mean, you seem cool. I wouldn’t mind
being friends.”
    Riva laughed, but not mockingly. The
improvement in her mood made her even prettier. “Seriously? You
seem so…busy all the time.”
    Daisy grinned back. “Hey, we can talk about
this as much as we want at the beach, but we have to make our
escape first. Are you in?”
    “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
    Daisy led the way out of the bathroom. She
knew which corridors the deans didn’t check too often, and she’d
left during the school day plenty of times. There was no reason for
her to be nervous. It wasn’t cutting school that was making Daisy’s
hands tremble, though. Riva Corley was about to get in her car
and ride with her to the beach.
    * * * *

Chapter 3: Feels Right
    Who’s the boring coward now?
    Skipping class with Daisy Mejia might not
have been the sexy solution Benton had in mind to the problem of
Riva’s boring, video-game playing existence, but it was way more up
her alley than propositioning Emmy Barnes had been. And she did
feel brave and exciting following Daisy to the parking lot.
    Daisy didn’t walk. She strode . Her
long, dark calves rippled with muscles as she moved, and Riva found
herself picking up that strong, confident swing as she imitated it.
She wasn’t sure how just following Daisy could make her feel so
awesome, but she didn’t want to question anything good right now.
She could use whatever nice things she could get. Her social life
at school was basically over, and, despite having made that
sacrifice, Benton would still be disappointed in her.
    Cursing under her breath, Daisy stopped
walking. Riva didn’t react in time and bumped into her, her nose
pressing into Daisy’s thick, curly hair. Daisy went suddenly stiff
and quiet, full of a sort of tension Riva didn’t understand. She
took a step back, feeling uncertain.
    “What’s the matter?”
    “The deans have already blocked the parking
lot. There are a bunch of them between here and the entrance.”
    That was disappointing. It looked like