Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
JADE
I pulled back from Leo, breath still short, heart still racing, lips tingling from what just happened.
And then the crash came.
“What was that, Leo?” I snapped, stepping away like space could somehow put out the fire still crackling in my chest. “You kiss me when it suits you, and then you’re back to playing Mr. Royal Oaks, letting Bianca hang off your arm like I don’t exist.”
He blinked, clearly caught off guard, then slowly cocked one arrogant brow. “Is this your way of asking me out?”
I actually choked. “You wish.”
“I do.” His mouth twitched, just barely, like he enjoyed pushing my buttons. “Every time you walk into a room and act like I don’t exist.”
From the boulder behind us, Tristan let out a long, low whistle. “Here we go.”
Leo didn’t even look at him. He only had eyes for me—annoying, unreadable, gold-flecked eyes.
Tristan stood and stretched. “Alright, I’m calling it. You two are officially dating. I now pronounce you toxic royalty.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?!”
Leo just smirked. “Fine by me.”
“Good,” Tristan said, pulling out his phone and tapping rapidly. “Cause I already posted the pic of you two kissing on my Story. Captioned it: The new Princess has been crowned.”
I actually screamed. “You what?!”
Leo’s laugh rumbled low and satisfied as he reached for me. “What? Too good to be social media official with me?”
“My life just became harder,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Correction,” Leo said, draping an arm across my shoulders like it belonged there, “Your life just became untouchable.”
His voice dropped lower, quieter. “You’re my girl now, Gitanilla. No one messes with what’s mine.”
I should’ve shoved him off.
Should’ve run.
Should’ve screamed louder than the seagulls flying overhead.
But instead?
I leaned into the warmth of his body and stared at the horizon, my chest aching with equal parts dread and something dangerously close to hope.
“And what happens when we break up?” I asked, arms folded, heart stupidly hammering against my ribs.
Leo’s jaw ticked. “You already planning on dumping me?”
“I’m just being realistic.” I shrugged, trying not to care. “These things never last. Especially not… whatever this is.”
He didn’t answer right away.
Then, softly—seriously—he said, “Just promise me if it ends, you won’t destroy me either.”
My throat caught.
That hadn’t been the plan. But it sounded an awful lot like he meant it.
“I just want to get through my senior year with minimal drama,” I muttered.
Tristan snorted. “Too late for that.”
I shot him a look, but he was right.
Then I turned to Leo, hesitant. “Are you really my boyfriend?”
Leo didn’t blink.
Didn’t smirk.
Just reached out and laced his fingers through mine.
“Yep.”
It was stupid how warm that made me feel.
“Okay, then,” I said, feigning casual. “You can start by driving me to school. Since someone slashed the tires on my bike.”
Leo nodded. “Done.”
“And driving me home after soccer.”
“Already on my list.”
“No more letting girls touch you.”
“I’ll wear a shirt that says Talons Off. I’m With Her and an arrow pointing right—since that’s where you’ll be standing.”
Tristan groaned theatrically. “You two are so sweet I’m getting hives.”
My stomach growled loud enough to be heard over the breeze.
I pressed a hand to my gut and tried to laugh it off. “I didn’t eat before practice.”
Leo glanced at me sideways. “We’re fixing that.”
Back in the car, we headed into town. The fog still hung low over the hills, mixing with the fading sun and making everything look soft and gold.
We pulled into a hole-in-the-wall burger joint off the main road—locals only.
The kind of place with squeaky booths and sticky menus and milkshakes so thick you need a spoon.
We barely made it through the door before the boys’ phones started blowing up.
Buzz.
Buzz-buzz.
Tristan lifted his to show the screen.
“Fourteen DMs in two minutes,” he said with a grin. “‘Is this a joke?’ ‘WTF, Leo?’ ‘Who is she?’ ‘Are you really dating her?’”
Leo just leaned back in the booth and draped his arm around me like he was born to piss people off.
“Nope,” he said, loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Not a joke.”
My phone buzzed too—Shani had already texted, GIRL... WHAT IS HAPPENING.
I buried my face in my hands. “We’re going to cause a small prep school apocalypse.”
“You already did,” Tristan said, showing me the newest trending hashtags on Insta and TikTok.
#LeoHoltOffMarket
#ThePrinceHasBeenPlucked
#ScholarshipGirlSnagsTheCrown
#RIPBianca
#GitanillaGlowUp
I groaned. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
Leo leaned in, brushing his lips just barely against my temple. “Only because you haven’t figured out yet… I’m not letting you go.”
That shouldn’t have made my stomach flip.
But it did.
Then our food came—burgers stacked like leaning towers, fries salted to perfection, milkshakes with chocolate syrup dripped down the glass—and for a second, everything else faded.
I wasn’t the bullied girl from Ohio.
I wasn’t the scandal.
I wasn’t the outsider.
I was just Jade. Sitting between two boys with bad reputations and better hearts than they’d ever admit.
And one of them?
Was officially mine.