The Sweetest Violation

Prologue

Sneaking out of the cafeteria during lunch period wasn’t new to them, but Boogie had a feeling something out of the norm was about to happen. He got that feeling sometimes, and he was almost always right.

He gripped Sweetie’s hand and pulled her toward their spot.

“Careful, Boog. They just put down new concrete,” Sweetie warned as she pointed toward the fresh concrete on the side of the apple tree they sat under during every lunch period.

Boogie hopped back just in time to avoid the concrete. He looked back at her with amusement dancing on his face. “And how the heck did you know that?”

Sweetie rolled her dark brown eyes and pointed at the sign that stuck out of the grass. “That’s your problem. You always move too fast and be missing things.”

“Oh, hush, girl. That’s what I have you for.” Boogie dropped his backpack to the ground and took off his school uniform jacket. He placed the blue and white garment on the ground next to him and gestured for Sweetie to sit.

Once she was next to him, they both dug into their backpacks and pulled out their lunches.

“What you got today?” Sweetie asked as she peeked into her brown paper bag.

“Looks like leftover meatloaf, mash, and green beans. Cherry pie for dessert.” The food sat neatly in a portable warmer, and it smelled so good.

Sweetie pouted. “You always have the better lunches.”

“Because my mama packs mine. If your mama would pack yours—”

Sweetie snorted. “Yeah right. She would never.”

“What about your nanny?”

Sweetie wrinkled her nose. “Last time I let that white lady do that, she made me a pickle and cream cheese wrap.”

Boogie chuckled. “I remember that. What about your granny?”

“You know she packs them when she’s over, but that isn’t as often anymore. I think my mama and daddy drive her a bit crazy.”

Boogie shrugged. “Guess you’re stuck packing your own lunches then. It’s okay. You make a mean ham and cheese sandwich.”

He winked at her just to see her pretty smile that he loved.

“Sorry to disappoint, but it’s PB&J today. We were out of lunch meat.”

“Even better.” He grinned, and she blushed.

Sweetie and Boogie had been best friends since kindergarten.

Their school, Cadence Prep, had kindergarten through high school.

All the kids pretty much grew up together.

It was a hard school to get into and one most people didn’t even know about.

The school was founded by the four families who pretty much ran the underground world across the country.

There were plenty of these academies through the country.

Desmore Bay was a solid place to have one of them because one family lived right there in The Bay.

Sweetie was in the seventh grade, and Boogie was in the eighth.

Over the past year, their friendship had shifted.

Boogie saw Sweetie as more than a friend.

He didn’t really know how to go about telling her that.

Instead, he found himself staring at her more than usual and getting lost in how pretty she was.

From her jet-black silky curls to the cute dimples in her cheeks, Boogie was enamored.

They each split their lunch in half and swapped. It was what they had done every day since kindergarten. Boogie never minded sharing with her. She got some good home cooking, and he got the cool snacks all the other kids enjoyed that his mama refused to buy.

“You think there will ever be a day where we can see each other outside of school?” Sweetie asked when they finished with their lunch.

Boogie frowned. “I doubt it. Maybe when we’re eighteen.” He dreamed about that day often, truth be told. When he was eighteen, nobody would be able to tell him anything.

He shrugged as his mood soured at the thought of not being able to see her outside of lunch.

They figured out a long time ago that their fathers were enemies.

His family ran the west of Desmore Bay and hers ran the east. Apparently, Sweetie’s dad made it law that none of the Bishop family should ever have anything to do with the DeLuca family.

Boogie’s dad, on the other hand, had never mentioned anything to him and his siblings outright, but when he was eight, he did overhear his father talking to his right-hand man about Vernon Bishop.

It was clear they did not intertwine, which made Boogie and Sweetie’s friendship a secret.

Not even her older sister or his older brother knew about them, and they went to the same school.

Outside of their alone time at lunch, they had to pretend like they didn’t even know each other.

“Yeah.”

When he noticed her saddened expression, he hopped up and held his hand out to her. “You been practicing?”

Her frown turned into a slight grin. “You know I have.”

“Let’s see it then.”

Sweetie took his hand and he helped her up.

Since Boogie was old enough to walk, he loved to dance.

In fact, let his mama tell it, he danced before he walked.

And she claimed it wasn’t that cute little baby bounce normal toddlers did.

Nah, he was two steppin’ by the time he was two.

It was where his nickname came from. Boogie.

His entire family called him that, and when Sweetie learned that fun fact years ago, she took on the nickname as well.

His real name, Darren, never really fit him in his opinion anyway.

Boogie was a free spirit who never took anything too seriously.

Darren sounded too mature and grown up for him.

He’d been teaching Sweetie how to dance since they were five, and he couldn’t lie, his protégé was good. Almost better than him.

He stood back with a smile and his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Sweetie dance to the routine he had come up with for her. She added her own flare that made him proud, and when she was done, he clapped.

“I see I’ma have to teach you somethin’ new. You killed that.”

She grinned as she breathed heavily. “Or maybe I can come up with something for you for a change.”

Boogie’s brows rose. “I can get wit’ that.”

She blushed as she looked down at her watch. They weren’t allowed to have their phones during school hours.

“We only have a few more minutes. Want to work on the tree?”

Boogie glanced back at their favorite tree. For years, they worked on carving their names into the bark. It took them that long because Sweetie was a perfectionist, and they only worked on it a few minutes every school day.

A wicked grin spread across Boogie’s face. “I have a better idea.”

He walked over to the drying cement and picked up a stick on the way. He tested the cement and saw that it still gave in slightly. He held the stick up in triumph and turned to look at Sweetie, who was already shaking her head. “No, Boog. We’ll get in trouble.”

“We’ll do it small. Come on. You don’t want to remember the place we first met?”

Sweetie’s features melted into a smile. He knew he got her there.

Before they renovated this space to a courtyard, it used to be the playground.

Sweetie and Boogie both had a hard time getting adjusted to kindergarten and never really played at recess time.

They sat right there under that tree, but never too close.

After weeks of this, they started talking, after an ant crawled across Sweetie’s hand and she freaked out.

Better believe Boogie laughed about that to this day.

She sighed. “Fine.”

Boogie grinned and handed her the stick. She made quick work of writing her name in a small corner of the cement before she handed the stick back to him. He wrote his name, and then, as an afterthought, he drew a small heart around their names.

When he stood, he noticed Sweetie blushing. His body seemed to have a mind of its own that day because before he knew it, he leaned in and kissed Sweetie right on the lips. It was quick and innocent, but it was their first.

Sweetie gasped when he pulled away, and Boogie, for what had to be the first time in his life, suddenly felt very shy and unsure of himself.

“Uh, so we should get back inside,” he said as he grabbed at the back of his neck and looked down at his shoes.

“Y-yeah,” Sweetie said. She walked over to her backpack and packed everything back up before she straightened and handed him his jacket.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

“Boog?”

“Yeah?” he asked, still avoiding eye contact. He couldn’t believe he’d just kissed a girl. He couldn’t believe he’d just kissed her.

“Thank you.”

He finally looked into her pretty brown eyes and got lost in them for a second. “For what?”

“For the kiss . . . and for being my very best friend.”

With that, she turned on her heels, burning bright red, and rushed back into the side entrance of the school.

Boog stood there, still shocked by what happened. His eyes traveled over to the cement, and he grinned before he waltzed back into the school, eager to see Sweetie again tomorrow.