Page 36 of Chasing Headlines
“It’s actually a good school. Often called the Ivy League of the South.” Cathy argued the point like she was reading a Wikipedia page.
Dublin rolled her eyes in such an exaggerated fashion her head swiveled on her neck. “Please.”
Cathy pushed back from her desk. “It’s not cheap. Out of state tuition is over twenty kay a year.” She glared at Dublin. “How is it you’re here, then?”
“Me? Oh, I’m notenrolled.” Dublin held a manicured hand with lavender nails to her chest and laughed.
I gaped. “What?”
“I’m takingaclass. One. So I can be here, on campus with my girls. I may need to crash in your room a few days a week. Depends on how fast I find my own cinnamon roll love.”
“Uh.” My stomach flipped over. Hilda would be pissed.“And how long do you think you can hide from your dad this time?”
She shrugged. “As long as I want to, dear. I just need the teensiest bit of a loan. I can Venmo you once I convert some of my digicoin to cash.”
I was clearly not cut from the same cloth as Dublin. But we'd been friends, frenemies, some strange ebbs and flows between the two, since we were toddlers when she stole my doll then knocked over the “house” I was building for them to live in. “How much do you need?”
She winced. “Just a couple of hundred. Geez.”
And that would kill my allowance money. For the month. I sighed. “Dubby.” I had a small amount of savings and no idea if I could manage a job on top of my schoolwork, reporting, baseball. Or even if I could find one in this town.
“Don't 'Dubby' me,Livia.You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't epically essential.”
“This one time. And you pay it back by the end of the week.”
“In spades,” she purred.
“And you owe me. Cat, make a note. Dublin Serra owes me a favor. I can cash it in at my whim. And she cannot question or refuse. Are we all clear?”
Dublin gave me a thin-lipped smile. “I look forward to the challenge.”
I had no idea what I would ask for. But with her follower count in the hundreds of thousands, I was pretty sure there wassomethingshe could do to repay the many many many favors I'd lost count of over the years.
“And thanks for always beingthere for mewhen I need it, Liv.” Dublin tossed over her shoulder with her dramatic exit.
Yeah, right. And so we're back to frenemies.I wonder if she'll change the name of her reel.
Chapter Ten
Olivia POV
If Dublin was idly rich and mostly spoiled, Hilda was a force of nature in a pint-sized package. Clocking in at just under five foot tall, she was curvy, naturally brunette, probably a genius, and one hundred percent gorgeous.
Also a tempest that could run ashore at any point—with the least provocation.
As Antonio found out. The hard way.
“Oh, don't you baby me. I don't know what you're thinking. Scratch that, I know exactly whatyou'rethinking pinche cochino.” Hilda pointed practically straight up.
Antonio's lips twitched into a smile. He held up his hands like she was pointing a gun at him, instead of her finger with extra long nails. “I'm not thinking anything, chica. I swear.”
“You are a God damned liar.” She gritted out between clenched teeth. “Get outta my face.”
I glanced around the hallway outside the locker room, looking for a box or something she could stand on.
Antonio tilted his head and gave her a heavy-lidded stare. “Ok, you caught me. I think you're one,finewoman that sets my heart on fire. And I am willing to offer myself at your feet to do with as you will.” He pressed his palms together.
“Estupido. Tarado.” She turned away with a huff. “You-you shut up and get the fuck out-of here! My last warning!”