Free Pretty Toxic - A New Adult Romance (Imperfectly Yours) by A. Gardner

have to tell someone. I can’t go on bottling all this stuff inside. I’ll explode one of these days.
    Maybe tomorrow.
    “Please,” she chuckles. “Whatever you have to say can’t be worse than the time Paige texted a titty pic of me to the whole school.” Different Haskell.
    “Good attitude,” I mumble. “Keep that sense of humor for this next part.”
    I let the bang of plates and silverware distract me. My eyes move to the barista behind the counter making coffees. I glare at the clock on the wall. My lunch break is almost over. Man, it flew by.
    “Mik,” Zanna barks in my direction. “Are you going to tell me or not? I have places to be. People to see.”
    “Alright,” I reply. “No need to get menstrual.” She giggles and takes a sip of her double espresso. “And that’s a lie by the way. You have nowhere to be and no one to see.”
    Zanna sits back in her and chair and gawks at me with a smile on her face.
    “It’s moments like these that remind me why we’re still friends,” she says proudly.
    I roll my eyes.
    “Spit it out Copelun,” Zanna continues.
    “I just . . . I know what you’re going to say and I’m trying to prepare myself.”
    “Let it out before you inflate,” she laughs. I sigh and watch her take another caffeinated sip. I picked a horrible time to do this. She is already riled up on espresso.
    “I . . . maybe I’m not ready to do this.” I’m chickening out. I spent all night last night planning out what today would be like. Step one. Tell Zanna. And step two. Find Dane.
    I need her help, but I’m tanking it.
    “This is about Dane again,” she shakes her head. “Oh my, here we go.”
    “Maybe?” I shrug, testing out the waters. So far she doesn’t look upset. Just annoyed.
    “Girl, you don’t have to say it. I already know.” She plays with a strand of black hair like it’s no big deal. “ Actually I do want to hear you say it, because I’m sick of pretending here.”
    She can’t know everything.
    “I don’t know what you think you know but-”
    “You two are hooking up,” she interrupts. “Ob-vee.”
    I don’t think hooking up is the right term, but I’ll save that conversation for another day. I glance at the clock again. Now time is slowing down. I flick my hair over my shoulder.
    “Fine,” I admit. “You know some things . . . but not everything.”
    “That’s what I’m talking about.” She leans in closer with a smile on her face. “You know where he is don’t you.” I look around the cafe and make sure no one is eavesdropping on our conversation.
    “Yes . . . and no. I need your help.”
    “Mik, you just made my summer.”
     
    *           *          *
     
    At first I was skeptical. Telling Zanna might not have been the best idea but now she is waltzing right up to a guy in the records office. She smiles and folds her arms, squeezing her boobs together. She tilts her head and smiles. It’s a whole new Zanna.
    “Scuse me,” she says in a high voice. So not Zanna. “Yeah you. Can you help me with something please?” A man wearing a baby blue polo with parted hair grins and stares at the length of her body.
    The snare has snapped.
    “Yes,” he replies. “How can I help you?” Zanna lets out a soft giggle.
    “I was wondering if you could help me with something . . . something personal.” She leans in and whispers the last bit of her sentence like it’s top secret.
    “Of course,” the man agrees. He rests an elbow on the counter, his face now closer to Zanna’s.
    “I met that Haskell guy on a ski trip a while back,” she breathes. I can barely hear her now. I keep my back against the wall around the corner, and pull at a piece of fabric on my shirt. “I uh . . . stayed at his place if you know what I mean and left something kinda important behind. The thing is I can’t seem to remember which lodge we went to.”
    “Well what-”
    “We were a bit tipsy,” she butts in before he can protest. “I