Bailey Morgan [2] Fate by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Page A

and when I'd told him (okay, when
Zo
had told him) in no uncertain terms that he couldn't just play with me when it suited him, he'd stopped seeing the other girls, and we'd been together, really together, for four months.
    Looking back, I wondered if Kane had ever actually wanted to be with me, or if I'd wanted it enough for the both of us. Maybe he'd just liked being wanted, or maybe, as I secretly feared, his being with me had more to do with my subconscious mind-control powers than anything else. Over time, I'd learned to control them, and over time, he'd gotten less and less interested in me. Coincidence?
    No such thing.
    “No moping.” Zo walked up and flicked the side of my neck with her finger, and I jumped. “Seriously, Bay, for someone who's got mind-boggling superpowers, you spend a lot of time as Depresso Girl.”
    “You love me anyway,” I grumbled.
    “Course I do,” Zo answered, and then she thumped me again. “It's called tough love.”
    “Very funny,” I said, but my mouth, proving itself a traitor to the rest of my body, smiled at her manner. Zo and I were both only children, and some days, she was as much a sister to me as a friend. On those days, I spent a significant amount of time in headlocks and getting thumped, and she spent more time than was humane listening to me whine. Since she had apparently decided that today was one of those days, I obliged by whining.
    “I cut my thumb.” I held the offending appendage up and let my bottom lip poke out in classic puppy dog fashion. “It hurts.”
    “Awwww … poor Baiwey.” Zo put on a baby voice. I stuck my tongue out at her.
    “Brat,” she said.
    “Brat,” I returned.
    “Wanna be brats together?”
    “Is that your way of asking for a ride home?”
    Zo hooked an arm through mine as we began walking toward my car. “Do I even have to ask?”
    Since A-belle took classes at the local university two days a week and Delia had cheerleading practice on those same days, Tuesdays and Thursdays, it was just Zo and me after school. I always gave her a ride home, because Annabelle had their car, and most of the time, our “car pool” turned into the two of us cruising around for hours, talking and goofing off and conducting highly important experiments, like driving to every gas station within a five-mile radius of the high school so that we could compare the quality of their slushees. The two ofus usually ended up at my house, where my mom always and without fail invited Zo to stay for dinner. Since Zo's dad's one and only culinary specialty was pancakes so fluffy they should have been illegal, Zo had a long history of getting most of her home-cooked meals at my house, while I got all of my fluffy pancakes at hers.
    “You want me to drive?” Zo asked, her voice almost comically hopeful.
    “Let me think about that for a second …” I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “What was Annabelle saying this morning? Something about being terrified with you behind the wheel?”
    “What was I saying this morning? Something about A-belle biting me?”
    “I'm drawing a blank on what you said to Annabelle,” I said. “Also, I'm pretty sure you told
Delia
to bite you.”
    Zo shrugged and made her way to the passenger side of the car. “Any chance on you drawing a blank the next time Dee asks whether or not I've done my share of scouting for geeks?”
    The two of them really were the least compatible people ever.
    “I'll see what I can do,” I said, thankful that Zo didn't have Delia's sixth sense about crushes, because the second the word
geek
left her mouth, I started thinking about Cryptic Boy, my physics savior with the mussy hair. Half afraid that Zo would pick up on it anyway, I climbed into the car. She settled herself into the passenger seat as I started the engine.
    “Where to?” I asked.
    “Is today Cookie Day?”
    My mom was always good for an afternoon snack, and she baked at least once a week. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for Zo, I think