Heartstrings - Forbidden Hearts Series Prequel

1| Happy Meals

I pushed the blinds down and peered out of Lanie's bedroom window.

"Which Happy Meal is it this time?" Lanie asked. "Wait! Lemme guess. It's Slutty Suzie."

Harper snickered from the other side of the room. "My money's on Trampy Trish."

"Neither," I said as I watched Nathan make out with the blonde in his jeep. "It's Deep Throat Debbie."

My two best friends let out a disgusted groan as I turned and sat back on the bed.

Lanie held up her hand. "Okay, can we please come up with a new name for her?"

"You're the one who thought of it," I quipped.

"Yeah, but that was before she became my brother's newest Happy Meal. It's too gross now. We need a new one."

I laughed as I listened to Harper and Lanie go back and forth with new ideas for a name for Debbie. I've known my two best friends since elementary school. We did absolutely everything together. Even teased Nathan about his unlimited women-or Happy Meals, as we called them.

No matter who he was 'dating', Nathan always took his women to get some kind of fast food, then ended up hooking up with them. So, the nickname Happy Meals was born.

Aside from him being a womanizer, he was a great brother to Lanie and a good guy at heart. He was just...young. We all were. I would be turning eighteen in one week, Nathan was already eighteen, and Lanie and Harper were sixteen.

We were currently on summer break, but starting in the fall, Nathan and I will be seniors and Harper and Lanie will be juniors. Even though it would suck to start college without my two best friends, I was happy that high school was almost over.

Harper clapped her hands together. "Forget about Deep Throat Debbie. Is everyone packed for this beach trip?"

Every summer Lanie's family always went to Florida to spend a couple weeks at the beach. Harper and I usually tagged along with them.

"I am," I replied. "I went a few days ago and got some new bathing suits. And a few cute new outfits."

"I'm going to finish packing tonight," Lanie answered before walking to her closet and pulling out a very short red dress. "Look what I got!"

Harper and I got up to get a closer look. As I eyed the dress, I was super jealous and super surprised by what she was showing us. Lanie wasn't the short dress type. Harper was.

"Where did you get it?" I asked curiously.

"The mall."

Harper raised a brow and felt the material. "Feels expensive. When are you planning on wearing this? And where?"

Lanie had a huge smile and hung the dress back up. "I want to wear it when the three of us go to Florida."

I crossed my arms and raised a brow. "That's not really beach attire, Lanie."

Lanie rolled her eyes. "No kidding. I want to wear it to a club."

"A club?" Harper and I spoke at the same time.

Harper sounded as skeptical as I was. "Lanie, there is no way your parents are going to let us go to a nightclub."

"Besides," I added, "how would we get in? And we can't even drink. None of us are twenty-one."

Lanie had her 'I'm up to something' look on her face as she quickly shut her bedroom door and walked over to her bed.

Harper and I exchanged questioning glances while Laney pulled an envelope out from under her bed. She held it out for one of us to take, and Harper beat me to it.