Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 by Abigail Grant (best summer books .txt) 📗

to be truly scared." I laugh at my own joke, earning a scowl from Liam.

He shakes his head at me. "Ha ha, you're so funny." He takes a seat across from me and throws a hot French fry in my direction.

I snatch it off the table and plop it in my mouth, savoring in the salty heat. "Thanks, Liam. It could use a little ketchup, but I love fries."

His glowering intensifies. "You know, if you’re not nice, I'm going to tell Kassy on you!" He sticks his tongue out at me which only makes me laugh harder and unwittingly release an embarrassing snort.

Kassy sits next to Liam with her plate of messy nachos and kisses him on the cheek. "What's so funny that El is in snort mode?"

Liam turns toward her with his bottom lip sticking out. "El is being mean to me." He says, sounding like a four-year-old.

I gasp and cover my mouth in mock surprise. "Who, me? I would never."

Kassy rolls her eyes at the two of us. "Do I have to tie your hands together for the rest of the day, so you guys can learn to get along?" Kassy says, sounding like a mother to toddlers. “That’s going to make bathroom breaks really awkward, you know.”

"Ew!” Liam and I both shout at the same time.

She shrugs. “Hey, I’m not the jealous type so I’d do it!”

“Okay, okay. I'll be nice," I say and reach my hand out to Liam. "Truce, before mommy sends us to our rooms?"

He chuckles and shakes my hand. "For now, pipsqueak," he says with mischief in his eyes, and then throws another fry at me for good measure.

I just shake my head and continue rubbing my arms for warmth.

Kassy does the same and shivers. "Maybe we should start eating inside. I think winter is coming before fall," she says, frowning at the thought of her least favorite season.

"Agreed," I say and drape my long hair around my shoulders like a blanket.

"So, are you working out today with your, uh...personal trainer?" Kassy asks, trying to keep my secret from Liam.

He turns to me with wide eyes. "You got a personal trainer? Cool. You are like ten pounds though, so why do you need one?"

I raise one shoulder. "Maybe I just want to be healthier and stronger. Exercise is good for everyone," I say truthfully.

Kassy nods nearly too emphatically, her ponytail whipping back and forth. "Yeah, I was actually thinking about it and maybe I could go with you today and see what it's like. It sounds like fun."

I clap my hands together in excitement. "Sounds good to me, then you can meet Lex!" I say, grinning now at the thought of finally being able to be completely open and honest with her.

Liam slouches. "I guess I'll have to just go to my dorm and do homework today then," he says, sounding disappointed. "You know, isn't having a girlfriend supposed to make you cool and slack in school?"

Kassy “awww”s at him. "It'll be good for you to get some schoolwork done, babe. I like smart guys." She rubs his arm.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, defeated and nudges her playfully with his elbow.

We sit in comfortable silence as we finish our lunches and then head to our separate classes. On the way to my literature class, I feel someone watching me, but I try to just ignore it and get to class. I can’t shake the feeling, so I turn and scan the surrounding buildings. I catch a quick glimpse of short messy brown hair disappearing around a corner of the library and my stomach twists with need. I don't understand why I feel so sick without him near me, but I sincerely hope it doesn't last.

***

"Hey there, cuties! You guys ready to sweat and wish you were dead?" Alexa says with a wicked gleam in her golden eyes, inviting Kassy and I inside Gavin’s house.

I instantly feel tired just thinking about what lies ahead as she wraps me in an excited hug. My whole body is still sore from the last workout. "Yay, I can't wait," I say with absolutely no enthusiasm. They both laugh at my sarcasm. "Lex, this is my lifelong best friend, Kassy. Kass, this is the woman I will be hating in a few hours, Alexa."

Alexa releases an amused chortle. "Hey, you came to me first, so you can't really hate me." She turns to Kassy. "Nice to meet you. Are you working out with El, or watching?" She gestures for us to follow her as she asks the question.

We head toward the back of the house and Kassy marvels at her surroundings on our way. "I thought I'd try but I'm not sure I can keep up. I'm not a demi-God person like you guys," she says, smiling.

Alexa laughs softly at her terminology. "Well, I'm glad that El told you about us. She was pretty stressed about not including her best friend and now we can all be together, with no secrets. Even us ‘Demi-God People’ get depressed when we don’t have our loved ones around us.” She looks away shyly, likely thinking of her father.

She perks up again with that evil glint in her eyes. “Anyways, feel free to try out some weapons and it will be good for you to stick around for the history lesson too, so that you can understand things better. Lesson one though, I’d steer clear of the name Demi-God. Believe it or not, they were actually the bad guys. ‘Seers’ are what we go by.”

I let out a long breath. "This is going to be a long day," I say, already wishing I were in bed.

"I know! It’s going to be so fun!" Alexa says, clapping her hands together. She unlocks the gym door with her index finger on the print scanner.

"Wow, intense," Kassy says, watching the door unlock and open.

“That’s my brother for ya. Always the intense one.” She winks at me.

"Are you flippin’ kidding me?" Kassy shouts as we enter the