Prologue

M alorie

Malorie's eyes blurred with tears. She'd put a lot of effort into her attire for her eighteenth birthday party that evening. Months of preparation had gone into this moment. She and her best friend, with her mother's help, searched for the perfect dress and shoes. Malorie paid extra to have her makeup done by the best makeup artist in the city. She told her parents all she wanted for her birthday was money, and she spared no expense getting ready for the evening.

After all of that, her big moment was ruined by her annoying, unserious older brother. For the last five years, Malorie had a crush on his friend Neko. Because of the age difference, Malorie knew she didn't stand a chance with Neko. She'd chosen her eighteenth birthday to finally tell Neko how she really felt since he'd agreed to come to her party.

Before she could be honest with Neko, her brother's laughter and teasing about her appearance had ruined the evening. Malorie's tongue rolled over her teeth as she released a shaky breath.

"You're insufferable," their mother, Laura, said.

Malik laughed as he stared at his sister. "What did I do? She's the one looking like a clown with all that makeup on."

"Boy, shutcho funny looking ass up!" their father, Vincent, demanded as he slapped Malik on the back of his head.

"Ow! What you do that for?"

"Because you're an idiot," Vincent replied, shoving Malik out of the living room.

Neko made his way over to Malorie as she hung her head and wiped a tear. Her big reveal was ruined by her brother's jokes and his friends' laughter. Well, except Neko. He never laughed at Malik's jokes about her. Malorie wasn't expecting anyone besides Neko to be with her brother but leave it to Malik to ruin her special day.

"Hey," Neko called, lifting her chin with his pointer finger. "You don't look like a clown. The makeup is different, but you look really nice."

"Thank you," she muttered, avoiding his eyes.

"You don't need all that. You're really pretty without it."

"Oh." Not expecting the compliment, Malorie had no response. With a smile, she squeezed her elbow and avoided his eyes.

"She wanted to look her age," Christina, her best friend, said.

Neko chuckled. "You still look young as hell, but you look nice. Don't let him ruin your night, aight? I'm gonna head out but enjoy your birthday."

Blinking back her tears, Malorie nodded. She wanted to ask him to stay but didn't have the courage to anymore.

"Okay. Thanks for coming."

"Of course." Neko reached into his pocket and pulled out a long, black box. "I got you this."

Cupping her hands, Malorie watched intently as he opened the box, revealing a smaller Cuban link chain like the one wrapped around Neko's neck. Malorie had been obsessed with his since he bought it. She always stared at it and complimented him on it.

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Laura cooed. "Now you got your own, Mal."

"It's so pretty," she replied, running her fingers across the necklace.

"Turn around. I'll put it on you."

Malorie agreed and turned, pulling her loosely curled hair up. Her body shivered when Neko's fingers brushed against her skin. When she turned back around to face him, he gave her a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Happy birthday, sweet girl."

Her eyes were locked on him as he left the room. Even with her friends and mother gushing over her and the music blasting, the only sound ringing in Malorie's ears were his words. She didn't know how, or when, but one day… Malorie was going to make Neko hers.