Even If the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia Read Free Book Online Page B

goodness, and a puff of powder shoots up into my lungs, making me cough for a solid minute.
    Danny pats me on the back, offering me water. “Rookie mistake. Don’t breathe in before taking a bite, you’ll have sugar in your lungs for days.”
    After my embarrassing first try I finally get it right, and when I bite through the mountain of sugar into the crisp skin of the beignet I am automatically in love.
    â€œI could eat these until I die.”
    â€œNot a bad way to go,” Miles says as he watches me lick the remainder of the sugar from my fingers. I’m not sure if he’s talking about the beignets or me. The blush in my cheeks says the latter.
    I T ’ S LESS THAN an hour till the parade starts. I am stuffed as I help the boys gather all our garbage, shoving it into a plastic bag before anything gets carried off by the wind.I can still taste the delicious sugar on my lips when Miles asks, “Salty or sweet?”
    â€œHmm?”
    He motions to where moments before our feast was laid out for us. “Salty or sweet?”
    â€œSweet.” My tongue darts out, licking the side of my mouth, a bit of sugar still stuck to my lips.
    Miles’s gaze lingers. “Yeah, me too.” He looks away, a playful smirk on his face. “I can down at least a dozen beignets if no one stops me. What’s your favorite sweet?”
    â€œOh, I’m really bad at favorites.” I trace the silhouette of his face as the lights from below play across his skin. I turn away before he catches me staring.
    â€œThat’s what people say at first. Then before you know it they’re going on and on about pecan pie.” Sticking his hands in his pockets—looking ever the rogue—Miles leans over the edge and grins at me. “Or should I say peeee-can pie.”
    I shake my head. “I’m not kidding, I have a hard time picking just a few of my favorite things.”
    He chuckles, singing, “‘Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,’” before shrugging. “My mom loves musicals.” He taps a finger against his temples. “Pretty much have them all memorized.” At the edge of the building the world below bustles with life. “We’ve got time to kill, Lila. We can sit around and enjoy the silence, or we can get toknow each other.” He whistles, calling over Danny and Taj.
    They trudge over. “Hey, man. I told you we don’t answer to whistles,” Taj says.
    â€œYou literally just did,” Miles points out.
    â€œTo tell you it’s the last time.”
    â€œWhatever.” Miles waves away the argument. “Favorite dessert. Go.”
    Taj licks his lips. “Fried bananas with a scoop of ice cream. My dad learned to make it when we lived in DC. There was this little Thai shop a couple blocks away.”
    â€œPeach cobbler,” Danny chimes in. “The way my gran used to make it, with tons of sugar.”
    â€œSee?” Miles turns back, waiting for me to join in, amusement in his eyes. “Not that hard. Let’s try it again. Favorite dessert?”
    Taj hops up and down. “Oh yesss, we playing Questions, Questions?”
    â€œQuestions, Questions?”
    â€œJust like it sounds,” Taj says. “Helps pass time.”
    â€œSo does a book.”
    Miles perks, leaning in closer. “You got one in that bag?”
    â€œNo.” I playfully shove him away with a finger. “But I know some by heart.”
    â€œDo you now, which ones?”
    Oh God, which one is least embarrassing? I run through the list—none, awesome. A sigh. “Harry Potter.”
    â€œYo, I took that damn Pottermore test and it told me I was a Hufflepuff. What kind of bullshit is that?” Taj shouts.
    â€œYou don’t want to be a Huffle?” I ask.
    He puffs up his chest. “Slytherin all the way, baby.”
    Behind him Danny shakes his head and mouths the word