at least two dozen cars there, students all around, laughing and acting like fools, having fun.
“This is how it goes. The Brays plan a party once or twice a month, set a time for everyone to meet here and together they all head over, sometimes there’s even a theme to keep it fresh and fun. If you don’t make it here before Leo, one of the guys on their team, you can’t go.” She glances my way briefly before returning her eyes to the scene. “They don’t give out the location and everyone has to check their phones at the door. It’s like some super-secret shit.”
“You ever been?”
“Nah.” She shakes her head, pretending she’s not interested but her next comment tells me she wishes she has. “Heard it’s invite-only.”
I spot Chloe sitting against the hood of some red little sports car and roll my eyes.
“Surprised you didn’t get invited.”
I scoff before I can stop it and she spins to look at me.
When I glare at her and look away, she starts laughing.
“You did! Why the hell are you not going?”
“Why would I?”
“Better question... why not? It’s not like you’ve got somewhere else to be. Shit, I don’t know about you, but this is the first time in a while I’ve had a spot to go back at the end of the night. My mind’s not on how to get my next meal or where I can sneak a shower. We’re fucking teenagers for a while longer. Why not act like one every once and a while?”
I stop and turn to her, watching to see any sign of a liar or a con. And not the kind we poor kids have to be from time to time but the shitty kind we can choose to be better than.
She stares right back, even lifts her chin a little, so I nod and start walking toward the herd of cars.
“Holy shit, wait,” she whispers. “Are we really just gonna walk up in there and expect one of them to give us a ride?”
“I’ve learned not to expect anything.” I turn to her with a smirk. “We’ll either catch a ride or have some fun stirring up shit for the in-crowd.”
She pauses, shrugs and then laughs as we continue forward.
By the time we hit the parking, all the partygoers are hoping in the cars and a few kids are hitting each window with a little white card.
“What is that?”
“Directions maybe?”
“I don’t think we’ll be finding a ride.”
Right then, a familiar black SUV pulls around the row of cars, and all eyes trail it as it pulls over...right beside me.
The window rolls down and some guy I don’t know leans out.
“That’s Leo,” she whispers, and I roll my eyes.
The corner of his mouth lifts and he swings his eyes her way a minute, licking his lips before he looks back to me.
“And he can hear you.” I tilt my head and he then glances to the back as the window rolls down, revealing a couple girls I recognize from gym. High and mighty smirks on their faces.
“Royce didn’t think you’d show. I told him you would.” He eyes me.
“You don’t even know me.”
“Don’t need to know you to know you’d be here. Now get in.”
That’s when I notice the blonde in the front seat. She leans over Leo, running her hand up his arm.
I raise my hands and shrug in mock disappointment. “Looks like you’re all full. Guess I missed my chance.”
His smirk grows, but there’s an edge to it he can’t quite cover. “Get out,” he says without even sparing the girls a glance.
All their glares whip from him to me.
Vienna chuckles beside me.
“We could squeeze—”
“I said out.”
With low grunts, they do as they’re told, slamming the doors as they quickly run to the back of the line of cars.
Leo’s eye follows them. “We write the number of people in the car to make sure nobody gets picked up on the way. All the cards were already given out.” He glances back to me. “I was their only shot for tonight.”
“You can still change your mind. Bet they’re a guaranteed lay.”
He assesses Vienna. “I’m good.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Vienna jokes, making him laugh.
“Get in.”
I look to Vienna and together we shrug and step forward.
When we both get in the back, Leo scowls out his window, then peels out.
This better be fun.
It takes a solid twenty minutes to get to the party place, an old ranch house on a deserted piece of land.