I’ve been wondering what Ash meant when she said a girl with a crush on me declared herself as Cranberry Sauce’s enemy.
There’s the tiniest hesitation before Clare speaks. “No.”She’s lying.“Event planning,” she adds firmly.
“Hmm. The girl you had helping out at the game last night, she’s a potential member, right? How long until she’s fully in?”
Clare’s expression hardens. “Induction into the club is very limited. Only five percent of applicants make it through both rounds of screening.”
“But she’s got you as an advisor, right?” I cock my head, appraising her. “I bet the ones you choose make it through.”
She stares in the direction the others have gone. “So, about dinner… I’m hungry and you must’ve worked up an appetite. Let’s head to my car.”
“I drove here.”
Her eyes widen. “I thought you didn’t drive?”
“Little known fact,” I say with a shrug. “So, about Sawyer. You’re not dropping your support for her, are you?”
Clare’s expression shutters. “As I said, I’m hungry. I hope you’ll be at the tavern. There’s something I want to discuss.” With that she stalks away.
If petty jealousy wasn’t what drove Clare to drop Sawyer, Clare probably would’ve pointed out some of her shortcomings to me just now. From the look on her face at my bringing Cranberry Sauce up, Clare cut ties with Sawyer on impulse for the exact reason Sawyer suspects.
Normally, I’ve got no interest in this kind of petty shite. But there are reasons I might decide to take an interest. Becauseshe—Cranberry Sauce—interests me.
I get in the truck and let out a slow breath.
C Sauce is a poor prospect for me if my cousin plans to strike up a close friendship with her. The rough way I’d like to use her means things could get messy. And I don’t have time to deal with complicated situations.
Plus, there are plenty of other attractive women on campus. And in the Boston dungeon.
Right, stay focused. No messing about with Sawyer.
That settled, I bail on dinner with the team and pick up food on the way home for War and me. We’ll eat and then head to the sex club.
9
SAWYER
Ash and I sit on couches in the lounge, hanging before dinner. We’re both on our phones, but she’s the only one of us who’s having fun. I’m keeping tags on Briar Club socials.
One of the women from the club posts a picture of members of the rowing team near an indoor pool. The caption iswhen swim team is away row team can play. #gurow
In the shot’s background, Jamie seems to have just climbed out of the pool because water streams down his perfect form.Jesus, he’s beautiful.
Wait, does this mean he’s on the rowing team? Because then, my family would not object to him in any way. Rowing crew is the only sport they care about. When my brother made the GU team, they threw a party.
After the pool photo, the girl posts a carousel of pics that includes a group at Bruno’s Tavern. In one of them, Clare Duffy’s making a duck face. I scour the pics for another glimpse of Jamie, but I’m disappointed to find he’s not in them.
Next in my feed, Clare posts an image, which is something she rarely does. The vibe from her socials is that she’s too busy to attend to them much. Her pic is an off kilter shot of her Briar Club cuff bracelet that has briar roses with their thorns etched into the gold. The caption ishate when would be briars think they can get away with things. i love proving them wrong.
I reread the words, my body stiffening. Is she talking about me?
Trying not to freak out from a fit of paranoia, I scan the tavern images again. I’m hunting for any prospective Briar Club inductees that might be nearby. I’m praying some other girl pissed Clare off.
After rising from the couch, I start to pace.
“What’s wrong, Seesaw?”
“What?” My movements are jerky as I turn toward Ash.
