“Yeah, can you just give me a second alone with Lucas first?”
Lucas was about to object, but I laid a hand on his chest, the same chest that only moments ago was naked and I was caressing with my mouth. “Sure. I need to use the restroom anyway.”
I made my way down the hallway, feeling both sets of eyes on me. Lucas probably watching my ass. Stick probably waiting for me to close the door.
Not even waiting. “Dude, this is a no-brainer. Zero risk. And—” That was all I heard before I shut the bathroom door. I wished it wouldn’t have been so obvious with them both watching, or I would have left it open a crack.
And for a small apartment in a shitty part of town, the bathroom door was surprisingly, frustratingly, thick and soundproof.
Taking care of business as quickly as I could, I reentered the living room to see a pissed-off Stick and an at-ease Lucas, and the sight gave me a small rush of relief.
I cared what Lucas did before we met, of course. But what really mattered to me was the man he was now, and that man was taking a shitty job so he’d be able to keep his kid brother in a stable situation.
That was enough for me. For now.
Lucas gave me a goodnight kiss that had me silent for the first five minutes of the ride home with Stick.
Finally, as we made our way through town to campus, he said, “Are we really going to your dorm, or do you want to be dropped somewhere else?”
“My dorm. Like I said.”
He shrugged. “I don’t give a shit. And I won’t tell Lucas if you wanted to be dropped at whatever big bash the Bribury elite are gathering at tonight.”
I looked at him for a second as he stared at the road. “Are you asking me if Jane is at a party?”
His snort of disgust assured me I’d made a direct hit. “Yeah. Right. Like I give a shit what little Miss Silver Spoon is doing tonight.”
“You have her wrong, you know. She said the other night half a silver spoon, but what she didn’t say is that spoon was kept away from her, used like a bargaining chip her whole life.”
“Poor baby.” His voice was dripping with condescension.
“Some said so, yes.”
He looked over at me then. “What do you mean? Who the hell is Jane Winters anyway?”
I shrugged. “Not my story to tell.” I pulled my phone out and dialed, putting it on speaker.
“Where the hell are you?” Jane’s voice, slightly slurred, came through. Loud music played in the background. It sounded like some kind of EDM, not the usual folk-lite stuff that played at the smaller parties we’d gone to. “We’re having anamazingtime, get your ass over here.”
“Where are you exactly?” I asked, now wishing I hadn’t put the speaker on. But it was a small car and Jane was speaking so loudly that Stick would have heard anyway.
“At that club in Chesney that Heather told us about.”
“How’d you get in?” I asked. Fake IDs weren’t unheard of, but if Jane had one and got busted, and I didn’t even know about it…I didn’t even want to imagine the shit storm that my father would rain down on me.
“Jane? How’d you get in?” I asked again.
“Pffft. Easy peasy. You have got to come, Lily, the dancing is hype.”
“Shit,” I said to myself. Stick gave me a questioning look. “Is Syd with you?”
“No. But Lily, you’ll never guess who’s here. Montrose! Can you believe it? I am so going to hit that tonight. He’s going to be late for class for sure on Monday—’cause he won’t be able to walk!” She laughed loud and boisterously at that. I loved Jane when she was “on” like this. She was free and daring and brave, all things I wished I could be. But being drunk and underage at a club was not a smart move. And with Montrose there too…
“Would you mind if—” I said to Stick, but he was already turning off the route to the dorm and away from town, toward Chesney, a wealthy town about twenty minutes from Schoolport. Most of the faculty from Bribury lived in Chesney, not deigning to live in the crappy town where they worked.
“I’m not sure I can get in,” I said when we’d reached Chesney and the club where Jane was partying.
“Don’t worry about it. Keep the motor running,” he said as he left the car double-parked in front of the club. “Christ, this is really fucking up my night,” I heard him say to himself as he shut the car door behind him.
