“Actually,” Tom offers, “Nico’s tattoo is a?—”
“Fuck,” Nico cuts in. “That stick’s been stuck up your ass for fourteen consecutive years, Annie.”
“You wish your dick was stuck up this ass,” I purr.
“Honey,” he laughs easily, “If I got my dick up your ass, you’d be wishin’ for it for the rest of your life.”
I amappalled. Who the hell is this guy and what the hell has he done with the kid who bawled like a baby when I took his holographic Charizard Pokemon card? I stand up and start moving, to do… something,anything?—
“Where you goin’, sweetheart?” Nico drawls.
I stop short and look around. “I’m sorry, is this some sort of active construction site? Are you going to tell me to smile?”
“But you’d be much prettier if you smiled.”
“You’d be much prettier if you kept your scammy fucking mouth shu?—
“What’s going on?” May calls out from behind us.
FOUR
Annie
We all shutour mouths as she floats back to us.
“Nothing,” I say sweetly, quickly sitting back down. “Still discussing the flavor ‘blue.’ Nico just told us it’s the only icee flavor his cousin Vinny serves out of the cooler at the end of his driveway.”
Nico grumbles under his breath, but thankfully decides to keep his pretty lips sealed.
May looks at him.
I hold my breath and hope I’ve successfully deflected.
Her eyes light up, and I exhale in relief.
“Annie,” she says excitedly.
I blink. “Yes?”
“Nico’s driving down to the wedding. He’s doing a whole road trip the week before.”
Nico’s head whips up.
There is a sudden roaring in my ears. “Oh?”
“You should go with him!”
Entire civilizations rise and fall in the silence that follows. Empires are forged, coups are staged, alliances crumble. A medieval bard pens a tragic ballad about the pain currentlytightening my spine. Somewhere, a tiny peasant child throws a tomato at a guillotine.
Until Tom breaks it with a laugh.
“I don’t think—” I start.
“No, May—” Nico tries.
She ignores him. Both of us. “It’ll be great!” she insists. “You two will get to hang out before the wedding,” she says with a smirk towards me, “and you don’t have a way to get there yet, Annie,” May says. Fuck. “Nico already has a car and lodging?—”
“I’m not sharing a hotel room with?—”
