How would I wait that long?
When Luke got here, his hair was freshly washed and still damp at the ends. He was wearing the same ratty jeans he always does, but he’d put on what looked like a brand-new blackT-shirt. He looked so hot, I nearly fainted at the front door. And then, from behind his back, he pulled out a small bouquet of wildflowers.
“Flowers, really?” I asked, kind of making fun of him because that’s so not my thing. Or his, I would think.
He laughed at this. “Yeah, like, whatever—”
I snatched them and handed them to Mom, who was hovering behind us like a witch on a broomstick.
“I would say to be back by midnight,” Mom said, speaking too loudly, embarrassing herself, and me, “but just enjoy yourselves!”
I rolled my eyes at her again before sliding into Luke’s Camaro.
He popped inLed Zeppelin IV, lit us both a clove before we were out of the drive. I looked over at him. Even the way he smokes is sexy, the muscles on his neck flexing when he takes in a long, hard drag.
I felt the urge again to ask him about Blair, to just straight up get it off my chest, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment, the night. I mean, he told me when I busted them together that it wasn’t what it looked like, but I don’t know. It sure looked like they were together to me.
He drove out to the edge of town, to the Circles.
Thank God, no one else was there.
He parked, killed the engine, but kept his stereo on.
From the back seat, he pulled out a six-pack of beer and a bottle of whiskey.
“Shots and beers? Sound good?” he asked, twisting open thewhiskey.
“Hell yeah,” I said, grinning at him.
After two shots, I decided it didn’t really matter what he’d had going on with Blair. She’s pathetic and in the hospital; he was out withme.
He calledme, broughtmeflowers, pickedmeup.
I took a third shot, the liquor burning my throat, numbing my nerves.
Luke drummed in time to the music on his steering wheel, his eyes intense, fiery.
I sipped at my beer, the can already warm from the heat, took big drags off my smoke.
Luke then flipped down his visor, slid out a joint. “Yeah?” he asked me, waving it around.
“Fuck yeah.”
This made him cackle. “I like you, Nellie Andersen. Mouth like a sailor, parties like one, too.”
I smiled so hard, I felt like my face was gonna split.
“You really surprise me, ya know that?” He lit the jay; sparks flew off the tip, down into his lap. He sucked on it, passed it over to me.
“Oh yeah, how so?” I took a huge hit, one that sent me into a coughing fit. After that, my vision had a film over it, and all the muscles in my body were relaxed.
“You’re not like the others. The other rich girls, I mean. They’re more—”
“Prissy? Stuck-up little bitches?” I said, filling in the blanks.
He laughed. “Yeah, somethin’ like that. It’s like you don’t give a shit about what anybody thinks of you, and I really admire that.”
“Oh, but I do give a shit—”
