And thenshecrawled out of the passenger side. Jane. With her weird-ass sister, Julia, whom I’d just met for the first time.
Almost made me feel sorry for Jane, to have to have a sister likethattag along. Jane at least makes an effort to look cool, to wear makeup, to dress a little more like a normal teenager, but Julia just stared at us all from behind her thick glasses, her flat, bony body lost in one of those hideous prairie dresses.
My heart sank; I figured he was Jane’s boyfriend or on the way to being. Then, as they walked over to everyone, she introduced him to Blair as her friend: “He’s a friend of our family from Dallas. His dad shipped him here for the summer to apprentice under Pa. He’s staying with us.”
And they didn’t hold hands or act affectionate to each otherat all. But I did see the way Julia was looking at him all night, with big puppy-dog eyes.
“Gay rod.” Dustin coughed these words into his fist, loud enough for all of us to hear.
I wanted to punch him in his flabby stomach, kick him in the balls, but I just rolled my eyes, took another drag off my smoke.
If Luke heard him, he pretended like he didn’t. Didn’t act bothered at all.
Blair, of course, pranced over to him, all flirty, basically throwing herself at him even though Tommy was standing right there.
Luke was all smiles with her, and they talked for a while, so long that I felt like I didn’t stand a chance.
But when he started heading over to the keg, I raced there.
It was just the two of us.
He was squeezing the nozzle, filling a cup with beer, and when I walked up, almost out of breath, he looked up, flipped his bangs out of his eyes, and smiled at me. “Need one?”
His tone was scratchy, a heavy smoker’s voice, and sweet. Made me melt.
“Sure,” I said coolly.
When he passed me the plastic cup, his fingers touched mine.
“Got a name?” he asked, grinning at me. “I’m Luke.”
“Nellie.”
“For real? Like fromLittle House—”
“On the Prairie, yes.”
I was bracing for him to tease me, like everyone else overthe years, but he flipped his bangs back again, his eyes smiling. “That’s awesome. She’s a total badass. Must mean you are, too.”
“Not if you askthem,” I blurted before I could stop myself. My face burned. But there was something about Luke that made me trust him, made me wanna open up to him.
“Humph,” he scoffed, scanning the crowd. “Fuck ’em, right? I can tell you’re different. I’m—” He scratched the back of his neck. “Let’s just say that I’m different, too. So I get ya.”
Now my face was on fire, and I was positive he could see my skin glowing beet red. I sucked down half the beer. Then the other half. Which made him snort.
“Damn, Nellie!”
Good, I thought.I’ve impressed him.I stuck out my empty cup for him to refill.
“I like a girl who can hold her liquor.”
He worked a cig between his lips as he filled my cup.
I studied his fucking gorgeous eyes: dark, mysterious, deep brown, but somehow also lit up.
“So, tell me, what’s everybody got against ya?” He tugged down his T-shirt, which had crept up, showing off his tan stomach.
“They all think I’m a freak.”
