The driver’s door opens, and Travis gets in, clutching a paper bag. He reaches inside and pulls out a soda.
“Dr Pepper,” he announces, passing it back to me.
“Thank you.”
“And for you, my love,” he says to Retha, pulling out another bottle. “Mike’s Hard Lemonade.”
She leans over, her lips spreading into a smile. “Thank you, baby,” she whispers, and kisses him.
I open my soda, letting it hiss so it doesn’t bubble over. Just as I take a sip, Retha laughs.
“Holy shit, Savvy,” she says, untangling herself from Travis. “Isn’t that your boyfriend out there?”
My stomach drops, and I lower my drink. I don’t have a boyfriend, but I do have a particularly psychotic ex. Then again, if Patrick were out there, Retha wouldn’t be laughing. She’d be grabbing a bat.
“Who are you talking about?” I slide to the window and scan the parking lot, recognizing no one.
“He just went inside,” she says. “Damn, girl. Is that a new Beamer?”
“Who?”I ask. “I don’t know anyone with—” I stop when I realize she must be talking about Cameron Ramsey. I spot his car. “Same BMW,” I say, even though I’m sure she already knew that.
“The new kid from class?” Travis asks.
Retha points a sharp fingernail toward the store. “That’s him,” she says. Retha turns to me and smiles. “Go say hi, Savvy.”
“No.” She’s crazy if she thinks I will.
“Go.”
“No, Retha,” I say. “I’m not stalking Cameron into a 7-Eleven.”
“Come on,” she says like I’m just being stubborn. “The boy likes you. He talks to you.”
“So?”
“He doesn’t talk to anyone else,” she says.
She has a point, and maybe he does sort of like me. Maybe. But it doesn’t really matter. I’m still not following a dude from my delinquent class into a convenience store. I’m not a total loser.
“Let’s just drive somewhere,” I tell them, trying to sound like I don’t care. But I can’t help stealing another glance out my window. I look down at my soda, peeling the label for a distraction.
If it was a few years ago, maybe even last year, I could have tried for someone like Cameron. He might have fit in with my crowd—all the jocks and cheerleaders. But I’m not that girl now. And I don’t have those friends anymore.
Besides, I don’t have time for a guy to mess with my head. I have my brother to take care of. I’ll always have him.
Retha leans over to whisper in Travis’s ear, and I rest my head back against the seat. Travis starts the car and shifts into gear, but instead of driving to the street, he crosses the parking lot and parks next to the shiny black BMW.
I sit up straight. “Wait. What are you doing?” I ask him.
He catches my eyes in the mirror and shrugs.
“Traitor,” I mutter.
“Time to pee,” Retha calls, getting out. She opens the back door and ducks in to look at me. “You’re coming with.”
“Am not.” There is no way.
“Get out of the car, Savannah,” she says, “or I’m telling Cameron you’re waiting out here to give him a blow job.”
