“Maybe I could help you easily get whatever you want from Austin. Don’t you get it? I could help you.”
Their laughter ceased instantly. “Don’t even joke about something like that, you’re not gonna be bait,” James said.
“But think about it, James.” Will looked at me more intensely. “It’s the morning. He’s alone. He can’t do anything to us.”
James grabbed one of Will’s shoulders and pulled him aside.
“Are you a dumbass, Will? What if he does something to her?”
“What could he do? We’ll be there.”
“You two are completely out of your minds,” James said.
I now understood that I needed to be careful with those types of jokes around Will, but James’s bluntness didn’t seem to faze him. Maybe he was used to it.
“You don’t have anything else?” Will pointed at the backpack. “Besides the hoodie, I mean.” I opened the biggest compartment.
“I just have this,” I answered, pulling out a low-cut tank top.
James ripped it out of my hands and threw it onto the floor. “Yeah, and then you’ll see what happens to you!”
I shivered because deep down I knew that he was right.
“James, enough,” Will said.
“You don’t understand what kind of maniacs you’re dealing with.” He raised his voice.
“I told you, I don’t think so,” Will replied.
“I want to see what you’ll think if you go see him dressed like that.”
I ignored his comments and looked at William.
“What do you say, Will?”
He picked my shirt up off the floor and passed it to me. “We have to think of a plan to distract him. And if you put this on, you’ll definitely distract someone like him.”
Meaning if we’re gonna fuck things up, we gotta really fuck them up, right?
William went to put the dishes in the sink. James on the other hand stared indifferently at my oversized hoodie.
“You look fine like that. Why do you have to change?”
I didn’t know if it was actually a way to prevent me from getting into serious trouble, but for once I decided to listen to him. I put the tank top back into my backpack, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Listen, Bonnie and Clyde, what we’re about to do is fucking crazy. Batshit fucking crazy. That’s exactly why I won’t go inside, but . . .”
James let out a groan of frustration out when he realized that we weren’t paying attention.
Will caressed my cheek and gave me a peck on the lips.
“Are you listening to me?” James said in an unsuccessful attempt to get our attention again.
“June, obviously I told you that just for Austin. It doesn’t make a difference to me how you dress. You’re always so beautiful,” added Will. “I’m gonna go change now, then we’ll leave.”
I stood dazed, and watched him walk away. James mimicked a grossed-out face.
“Suck it. I’m really beautiful.”
