“How about yesterday? Why didn’t you come to Tropical?” she demanded, fixing her gaze on me as if she was trying to read my mind.
“Um.”
“I’m guessing that two guys like Hunter and Cooper are better than your friends in your naïve eyes.” Amelia always used that strong, firm tone when she talked.
I’d never doubted that she had a strong personality, but she always seemed angry. Really angry.
“And I understand that two steers are better than one,” Poppy said.
I burst out laughing at Poppy, who was dyeing the ends of her hair.
“What are you getting at?” I grumbled.
“They’re joking,” whispered Ari, biting her lips.
“Even if there are rumors . . .”
Poppy’s image froze as soon as Amelia cleared her throat.
“What rumors?” I asked.
“Nothing. All we know is you went on an adventure this morning in the Palm Springs desert.”
“No, what are you talking about? Who—” Jackson. Who else?
“Are you and Will serious?”
Was there any other way of being together without it being serious?
“He told me that he likes me but wants to take things slow. I’d say we’re not serious.”
“All right, the fact that he admits that he likes you is major. It’s weird that James is managing to stay out of the way for once. Right, Ari?” Amelia’s voice was so sharp that it made her friend bow her head. It was tense between them, but I couldn’t figure out why.
“Sorry, what does James have to do with it?” I asked.
“We’re talking about someone who wants to have every girl who walks in front of him, and he doesn’t care even if it’s his best friend’s girlfriend.” And she repeated sneakily, “Right, Ari?”
“What on earth do you mean?” Ari groaned.
“What do I mean? I think you know.”
I got that there was something going on between James and Ari, but what did Will have to do with it?
“Why don’t you forget about that old stuff now? Listen, I gotta go.” Ari hung up, and a little while later Amelia said goodbye too.
“Poppy?”
I watched her bite into an Oreo, her hair full of silvery foils.
“Yes?”
“What were they talking about?”
“Lately Amelia’s had the bad habit of bringing up stuff that happened in ninth grade. I don’t know what’s going on with her. She’s been taunting Ari every day. She started doing it when she and Brian broke up.”
Poppy shrugged, confused.Thank you very much, Poppy, I ask you something, and you always tell me more than you should.
“Do you know why it ended between them?”
