Lesstech bro, morefatalistic goth.
Benny stopped in front of me and pulled back his hood, revealing a dark, low-fade haircut that was stylishly moppy on top, and a perpetually long face that sported a thick new beard.
“Paige,” he said in a deep monotone. “Good to see you.”
“Nice beard. Very hot and manly,” I said, unable to stop myself from smiling when he grunted in response. He brightened a little as he looked me over, and when he bent his head to kiss me casually on the cheek in greeting, I reached up and hugged him, catching him off guard. The distinct scent of weed wafted. But he embraced me back, and it felt genuine, which was nice; as a rule, Benny didn’t express a lot of emotion.
I pulled back and smiled at him. “Been a minute, huh?”
“Yeah. Sort of surreal for us all to be standing in the same place, don’t you think?” Striking brown eyes—always his best feature—blinked at me with curiosity. “I’ve been back only about a week, and it’s wild to drive around town after being gone for so long.”
The first thing to know about Benny is that he’s genuinely a genius when it comes to computer programming and coding. The second thing is that he’s possibly the worst driver in Haven Beach, having racked up at least seven accidents while totaling two expensive cars—that I knew of. Last I’d heard, his driver’s license had been suspended, so it was surprising to hear him talking casually about “driving” around town.
But I didn’t want to kill the vibe, bringing any of this up. “Still studying at WMU, right?” I asked, thinking how it was only an hour and a half down the road. “Have you not been back home at all this year?”
“Nah,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I thought about spending the summer somewhere else, but my folks are down in Buenos Aires, staying with my Aunt Renata—helping her with my new nephew for a couple months.”
“Ah,” I said. “Got the house to yourself this summer?”
He nearly smiled in response.Nearly.“Yeah, so I haven’t really been alone...” He trailed off because a tiny white girl with a bleached-blond pixie haircut stepped between us.
“Hi there! You must be Paige. I’m Lulu Lambert.” She spoke in a Disney voice, confident and peppy, flashing me a big smile as she stuck out her hand to shake. “Benny and I met at WMU and started talking because I’m from a town not far from here—small world, right? Mr. and Mrs. Morales have kindly given permission for me to stay in their pool house.” The girl touched my arm. “So, Paige... Harvard, huh?”
Wow.Way too much talking, way too fast. The girl’s billion-watt, cheerleader energy was a total one-eighty from Benny’s. And as she spoke, Seb did a silly imitation of her behind her back.
“Nice to meet you, Lulu,” I said, trying to ignore Seb. “How long have you two been together?”
“Two weeks?” she said, thinking. “Wait, three.”
“It feels longer, though, doesn’t it?” Benny said, kissing her forehead awkwardly.
“When you know, you know!” Lulu said.
“Trust me, weallknow,” Seb said dryly, retrieving a backpack from his car while Punkin peed on the perfectly mowed lawn.
“Seb stays in the pool house sometimes, too,” Lulu said.
He threw up a hand like a stop sign. “Not in the same room,” he corrected, glancing in my direction.
Not my business, I supposed. But I did find it strange that he’d been crashing at my place when he had a perfectly ritzy crash pad here with Benny, whose parents employed a housekeeper and a gardener. This was a thousand times better than Heron Cottage.
“Look, it’s been nice chatting, Lulu,” Seb said. “But I gotta steal your boy away for some top secret adventure.”
“No need. I’m coming along!” she announced with glee. “We already took out the canoes from storage this morning. This way, out back.”
Lulu raced away, with Punkin galloping after her. I glanced at Seb and Jaz, who were both frowning at each other. I felt the same way. This was supposed to be a Wags-only event. What if wedidfind the Golden Venus today—highly unlikely, sure, but what if? Would she get credit for the find? I didn’t even know this person.
But I guess I didn’t have a choice. Benny stalked after Luluand the dog, trailing them like a dark shadow. She was part of the team today, and that was that.
Jazmine stared daggers at Lulu’s back. “Want to strangle that little hobgoblin,” she whispered.
“Not if I strangle her first,” Seb said.
“She’s not a Wag,” I insisted.
“I know,” he said, sounding as disappointed as I felt. “Then again, I guess if one of us was dating someone—like, say, if you’d brought your Harvard beau home for the summer, then he’d be here, too.”
I wrinkled my nose. “A ‘beau’?”
