“I know you’re being cheesy for Iz, but you have a point about making money.” Scout frowned at her PBR. “Cheap beer that tastes like nickels is not it.”
“Scout’s bitter the bar’s a bust,” I told Brooks, as he lifted a finger to beckon the bartender.
Brooks glanced around. “Yeah, I probably could’ve told you that. You guys should hang around USC. There’s a bunch of chill places.”
“And meetstudents?” Scout looked aghast.
“You know where I’ve heard is cool?” Georgia twisted the tab on her can. “The Serpent Room on Highland.”
“Hold on.” Brooks straightened beside me. “What’s going on over there?”
Behind the VIP ropes, Mallory Martin swayed unnaturally, then toppled face-first onto a velvet couch. Her lush brown hair spilled everywhere, skirt hiking dangerously high. Everyone around her at the VIP table started cracking up.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Scout said. “Emmy Nolan got her revenge.”
“That’s not all she’s getting.” Georgia tipped her chin toward the back corner, where Emmy was making out with a tall, slender boy with foppish hair. “Twenty bucks says that’s the guy she swore was in the closet.”
I shook my head. “Girl-on-girl warfare is savage.”
“That’s just Emmy. She’d do anything for attention.”
I startled at the unfamiliar voice, and I wasn’t the only one—beside me, Scout jumped. The words had come from Alden, at the end of the bar. I’d honestly forgotten he was there.
“I warned my sister not to trust her.” He stood the way he always did, a little hunched, hands in his pockets, like he was uncomfortable in his own skin. A PBR sat unopened beside him. “But she doesn’t make friends easily. Family trait, I guess.”
Georgia nudged his shoulder. “Your sister looks like she’s having fun to me.”
I searched the bar—and when I found her, I let out a loud peal of laughter. Dakota was alone in the middle of the dance floor, weaving to the music with her eyes closed, clearly feeling the effects of whatever pill she’d taken.
“Alden,” I said, wiping my eyes. “You have to get a picture for blackmail.”
It was, quite possibly, the first time I’d ever seen him smile.
“She got like that at my dad’s Christmas party last year,” he admitted. “I spent the whole night chasing behind her in case she fell over.”
“Your dad’s Christmas party is legendary.” Scout dropped her empty can on the bar. “The way Izzy and I used to study pictures from it, you’d thinkUs Weeklywas a history book.”
Alden glanced shyly at Georgia. “I could get you invites, if you want. My dad’s always saying I should”—he made air quotes—“‘invite friends, for god’s sake.’”
I could feel the excitement radiating off Scout. “Are you serious?”
Brooks and I exchanged private smiles. A patented Scout Sage show in three, two, one…
But Georgia’s phone pinged, interrupting, and as soon as she checked it, she said, “I’m heading out.”
“What?” Scout screeched. “Why?”
“We just got here,” Alden protested. I couldn’t tell who was more surprised, him or Scout.
“You said yourself the bar is dead.” Georgia zipped her purse. “Will you buy my beer? I’ll pay you back.” She made little prayer hands, then beelined for the exit.
“I guess I’ll head out, too,” said Alden, abandoning his unopened beer on the bar, his eyes locked on Georgia.
I rolled my eyes. If this was the two of them inventing some excuse to get away, it wasn’t very subtle. AndAlden—what was Georgia thinking? I made a mental note to talk to her about having some standards.
“Where are you going?” Scout sputtered. “Everyone you know is here.”
“Let a girl have her secrets,” Georgia called, turning over shoulder. She stopped in her tracks, hand on the door, laughing at us. “Don’t give me those faces. I’ll tell you soon, I swear!”
