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"Yeah, you say that a lot."
"Because you are."
Wilder hides a smile as I glance around the country club, hoping someone or something can distract me from the utter disgust I feel right now. When my eyes land on Mr. Allred sitting at a table across the way, my heart freezes in my chest.
"I thought you said Cash's parents wouldn't be here tonight," I panic.
"Fanny's in Arizona visiting her sister," he stares at me, confused.
"Then why," I say through gritted teeth, "is Mr. Allred here?"
I motion to my right as Wilder's eyes follow. "Oh my—"
"Who is he here with?" I ask as I crane my neck to get a peek at his dinner companion. But there are too many people in the way. I can't see who it is.
"Uh," Wilder shakes his head. "You're not going to believe it."
"Who?"
"Clementine Church."
I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand. Fanny's arch-nemesis? No, that can't be right.
"What are we going to do, Wilder?"
He smirks as the waitress appears to take our drink order. "We're going to enjoy our first and only dinner at the Country Club, Blondie."
Chapter 8
The Bonding Experience
"What are we going to do, Wilder?" I ask again as my fingers dig into the white, crisp tablecloth.
"You don't think he's... he wouldn't... no," Wilder shakes his head.
"Cheat?" I whisper-yell.
"Fanny would," Wilder pauses and lifts a finger, dragging it across his neck, "if he was."
"You mean unalive him?"
"Can't you say kill?" Wilder shakes his head.
"I've been watching too many TikTok’s," I run a hand down my face. "They'll suspend your account or something."
"For saying kill?"
"Or die," I shrug. "I think it's triggering for some people. Or it incites violence. Either way, you're not supposed to say it."
"It's going to be a trigger for us if Fanny finds out about this," Wilder raises an eyebrow. "Unless she already knows. That doesn't mean we still can't have some fun with it."
"But why would Mr. Allred be here?" I scrunch my face, confused. "In the open. Where everyone can see what he's doing."
Wilder leans forward, a tendril of charcoal falling across his forehead. "What if this is why Cash never brought us here?"
"Because his father is a lying, cheating psychopath?"
"Woah, Blondie," he says as he holds up a hand. "Let's tone it down a notch. Innocent until proven guilty."
