Page 125 of Under the Influence

“No fucking way, Chicago.”

“Puh-lease, Mad!” She whines. “You’re gonna have to be there anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to just play so you wouldn’t have to associate with anyone?”

She has a point.

“You make an excellent argument.”

“See,” she smirks. “You win, I win. Everyone is happy.”

“Why didn’t Carson ask me himself?”

She smiles, “He was going to, but I figured I’d have a better chance at success.”

“Yeah, I definitely would’ve said no to him.”

She stands up from my bed, “So you’ll do it?”

“Maybe, I’ll see if Grady is in and if we can get someone to play bass guitar.”

“Eeek!” she squeals, wrapping me into a hug. “I already asked Grady. He’s down.”

Of course, she did.

“This is gonna be great, Mad. Plus, I hear a certain someone is coming back tomorrow.”

I play stupid, “Who?”

She prods me with her elbow, “Just the girl you write your songs about, idiot.”

Oh, for Pete’s sake.

“We’re not together,” I remind her. “How do you even know she is coming back?”

“Carson.”

I figured as much. “Why are you hanging out with him so much?”

“We’re friends. You know, like you and Lainey.”

A small smirk finds my lips, “Lainey and I don’t have sex.”

“Good try,” she snaps. “Neither do we.”

“But you and Nash do?” I fire back.

“No. Nash and I just… well, we fight.”

I remember the way he showed up before school to pick her up, “I bet he gets off on it, too. I bet he fantasizes about chasing you through a dark and dreary forest, only to choke you against a tree.”

She laughs, “That’s actually scarily accurate.”

I snort, “Just stay away from him. I don’t think any good can come from it. Whatever ridiculous notion you have in your head, just squash it. You can’t save him from himself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she blows me off, but I’m not about to just let it go. I know this is about more than just games.

“I’m serious, Cori.”

“So am I,” she sasses. “It’s not a thing. I doubt it will ever be a thing.”