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I hop out of the truck, pocket my keys, then come around the truck to catch up with Bobby, who’s already through the double doors of Pepperoni Pirate.
The place is packed and explosively noisy for a late Monday afternoon, and that’s for three little reasons: first, it’s the summer; second, it’s the only place in Spruce that serves both pizza and has six pool tables and two shuffleboard tables and dartboards; third, it’s CJ’s birthday, and everyone and their damned uncle loves CJ.
Probably because almost everyone in town gets their hair cut by Cale and Edison, and CJ is Cale’s only kid—his pride and joy. CJ is turning nineteen, and after spending a year being a lazy bum in Spruce, he’s finally heading off to college in the fall—some school for engineers in north Texas, if I heard the rumor right. Cale is super beaten up about it and spends every waking second with his son before shipping him off across the state.
From the looks of it, CJ’s birthday bash has taken over the entire restaurant. Tables are shoved together with big platters of differently dressed pizzas laid out. People are gathered in clusters chatting and laughing with giant Pepperoni Pirate mugs of soda and paper plates of pizza in their hands. Paper banners and party streamers and balloons are hung everywhere. The floor is littered with confetti already and the party just started an hour ago.
I find Bobby at one of the pizza-filled tables peering over the choices while Lena, Rhea, and Amber appear to be chewing his ear off about something. Those gossiping girls are a trio of dancers I went to high school with—and who decided they were all Bobby’s besties when he came out to everyone three years ago.
“What’s goin’ on, ladies?” I greet them all, cutting off Rhea in the dead middle of a rant.
Lena shoots me a look. “Oh, I was just asking Bobby here if he’s seeing anyone.”
Rhea rolls her eyes. “She was askin’ if you’re seein’ anyone.”
Lena gasps, her face flushing at once. “Rhea! I was not!”
In the middle of Rhea and Lena’s back-and-forth, Amber lifts her chin and squints at me. “How’s your dancing career over there at South Wood? I hear you’re turning into a Californian.”
I frown. “My school isn’t in California. It’s in Arizona.”
“Anything west of here is California to us.” She pushes in front of her two squabbling friends, bringing herself right up next to me. “Hey, I’m having a little gathering of friends tonight. Just us girls, and a few other dancers from back in the day—those of us still in town. Nothin’ big, just wine and finger foods and making fun of our old dance recitals. Are you free? You’ll be the only guy there. The girls miss you.”
They tried this ruse on me last summer, too. It turned into a night of twenty questions, an unwelcomed kiss in the kitchen, and a ton of gossip firing around town the next morning. I’m not fallin’ for that again. “As much as I appreciate the invite …” I start.
“Camille’s gonna be there, too.”
Bobby’s eyes flick up at the mention of her name, staring hard at the pair of us from across the table.
I wasn’t aware that he’s paying our chat a lick of mind until now.
I smirk. “That supposed to make a difference? I’ve got plans.”
Amber is persistent. “She hasn’t seen you in years, Jimmy. And the girls miss you, like I said. We all do.”
I notice that Rhea and Lena stopped arguing, both of their full attentions on me. “Sorry, ladies,” I address them all as I slide three narrow slices of thin-crust pepperoni with mushrooms and long green peppers onto my plate. I only wanted two, but the third just hung right on. “Can’t tonight. Y’all will have fun without me.”
“No, we won’t!” blurts Lena, for which Rhea gasps and swats her friend.
Amber crosses her arms. “You think you’re better than us.”
I eye her. “That ain’t it.”
“You’re all California now,” she continues to taunt. “Training at some big, fat, fancy academy. Can’t even dare to slum it with a few gals from high school anymore.”
“South Wood isn’t in California.” I pop a garlic breadstick bite into my mouth. “I just have plans tonight with my buddy is all.”
“So you’re gonna spend all summer with Bobby again?” asks Amber with a suggestive lilt in her voice. “Ignore all of us? Push all the girls aside? Sounds like you don’t care a bit about any of us anymore, that’s what it sounds like to me.”
“Yo, Bobs, my man!” someone shouts out from a table across the room. “Over here!”
Bobby turns around with his plate. It’s a table full of his soccer buddies plus a couple others, flagging him over and waving like idiots. Bobby waves back, then heads on over to the table as they shout and hoot like animals, making room for him to join them.
