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“I’ve been here for half an hour, asshole. I already said hi to you.”
Harrison shrugs like this information isn’t important. “Well then, Jonathan, that bow was for you. Interested?”
He holds out his joint, and I shake my head.
Collette takes it in my stead, inhaling a short drag then handing it back to Harrison before waggling her fingers in greeting at Emmett and me. She exhales the smoke slowly and then it’s right back to what she was doing before, looking up at the sky unbothered. What could be so interesting up there?
Of all the Saint John’s girls, I’ve always liked Collette. She’s quiet and that can sometimes be mistaken for shyness, but she’s never failed to hold her own in our group. Her dad was the Singapore Ambassador to the United States while she was growing up, and she was practically kept under lock and key at Saint John’s. Her situation wasn’t unique though. Most everyone at the boarding school had some kind of security detail. The campus as a whole was locked down to the point of insanity. We all felt stifled, which is probably why we acted out so much.
Emmett and I take a seat on opposite ends of the couch facing the unlit fireplace. I realize now I’m still wearing my tie from my work dinner. I yank on the knot and tug it off, rolling it up and stuffing it into my suit jacket pocket. I undo the top button of my shirt and lean back against the couch. It’s easy to be among old friends. I sip my drink, listening to Harrison on his quest to try to explain a Buddhist quote to us while high. Collette, meanwhile, hasn’t moved.
My curiosity wins out.
“What are you doing?”
“Stargazing.”
Her reply is so matter-of-fact I can’t help but laugh.
“You can’t see anything though.”
“Not true. There are a handful up there. And when the clouds shift, there are more.”
“Probably just satellites,” Emmett argues.
“Well those satellites sure are pretty,” she replies, undeterred.
“I think that’s the green talking. Where’s your friend?”
“Who?”
“Elaine.”
She shrugs. “Who knows. She’s impossible to pin down. Kind of like the stars, really.Damn.Did that sound as insightful as I think it did?”
“No,” Emmett responds dryly.
But Harrison nods. “Genius. I haven’t seen that girl in forever. Is she in Boston now?”
I frown, not sure who they’re talking about. “Elaine?”
“Lainey Davenport,” Collette supplies, tipping her head toward me. “Emmett’s the only one who insists on calling herElaine. She was at Saint John’s with us, but she’s like six years younger than me which means you definitely wouldn’t have known her, Jonathan.”
“How do you know her then?” I ask Emmett.
When it doesn’t seem like he cares to answer, Collette fills in for him.
“She was friends with my little sister, but she and I have gotten closer now that we work together.”
“Lainey was hard to miss at Saint John’s,” Harrison adds.
“I’d argue the exact opposite,” Emmett says, almost brusquely.
Harrison laughs. “Are we talking about the same girl?”
It’s obvious what he means.
Collette groans in disgust. “She was a kid, sicko.”
