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“Yep. And she didn’t seem that pleased when I said you and I had talked to each other.”
The corners of my lips twitch. “You told her you talked to me?”
“Yeah …” A crease forms between her brow. “What’s so weird about that?”
“I don’t know …” I bite back my amusement, telling myself not to say the words that are burning on the tip of my tongue. Apparently, though, I have self-control issues, which I guess really isn’t new news. “I was just thinking about how I must’ve been stuck on your mind.”
“Oh my God,” Harlow groans, her head bobbing back. “I think I’m gonna puke. Seriously, dude, is that how you get so many girls to swoon over you? Because, if it is, then I’ve lost all hope for the female population.”
Raven smiles at that, and so do I.
“What?” I say innocently. “I was just saying something that’s probably pretty true.”
“No way,” Raven says amusedly. “You weren’t stuck on my mind. Katy brought you guys up because she saw what happened between me and Zay in class. Speaking of which”—she rotates in the seat, bringing her leg up so her knee is pressing into the side of my leg, then she rests her elbow on the back of the seat, bringing herself closer to me, I wish on purpose, but I think she’s just attempting to get comfortable—“aren’t you going to get in trouble for talking to me?”
“With Zay?” I ask, and she nods. I dismiss her with a flick of my wrist. “Nah. I mean, he might not be happy at first, but he’ll get over it.”
“You sure about that?” she questions, elevating her brow. “Because he seemed pretty pissed off. Plus, your friend Jax kind of told you to stay away from me.”
I waver, nibbling on my bottom lip. “That’s not what that was about.”
“Then what was it about?” she inquires.
I shrug, not wanting to tell her the truth, that Jax was basically warning me not to screw her or I’d probably end up with another Katy situation on my hands. Not that Raven is like Katy. Honestly, if I hadn’t been drunk that night, I never would’ve slept with Katy—she’s not my type—but I messed up, like I usually do when I’m drunk. I do it a lot when I’m sober, too.
“You’re such screw up,” my dad tells me, like he does all the time. “You have all the opportunities in the world, and all you do is piss them away.”
He says shit like that all the time. Then he would leave the house, leave her with me. Diane. And while she didn’t use to abuse me verbally, she did everything in her power to break me.
I yank myself away from memory lane and breathe in relief as we arrive at the diner.
Thank God. A distraction from my problems.
“So, has Harlow told you anything about this place?” I ask Raven, latching on to the opportunity to change the subject.
She notices, not answering right away, simply staring at me, assessing me. But then she lets it go, her gaze traveling to the old-school diner.
The windows are decorated with neon lights, the waitresses wear roller skates, and to order, you park near the marquee and the waitress brings your food to your car on a tray.
“She said they have the best fries,” Raven answers while studying the menu. She gets this weird, almost panicked look on her face and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip.
“They have great milkshakes, too,” I tell her, rolling down my window and letting the autumn breeze blow in.
“I think I’m just gonna get fries,” she tells me. “I’m not really that hungry.”
“No way,” Harlow says as she shuts off the engine. “You have to get a milkshake and a burger. The fries taste the best when you eat them with a combo.”
Raven shifts uncomfortably while chewing on her thumbnail. “It’d really be a waste of food, because there’s no way I’m that hungry right now.”
“Oh, fine.” Harlow pouts. “But next time we come here, you totally have to try some of everything.”
Raven laughs at that. “That’s a lot of fucking food.”
“Yeah, well, if we put our minds to it, I’m sure we can do it.” Harlow grins at her.
Raven grins back. “Okay, next time then.”
“Awesome.” Harlow assesses the menu then, even though she’ll probably order what she always does.
