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Parker pulls back, smiling faintly at her friend. “Hey, theydidget the donation we needed, just not in the way we planned. They’re great sweaters, so soft and cozy. Maybe you could repurpose yours and wear it for Halloween.”
“Eh, maybe,” she says, but she doesn’t sound interested. “I was working on a different costume, but I haven’t had time to finish it. I suppose I could have spent the time I wasted making these on that, but I didn’t realize we could just threaten Landon with someone seeing your legs and he’d hand over a check. My mistake. Ishouldhave known that.”
Parker wraps a comforting arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “You just don’t possess the loan shark mentality required for brainstorming shakedowns.”
“If I had a dollar for every time that was a problem for me,” Hannah jokes.
___
Since Parker didn’t want Hannah to be a lonely panda, she kept the sweater on, but paired it with black leggings instead of the short skirt. She also left on the panda makeup since there wasn’t time to take it off before school started, so she and Hannah spend the rest of the school day canvasing for donations between classes.
Anae gets annoyed at lunch when she realizes she was left out of the panda prostitution ring, and evenmoreannoyed when Arden pledges $10k after Parker strategically showed off my donation. The guy can’t be outdone.
Given Arden isherdate to his Fright Fest afterparty tomorrow night, Anae is also enraged watching him not bother to hide his enjoyment of Hannah’s skimpy costume before coaxing her to come hold the clipboard for him while he jots down his donation.
Either unaware of or indifferent to Anae’s intensifying anger, when he hands the pen back to Hannah, he asks, “You’re coming to my party tomorrow night, right?”
Hannah flushes, focusing her attention on the pen as she slides it beneath the clip. “Um, I’m not sure.”
“You better,” he teases, with his usual easy charm. “I won’t have fun without you.”
Hannah flashes him an uneasy smile before turning and hightailing it back to the table she sits at with Parker.
Ordinarily, I would not give a fuck, but given my girlfriend is fiercely protective of the girl, I know if Hannah has a bad time, I’m gonna have a bad time, too.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Good deeds,” he said dryly. “I hear the pandas need saving.”
“Not the donation.” I shake my head. “Don’t fuck with Hannah. I don’t want to hear about it. And didn’t you ask Anae to the party?”
“We’re coordinating costumes. We’re not getting married.”
“She’ll fucking kill you both, and I’m not exaggerating,” I state.
Arden rolls his eyes, reaching for his drink. “I’m not afraid of Anae Richards.”
“You’re not gonna score with Hannah Dupont, either,” Malek says, inserting himself into the conversation. “That girl’s untouchable.”
“For you, maybe,” Arden says with a smirk, causing Malek to roll his eyes. “I know who’s already touched her, and I happen to think I’m just her type.”
“Bullshit,” Malek says, not buying it for a minute. “Anyone who claims to have scored with Hannah’s a fucking liar.”
Arden shakes his head, and I frown at the smug look on his face, like he knows something we don’t. “Didn’t have to be told. I saw it for myself.”
At that, Malek scowls. “Who?”
Arden smirks, enjoying having information someone else wants. Especially Malek, because they’re friends, and while Arden would probably never admit it, he needs to best everyone—especially us. “Let’s just say the last guy who played with Anae Richards got a two for one deal, and I’m interested in the same package.”
Now it’s my turn to call bullshit. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but I have it on very good authority that Dare never fucked Hannah.”
“You know he and Anae essentially had an open relationship? She let him fuck whoever he wanted. And you think hedidn’ttake advantage of the knockout bringing him drinks at his girlfriend’s house?” Arden asks, cocking an eyebrow in disbelief.
“I know people said some shit about how he used to sneak into her room when he was dating Anae, but honestly… even if he did, it was against her will, and he never went all the way with her. I know for a fact Hannah’s still a virgin.”
Arden shrugs. “So she’s his unfinished business, then. I’m happy to finish it for him.”
“You keep dreaming, asshole,” Malek says, grabbing at his French fries rather aggressively.
