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Bridget hops off the counter and pats her own tits. “Bet those private school bitches don’t keep you this entertained.”
I add nothing to the conversation but they don’t seem to mind. The three of them are content to listen to the cackle of their own voices before wandering the aisles and making a mess. I keep an eye on them because if they think I’ll stand by while they rip off the Cushings they’ve got another thing coming.
Meanwhile, Camden has retreated out of sight and aside from a brief sneer from Bridget I saw no interaction between her and the Devil Valley girls. I know Camden went to school around here until she transferred to Black Mountain after middle school. Devil Valley isn’t a big town so Camden must know them and vice versa. Whatever. Girls are weird. They carry around lifelong grudges over a sour look or a stupid piece of gossip.
Abbey pouts when I tell her she can’t have a pair of sunglasses for free and Bridget is displeased when I won’t let her take any beer. Ultimately they purchase a handful of bubble gum lollipops and a jar of Vaseline. It’s an interesting combination and I can only guess what their plans are.
Bridget files her nails while Maya pays for the items. When I hand the bag over, Bridget pointedly licks her upper lip.
“We’ll all be at The Lot later. I’m sure we can find something for you to do if you come by and visit.”
She exits with a blast of freezing air and her two minions blow kisses my way before following her out the door. The Lot is just an empty space of land behind the old leather factory outside town. It’s a frequent party spot and if you stick around long enough you’re bound to see something X-rated plus at least one fight. I don’t see any appeal in hanging out there in this freezing weather and hooking up with a girl I’d have no interest in talking to in the daylight. On the other hand, going home later and possibly dealing with Dirtbag sounds even less exciting.
“I see your harem left.”
“What?” I’m pulled out of my thoughts by Camden’s return.
She’s grimacing as she straightens the display of sunglasses that was ransacked by the cheerleaders. “Your friends.”
“They’re not my friends. I hardly know them.”
“Right. That’s why your tongue was halfway down Bridget ’s throat.”
She won’t look at me and her tone is sharp. There’s a flush in her cheeks and her forehead is creased. A thought occurs to me and I smile.
“You’re jealous.”
She glares. “Get real.”
“Well, it sounds like you want an introduction to my tongue. That can be arranged.”
She doesn’t stomp off or toss back an insult. She scrutinizes me for a long moment and taps her finger against her lips. “I don’t understand you, Beltran.”
“I’m not trying real hard to be understood by you, Galway.”
She’s still thinking. “There’s just something off about you. I mean, you have all the obnoxious lines down and your attitude is the pits but somehow it seems like an act.”
I don’t like the comment. She’s getting too close to something real.
Camden continues her thought process aloud. “I’ve heard all the stories about you. You cultivate this image of a brainless jock yet you wouldn’t be going to Black Mountain if you didn’t have ambition. And we share enough classes for me to see that you’re smarter than you want people to think you are. You say you moved here from Chicago but Devil Valley is kind of a hole in the wall destination and you don’t seem to have any local connections. It’s just you and your mom. Who are you, Ben? What are you about?”
She’s wearing her reporter personality right now and it’s obvious she’s spent some time thinking about these questions. I have no intention of answering them so I turn the tables on her.
“Why don’t you have any friends, Camden?”
She blinks. “I have friends.”
“Are they invisible?”
The question makes her flinch. Obviously a nerve has been hit. “Trina’s my friend. Along with everyone else who works on the Bulletin.”
“But you grew up in Devil Valley. You live here. Yet you seem to have no friends within a twenty mile radius.”
“So sue me for failing to be a social butterfly. I take my schoolwork seriously. I take the school newspaper seriously. And I take care of my family. Unlike you, I don’t go out partying every weekend, getting drunk or high and then trying to remember how many people I messed around with.”
Camden ends her little speech by accidentally knocking over a display of chocolate Santas. It’s kind of a funny moment, especially when she curses and drops to the floor to start cleaning up, but I don’t laugh.
I know what she’s talking about and for the first time the wild rumors about me become a real pain in the ass.
