“Got to work when there’s rent to pay.”
Instantly I wish I hadn’t said that. Kent isn’t the perceptive type but something flashes in his eyes and he looks me over more carefully. I’ve never lied to him. I never had to. Kent’s family is loaded and his house is in that insane neighborhood of mansions where the Blackwoods and the other regional royalty live so that has to mean Kent’s family is pretty high up on the economic food chain. But he doesn’t seem to care where I come from or whether or not I have money. All he cares about is if I’m cool to hang out with.
Kent is still thinking and his light eyebrows furrow. “Hey, if you ever need a little cash-“
“I don’t.”
And I really don’t. I don’t want pity. Or handouts. Or questions.
“I’ll be fine after I get my next paycheck,” I tell him. It’s not the complete truth. But it could be argued that nothing I say is the complete truth.
Kent stares at me for another second and then nods. “All right, man.”
A flash of skin catches my eye and I see Allie Wexman approaching with a smile, her skirt hiked up high enough to showcase her shapely tanned legs. She’s got a fountain drink in her hand while she sucks on a pink straw.
“Hi, guys,” she says, trying to look cute as can be and succeeding. She props a knee up on the table.
Kent has no use for her. He doesn’t even answer. He returns to his steak.
Allie focuses on me. “What’s going on, Ben?”
I hate when people ask dumbass questions like that. What the fuck does it look like I’ve got going on? I’m sitting in a school cafeteria eating lunch. There’s nothing exhilarating about it.
“Not much,” I say, trying to sound polite because I’ve got no excuse to be rude.
Allie taps long purple fingernails on her soda cup and lets her straw slide between her lips again. She makes sure that I’m watching.
Back in September she sat in my lap at the first senior bonfire party. We messed around a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit. She was pulling at my pants and whispering that we ought to go somewhere quieter. We wound up dry humping against a tree and Allie made it clear she’d be glad to shed her panties and supply a condom. Then Corey Greer stumbled into the woods and vomited right at our feet so I was spared from that bad decision. I made an excuse and left the party. We just fooled around that one time and I’ve tried to steer clear of her ever since. Allie’s hot. She’s a volleyball player and a cheerleader. She always looks sexy and put together. But she’s dumb and she’s gossipy. She’s not someone I’d like to waste time with.
Allie’s straw falls out of her mouth with a pop. “You know Mia Panacio? Her folks are away so her house is going to be a wild scene tomorrow night.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Sounds like fun. Have a great time.”
“You could come.” She emphasizes the last word and I know that’s deliberate.
“Afraid I’m busy.”
Annoyance sweeps over her face and then she turns on a phony smile. “If you’re worried about getting back to Devil Valley, Mia’s inviting some friends to stay over all night.”
“I’m not Mia’s friend.”
“But I am.” She sets down her drink, flattens her palms on the table and leans forward, like she’s telling a secret. “There’s an outrageous hot tub. And the house has nine bedrooms.”
The invitation is clear and my dick is interested. He’s getting hard inside my pants and begging me to agree that free sex offers should never be refused. It’s senior year. It’s a good time to be a little reckless.
I can’t explain why I’m thinking of Camden Galway right now. I decide that Kent is to blame. Just when I’d managed to set aside the view of Camden’s panties he had to put her back into my head. Now I’m wondering what it would be like to hook up with her, if she’d try to rub one out through her plaid skirt or if she’d cross her legs and gasp with shock over the feel of my tongue in her mouth. I wouldn’t mind finding out.
Allie knows nothing of my inner struggle and she’s starting to look impatient. Her eyes are saying ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ She’s offering me an entire night. Complete with a hot tub and an adult-free party house.
“Sorry, but I’ve got a lot going on this weekend.”
“Fine.” She straights up and now her cheeks are slightly flushed. “If you change your mind, my cell number’s in the student directory.”
“Got it.”
She doesn’t hang around any longer. I watch her stalk back to her table and hear Kent chuckle beside me.
“She practically served it to you on a platter, Beltran.”
“I told you. I’m working all weekend.”
“And you can’t take a few hours off to go get your dick serviced?” A light bulb goes off in his head. “Have you got something else going on?”
“No, I don’t have anything else going on.”
“Liar. Does she live in Devil Valley?”
“Sure, Kent. She lives in Devil Valley.” I say this just to shut him up. “It’s nothing.”
Kent is now distracted because Trina has just walked into the cafeteria. And she’s with Camden. Trina leans closer to hear whatever her friend is saying and then breaks into peals of laughter. I wouldn’t have guessed that Camden is capable of making a joke.
Kent waves to his girlfriend. Her smile broadens and she hurries right over so the two of them can stand in the middle of the cafeteria and suck face. Camden has followed rather awkwardly and she looks around as if she’s embarrassed while Kent gets his hands all over Trina. I wonder what that’s like, to have someone you’ve likely fucked a thousand times and can’t wait to fuck again. I wonder what it’s like to have a girl you can’t get enough of.
Camden’s eyes meet mine and I notice that her eyes are not blue like I thought they were. They are more grayish green. She holds my stare for a few additional seconds and I know enough about girls to understand that she enjoys looking at me. Finally she tears her eyes away and bites her lower lip, like she’s been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
The bell rings, activating everyone in sight except for Kent and Trina, who are too busy boning through their clothes to pay attention. I gather all my crap, drop off my tray and head to class. Camden must have run out of the room a split second after the bell sounded because I don’t see her anywhere. My next class is math and she’s not in that class. That’s too bad. I’m kind of in the mood to stare at her and remember all the filthy thoughts that rolled through my head after I saw her panties.
There’s a quiz today that totally slipped my mind but I was halfway paying attention during the lectures all week and I’m good at math so it’s not hard. I’m about to pass my paper forward when I catch sight of two words and freeze. My mind must have been on vacation for a few seconds when I scrawled my name at the top of the paper.
BENNET DREXLER.
The ballpoint pen I used is black ink. There is no way to erase it. And if I scribble over the name to block it out that would just make a big mess and call more attention to the mistake. I can’t believe I’ve committed such a huge blunder after all this time. I’ve let my guard down too much. I’ve screwed up.