She scoffs. “Please, I’m not that low,” Jennifer says, and my ears perk way the hell up as she says the next thing. “I’m at least going to wait until I’m legally married to have some fun. That way, I’ll be set either way.”
“Fucking. Savage,” Victoria says. “You know who is really hot?”
“Who?”
“Luke.”
Jesus dear God. My heart races.
“Ugh, I know. I see him with his shirt off all the time when I’m over at Ryan’s. It’s infuriating. What I wouldn’t do for one night with him.”
My mind races. Am I seriously hearing this?!
“Well you wouldn’t do that? I mean, that’s over the line, even for you. Right? And doesn’t Luke have, like, principles?”
Victoria says the word principles like it’s an STD.
“Honey, one thing you’ll learn is that, given the right circumstances where no one finds out, every man is a pig. And let’s be honest—he’s the hottest senior on campus. Of course it would be fun to try him out.”
“Savage! You’re a complete savage!” Victoria pauses. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” Jennifer asks.
“It’s your theme song.”
Just then, the song Devil Woman by Cliff Richards comes on.
Jennifer closes her eyes and starts dancing to it.
My eyes widen, and a chill runs down my spine. As much as I want to continue listening in on this conversation, I can’t take any more.
Listening to Jennifer and Victoria is making me question humanity in general.
Plus, the point is one-hundred percent proven. This is much more than just not not a red flag.
This is a flaming, sirens blaring, emergency situation we have on our hands.
Luke is right: Ryan is about to make one absolutely horrible life decision.
I send Luke a text and let him know we have got to meet up first thing tomorrow.
“Everything okay?” Janice asks me as we put our coats on. “You look pale, like you’ve seen a ghost.”
As we head out into the cold, I say, “I didn’t see a ghost. But I think I just got a peek at the devil.”
4
Skylar
I wake up early the next morning and head to Green Eggs Diner where I’m meeting Luke.
I’m usual pretty even-keeled about the world. I do believe that good will win out over evil. And love will beat hate.
But hearing Jennifer’s words last night has given me a scary flashback to my sister’s wedding with Mr. Horrible. And I can’t shake the sick feeling in my stomach that Luke’s instincts were right. He never had the hard evidence, but he knew his friend so well he didn’t need it.
And I worry what he’ll do when I tell him.
From my booth, I see Luke crossing the street and striding through the parking lot with a bit of a smile on his face.
A tingle surges through me. He’s tall, very well built, and with great hair. It’s not hard to figure out why he’s irresistible to practically every woman on campus. But in my opinion, the best thing about Luke has nothing to do with his looks. He’s got this genuine goodwill that seems to guide every one of his actions. He always seems to be wearing a contagious smile, although I haven’t seen it the past few days. Makes sense, since he’s worried about his best friend throwing his life away.
With good reason, as I now know.
The bell on the door chimes as he opens it, and I hear him say hello to the hostess.
“Good morning!” Luke sings as he approaches me. A few other patrons from the diner turn to look at him. The genuine smile I mentioned is back, until he sits down across from me, and his expression changes.
Probably because he sees my cat ate the canary look.
“You okay?” he asks. “You look…”
“Tired?”
“I didn’t say it. You did.”
“Well, I am, Luke.”
“Late night?”
I take a swallow of the coffee. “No, but I barely slept. Wait, why are you in such a good mood today?”
He motions for the server to bring him a cup of coffee. “You know, I was thinking a lot about things last night. I kind of landed on a philosophy of live and let live. Who are we to judge the kind of love Ryan and Jennifer have? I’m going to stop overthinking things and just be happy for them.”
“More coffee, please,” I say to the server when she comes back. “Well, that’s nice you’ve come to that conclusion. So I guess I’ll have to burst your bubble.”
His eyes widen. “You do?”
“Yes.”
“What happened last night?”
I look around to make sure no one else is in earshot, then lean in. “After you left, I overheard her at the bar talking about how she’s pumped about not working, wants to cheat on him but only once they’re married so she can get money in a divorce.”
All of the color falls from Luke’s face. “So that’s why you couldn’t sleep.”
“I wanted to tell you this in person.”
Luke nods slowly, then balls a fist and puts it in front of his mouth. I see his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I reach my hand out and grab his forearm. “Me too.”
His mouth is agape as the server comes back and takes our order.
When she leaves, he continues. “I…I mean I knew she was a bitch. But Jesus. You’re sure that’s what you overheard?”
I nod. “The whole conversation is seared into me like a tattoo. I wish I could forget it, honestly. It kills me to think someone could be so manipulative.”
We settle off into silence for a few moments. I can see the shock settling in on his face.
He’s so uncomfortable, I change the subject to the Greene State baseball team for a few minutes. It’s funny, Luke is the superstar of our nationally ranked team, but you’d never get that vibe from talking to him. He rarely talks about himself.
The food arrives, and Luke shakes his head as he bites off a piece of his second side of bacon. It never ceases to amaze me how much the man eats. Then again, he is six four and built like a brick house.
“I can’t get this off my mind right now. This is serious. Ryan’s going to ruin his life,” Luke says.
“No, he’s not. Because you’re going to tell him. You’ve got to confront him.”
Luke runs a hand through his hair. “Confront him with what evidence?”
“Doesn’t matter. She’s not in love with him. I hate to pass judgment on another female like this, but…” I look around to make sure no one could possibly be within earshot. “Jennifer is literally a gold digger. Just get some of your frat brothers, have a Finklestein style intervention.”
Luke clenches his teeth. “I tried talking to him man to man. He is delusional. He’s completely infatuated with Jennifer. It’s almost like she’s got some sort of magic spell cast over him.”
Luke fills me in on his attempt to confront Ryan last night, and how they almost had a falling out as friends.
“You’re right! She is playing a chess game,” I agree.