Curiosity forces me to confront him. “What’s going on in the warehouse district?” I ask.
He stiffens. “Er … uh … nothing really.”
Irritation forms. “Oh?” I slowly grab my tray and stand, pausing next to him as I round the table. “Then why would Corina be interested in going?”
“It’s … I was just…”
Corina saves his ass by laughing. “Don’t be such a prude,” she says, reaching out and lightly slapping his arm. Personally, I’d like to do something a lot harder than slapping him for the boldfaced lie, but I’m being good. After all, I have a deal to uphold.
Chad glances at her before looking back to me. He rubs the back of his head, skimming his fingers across the near shaven underside as the longer part of his hair on top flops forward over one eye. "It's just where the guys, uh, host shit," he says lamely.
Corina leans forward. "I can't go, but you totally should," she says. "It's super fun."
"What kind of—"
"I'll see you later, Corina," Chad says, cutting me off as he slides away, tapping his buddy on the shoulder. "I gotta head out, but hit me up if you get some free time."
"Bye!" his friend says, hurrying after him.
I grit my teeth and glare after him. Pansy, I think. Corina merely chuckles. "You can't blame them," she says, grabbing up her tray as well and following me as we head to the conveyor belt. "You're kinda infamous now."
I lean back and crack my neck. "Lucky me." The sarcasm is heavy in my voice which only makes her laugh again as we grab our shit and head out.
"The Sick Boys pretty much hated you, then claimed you, and now they ignore you—"
My eyes slice her way, but I don't turn my head. "They're definitely not ignoring me," I comment. If that were the case then they wouldn't constantly be up my ass. In class, at least, I can pretend they don't exist. They become just another couple of faces in a sea of students. Everywhere else, though, it's hard to disregard their overbearing presence.
Our feet hit the sidewalk and I turn towards Havers with Corina following. "Yeah, well, no one has had this much of their attention or non-attention," she replies. "Not even Kate and she was practically Dean Carter's girlfriend."
"Practically?" I repeat. "I thought they were—"
"What?" she interrupts, eyeing me with amusement. "Official?"
I nod once.
Corina shakes her head. "Nope." She hops over a crack in the sidewalk as she pops the last part of that word. "Kate Coleman comes from wealthy stock, but even she wasn't good enough to be acknowledged as official. She got status for being one of Dean's most regular fuck buddies, but that was about it. She thought because they fucked enough that she could call herself a Sick Girl—not that there’s ever actually been one of those. Regardless, as you can see now, she’s nothing to them. Even if Dean ever gave a shit about her, he certainly doesn’t now."
"Did he have many fuck buddies then?" I find myself asking.
A glimmer of something mischievous enters her eyes as Corina whirls around, walking backwards with her thumbs tucked into her designer backpack. I scowl at it, waiting for her to comment, but thankfully she lets it go without a snarky remark.
"Not many," she says instead. When we make it to a crosswalk, she turns back around and watches the numbers across the street, counting down until we can make our way to the other side. "Dean's a private person. Kate was the most obvious of his sexual partners. I'm sure there's been more, but none that come to mind." She giggles as the countdown ends and signals to us to start across. "Actually, now that I think about it, if he's slept with anyone on campus, maybe he made them sign one of those NDAs."
"NDAs?" I look at her as we reach the other side.
"Non-disclosure agreements," she clarifies then shrugs. "It's pretty common for people like us."
'Like us' meaning the rich and powerful, I gather.
I find myself watching Corina as she moves ahead of me, walking faster in spite of the fact that she's wearing heels and I'm wearing Converse. She moves with ease as if there's nothing weighing her down. No darkness. No desire for the depraved. I've spent more time with her since that day she flagged me down and offered to take me to Urban, but as I stare at her now, I realize, I know nothing about this chick. We've spent several meals together—mostly for me to gather information—and all of it's been about them. None of our topics of conversation have ever had anything to do with her.
It's odd, I think. Don't most people like to talk about themselves? Especially girls like her?
"How do you know so much about Dean Carter and the Sick Boys?" I ask when we reach the front of Havers.
She pauses on the sidewalk, spinning back to face me. Her dull blue eyes crinkle at the corners as she looks at me. "I've grown up around families like the Eastpoint heirs," she admits. "I've been surrounded by them my entire life. I know who they are just as they know who I am."
I arch one brow. "And who are you?"
A grin spreads across her lips. "Just another rich bitch," she says, taking a step off the curb. "Have a good night, Avalon."
My eyes track her as she heads across the street to the commuter parking lot. She never looks back even once, and for some reason, that bothers me. That and what she said. I can't tell if it was meant to be as mocking as it sounded or if she was trying to be funny.
With a sigh, I turn around and head into the dorm, pulling out my phone as I go. Regardless of Corina's intentions, she's done me a few favors. There is one person who should've called and told me about the damn warehouse district, and luckily, Corina seems to know how to get a hold of everyone. If he could give out my number to girls like her, then I could certainly get his from the same source. I dial his number.
"Hayes," a familiar voice says a few moments later.
"Hi Jake," I say, "it's Avalon. I have a favor to ask, and I know how you love doing me favors, panty-boy."
28
Avalon
"Are you sure about this?" Jake's voice is tense as we step out of his car.
"Yeah," I say. "I'm sure. You should've told me about this place back when I asked."
He shrugs, unapologetic. "I wouldn't have told you about it now if you hadn't threatened to send your sick boys after me."
"Yeah..." I grin as I follow the crowd collecting outside of a tall, metal barn looking building. "About that," I say, "they're not exactly my boys."
He freezes, his hand reaching out and snagging my arm as he pulls me up short. "The fuck, man?" Jake's face is screwed up in confused shock. "You mean you're not dating Carter?"
"Not even if he begs," I reply, pinching the top of his hand between my thumb and forefinger until he winces and releases me.
"What the hell, Avalon!" He turns around and starts back to his car. "I'm fucking out of here."