When the front door slammed again, I heard Corrigan call out my name, “Sheldon! Where are you, you freak?!”

I waited as I heard his voice grow louder. Just as he turned the corner, a sly grin spread across his face and he shook his head.

I laughed.

“I cannot believe you,” he stated as he patted his chest. “You are my idol. I love you. I will always take your side whenever you fight with Bryce.”

“Shut up,” I chuckled and glanced down.

“Seriously, though,” he sobered. “You’re a living legend at school. Again. You told the counselor to go to hell.”

“No, I didn’t,” I corrected.

“You told her to expel you. That’s the same thing. You said ‘screw you.’ I’ve never heard of any student who had the balls to say that.”

“Yeah, well…I was pissed.”

“And frantic,” he added as he hopped up next to me. He patted my knee. “Bryce told me what happened. And thanks, by the way, for covering for me.”

That’s right. I’d forgotten.

“Corrigan, if that kid talks…” I started, concerned.

Corrigan stopped me, “Don’t. It’s covered.”

“I know, but…Bryce is right. If the cops find out, you know they’re not going to be nice. They’re after Hoodum.”

“I know and seriously—shut up about it,” he said firmly.

I snapped my mouth shut.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered in the next second. “I’m just worried about you, okay?

Bryce said you freaked about the counselor.”

“I know and seriously—shut up about it.”

Corrigan flushed, hearing his own words, but he shut up. He jumped off the counter and raked a hand through his hair.

And then we watched each other, at an impasse.

Corrigan didn’t want to be reminded how stupid his actions had been—not for the action, but because someone had seen him. And I didn’t want to talk about my counselor freak-out.

“Look,” he began. “Want to go grab something to eat? Let’s go do something.”

Just then Mena came back into the room and stopped short at the sight of Corrigan, with his back to her.

She stood silent and shook her head to me.

I asked, “Like what?”

Mena mouthed ‘thank you’ and moved to walk down the front hallway. A second later, just because I was listening for it, I heard a soft click.

“What was that?” Corrigan stopped in his list of possibilities.

I shrugged, but remarked, “Did you know that Mena already goes to our school?”

“Oh yeah. I meant to talk to you about that. You know her. I saw her talking to you when you took off,” Corrigan accused me as he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the counter. He dragged me up the stairs and into my bedroom.

“What are we doing?”

“You’re changing and we’re going to go out,” Corrigan replied, his voice muffled as he pressed his nose in my closet. A moment later, he produced some leather pants and a barely-there halter top.

“Nice try, but no.” I shook my head and fell on my bed.

Corrigan nearly giggled as he dove back into the closet and pulled out a barely-there skirt with the same halter-top.

Laughing, I pushed him, “Get out. I’ll find my own clothes. And where are we going?”

Through the closed door, Corrigan called out, “Let’s go play some pool or we can go swimming at Chad Yerling’s house.”

I finished dressing and yanked opened the door.

I wore the barely-there skirt, but my sweater nicely covered the top. It hugged in all the right curves.

“Bryce is a very lucky man,” Corrigan mused as his eyes lit up. He suggested, “You have those black boots that come to your hips. You can wear those…”

I slipped on my flip-flops and walked past him. “Let’s go. You’re driving.”

“Then I’m driving your car.” He jangled my keys in the air.

I whisked the keys from his hand and quickly locked the front door behind us.

Inside the car, I suggested, “How about we go and hustle us some money?”

Corrigan cringed.

“What?”

“Let’s just play. Why do we need to hustle?” He glanced at his knuckles.

“Because just playing isn’t fun. Hustling is so much more fun and you won’t get into a fight. Promise.”

He sighed, “I don’t like that look.” He waved a finger in my face. “That look has gotten me in jail before. I don’t like that look.”

I grabbed his finger and pushed it down. “Stop waving your finger in my face.

And you go to jail plenty enough on your own, you don’t need me to get you there.” It was true.

“Stop giving me that look.” Corrigan sighed when the look intensified.

I stopped at the school’s hangout, The Café Diner. Dumbly named, but everything else wasn’t. It had the best burgers, salads, shakes, and some of the employees would slip us alcohol. Corrigan gave me a twenty when I went inside and marched past the back counter. He stayed inside and moved to one of the tables to chat.

After I struck a deal with the head cook, I walked through the main area and I couldn’t find Corrigan, but Chet pointed him out.

As I moved around the back corner, near the phone booth, I saw Corrigan had his tongue shoved down some girl’s throat.

I took pity and turned to leave.

I didn’t get far when Chad stepped into my path.

“What do you want, Yerling?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

His eyes trailed down and then back up, but not after it lingered on my br**sts.

“Eyes up front, Yerling. Now,” I snapped. “And I’m waiting.”

He grinned ruefully. It was the same grin that I’d seen him use on more than a few drunken girls.

I just sighed on the inside. It wouldn’t be my eyelashes that I’d bat at him.

“You don’t like me much, do you?”

“What makes you say that?” I asked sweetly.

He didn’t answer that, but said instead, “Are you and Scout exclusive? Because I’ve seen him with a lot of other girls, you know.”

Nothing new here.

“If Bryce and I are exclusive, then it’s Bryce and me who should know that.”