Franky looks like he’s brooding as he stares at the stage. “Is everything okay between you and Hayes?” I ask. “I’ve been meaning to ask you after what happened on Sunday. Now that he won’t come over here, I thought…”
“Right. That. I guess you heard about it.”
“Yeah, his dad was pretty pissed. Are you guys really fighting?”
“It’s complicated.” When Franky looks at me, he must see something that tells him I’m not going to let it go. “It’s been tough on him lately.”
A quick look over my shoulder shows Hayes still talking with Theo. For once, he’s not paying attention to me. “Would you tell me if there was something going on? Something bad?”
He heaves a deep sigh, and I have to wonder what it’s like to carry such a big secret for somebody. He must be tired. “Here’s the thing.”
“Hey! Sorry we’re late!” All of a sudden, Hurricane Salem tears through. She trips over my legs before Logan steadies her. “Sorry, sorry! It’s dark out here.”
She’s drunk or stoned or both. This is not the girl I knew just a week ago. That version of Salem has her shit together. Then again, how well do I actually know her?
Parker looks downright horrified. “Girl, you okay?” She gets up and goes to where Logan is settling onto the grass like she wants to pull Salem away to talk.
Instead, Salem drops into Logan’s lap. “I’m better than okay.” Salem looks over at me. “Having fun?” I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know if she could hear me if I answered with the music this loud. Or if she’s actually asking.
“Is she always like this?” I turn to Franky, but he’s already getting up and going elsewhere. Maybe it’s not easy for him to see her like this. I hate feeling like I walked in on the middle of everything, like there’s all this history I don’t know anything about.
Theo takes his place, settling in with a groan. “I don’t even know why he bothered to come if he’s just going to stand there by himself the whole time.”
“Hayes?”
“Yeah. He hasn’t sat down. He’s not even drinking or anything.”
I shouldn’t, but I can’t help looking back at him. He has his hands in his pockets, his shoulders pulled up. Everything about him screams tension, even anger. What did I do this time? I’m not allowed to have fun?
“Do you know what’s going on with him? I mean, I was just asking Franky about the fight at the swim meet. Is he under a lot of pressure right now?” I pay close attention to his face, even though it’s dark enough that I can’t really read it.
“I don’t know. Something’s up his ass. He needs anger management classes or something.”
“He might just ask you to do his homework for that, too.” It makes me feel good when he laughs.
What doesn’t make me feel good is looking over and seeing Salem making out with Logan. He’s sitting with his legs straight out in front of him and she’s on her knees, straddling him. She runs her hands up and down his chest before dragging her nails across his shoulders, while his hands are up under her skirt. She rocks her hips and breaks their kiss to throw her head back. He latches onto her throat.
“Jesus,” Theo says. “Why bother coming here if you’re just gonna fuck in the middle of the park?” I don’t know if Theo is disgusted or disappointed. Me, I’m a little bit of both. It’s a little over the top, and of course they’re attracting attention. A circle forms around them, mostly guys, all of them with their phones out to record the action.
I grab Theo’s arm. “Franky didn’t tell me when I asked him. Is this usual for her? I wouldn’t know.”
“No, this is a new look for her.” And he doesn’t sound like he likes it very much. I know I don’t. When she’s sober, she’s going to hate knowing there’s all these videos around. Should I stop it? Could I even if I tried?
She cries out, arms wrapped around Logan’s shoulders. His hands are fully between her legs now, and I know what he’s doing. Her eyes are closed, mouth hanging open, and her hips rock wildly. More than a few girls are grimacing, sneering, shaking their heads, while of course, the guys are cheering and asking for more.
“Let’s see those tits!” one of them calls out, which starts a chant that rises in volume over the music. “Tits! Tits! Tits!”
I don’t know if there’s some kind of secret code around here, but I can’t sit around and watch this without at least trying to do something. I scramble to my feet and dart over, blocking the view of some guys taking video.
“Back off!” I shout at the top of my lungs to be heard over the music before taking Salem by the shoulders and shaking her. “Hey, everybody is recording you. Are you sure you want to do this?”