If I’d Known (Cursed 1)

Tori leans over with the bottle in her hand. "Lana?"

"Sure," comes out way too wistful. I clear my throat. Not bothering to look at what I'm drinking, I hold my breath and take two long gulps, breathing out against the astringent peppermint burn.

I offer the bottle to Joey. After taking his share, he passes it to Vic.

"Hey," I say when Vic makes eye contact.

"Vic, this is Lana." Joey nods toward me. "Vic and I go to school together in Vermont."

"What's up?" Vic nods with a quick lift of the thick black eyebrows that shadow his sunken grey eyes.

After he takes a long swig from the bottle, he hands it to Lincoln and crosses his arms. The energy rolling off him is dark and brooding. I can tell he's going to be as much fun to have around as the plague. I haven't wanted anything to do with him since I first saw him at the party, and that hasn't changed.

"How you doin', Lana?" Lincoln asks, his long legs bent uncomfortably behind the front seat.

I never know how to respond to that question. People don't really want to know the miserable truth. And I can't lie and tell them what they expect to hear, so I offer an ambiguous shrug.

Even though I saw him at the party, this is the first time Lincoln and I have spoken tonight.

"I didn't know you and Joey were friends."

"You and I don't exactly talk about things like that," he replies.

That's true. I've been his partner in French just about all year, and I don't know much about him other than he plays sports and has a scholarship to go ... somewhere. Oh, and that he apparently has a thing for Tori.

Most guys do.

Tori isn't exactly girlfriend material. So I wouldn't have encouraged him if I had known he was seriously into her. She's never been exclusive with a guy for as long as I've known her, which is practically forever. She's distant but flirty. Something about her aloofness comes across as untouchable. And predictably, guys want what they can't have, making her that much more alluring. Tori takes advantage, taunting and teasing. Manipulating to get what she wants before dropping them.

I feel bad for Lincoln, watching him as he's unable to keep his eyes off her. He's not like the guys we usually go out with. She could really mess him up if he's not careful.

"Hello, Lana," Nina calls to me from the front seat, annoyed.

"Uh, sorry," I respond, realizing I haven't even acknowledged her since getting in the car. "How was your night?"

Nina shrugs. "The usual."

Nina's nineteen. She dropped out of school last year to work at a local strip club. She's tall and thin with straight dark hair that touches her ass, blessed with breasts that men pay to see and pray to touch. She keeps saying she's planning to get her GED. Not sure I believe it.

Nina parties with us when she's not working. She's the type of girl who attracts attention everywhere she goes--supermarket included. Guys are pathetic around her. But she's just as standoffish as we are when it comes to getting serious with anyone. Nina's curse is Respect. She demands it from everyone--her friends, her patrons, and especially, her men.

If they disrespect her, she can throw a punch unlike anyone I know. I was surprised the first time I saw it. She nailed some guy in the face for feeling her up while we were at the movies. I'm pretty sure she broke his nose. Nina taught me how to defend myself. Even gave me the small pink switchblade that I have in my pocket.

Nina moved in with Tori after sticking a fork in her mother's boyfriend's thigh. He tried to slide his hand under her skirt while they were eating dinner--with her mother sitting across the table! Her mother kicked her out, swearing the man she loved would never have done that. The boyfriend is lucky she didn't aim a little higher. As for her mother ... I have no words.

I'm still not sure why we're in the ogre's car.

Then Nina explains, "So Gary offered to give us a ride and hooked us up with a couple partials." Which means he took some nearly empty bottles of liquor from the club's bar. She raises her eyebrows and her mouth forces into a smile.

Now I know. Gary was our only option, which totally sucks because I'm really not in the mood to put up with his creepy-hand-roaming thing.

"So explain how we got on the list tonight?" Nina asks, still speaking to us through the rearview mirror.

"My brother, Parker," Joey explains.

His fingers casually skim the exposed skin along my waistline. I draw in a quick breath. He must notice because the side of his mouth quirks up, even while he remains focused on Nina's reflection.

Nina whips around in her seat. "Parker Harrison?" Her eyes flit over Joey's face intently, earning a curious look in return.