If I’d Known (Cursed 1)

She eyes Joey's hand on my bare leg and glares at him. He drops it by his side. I sober with the release of his touch.

"Yeah," I reply guiltily.

She knows this isn't me. I'm not the girl who spreads my legs for any guy who looks my way. She usually gives me shit for being so cold and bitchy. Then again, she's not sitting on Joey's lap right now, leaning against his firm chest.

Actually, she's the reason I'm sitting here!

Tori's almost as small as I am. I could've fit in the front seat of this boat with her and Nina. But she told me to sit in the back with that stupid wink she gave me. So I'm totally blaming my sluttiness on her.

I grab the bottle from her and guzzle until I can't. If tearing off Joey's clothes isn't an option, then I'm going to need a lot of sedation.

I hand the bottle to Joey, who draws in several mouthfuls. I guess I'm not the only one fighting to behave.

We turn into the parking lot of a convenience store with crooked cardboard signs plastered to its grimy windows, advertising cigarettes, milk and lottery tickets. Lincoln slides out of the car after Gary puts it in park. Tori gets out at the same time.

"Why don't I sit in the back? Vic, you can sit up front."

"Whatever," he grumbles, stalking past her and toward the store.

Tori smiles seductively up at Lincoln, brushing her hand along his chest as he holds the door open with the dumbest smile on his face. She's torturing him. And when she ducks into the car, the glint in her eyes tells me she knows it too. Poor guy.

As soon as she scoots next to Joey, she flips my dangling legs up so my feet are on her thighs. "Hey, Lana."

I'm in trouble. And when she clutches my ankle, I know she's definitely not happy with me. Again, this is her fault.

"Hey, Tori," I respond, forcing a smile.

Joey looks between us and sinks back into the seat like he's trying to get out of the way.

"You look really cute tonight." She directs her attention to Joey. "Doesn't she look really cute tonight?"

"Uh, yeah," Joey responds, obviously confused and not wanting to be in the middle of whatever this is.

"Thanks," I reply shortly.

Tori is fierce. Not a physical threat like Nina. She and I are barely over five feet. But she has a temper and a vocabulary that makes grown men cower. And when she goes off, her long black curls whip around her head like a raging storm. Her neck flips from side to side, and a finger topped with a sharp nail is in the face of whoever she's telling off. Spanglish snaps from her tongue like a whip, leaving a guy looking for his balls and the most confident girl whimpering. It's like she verbally skins them alive. I've only been on the other end of that Latina finger twice. And neither time ended well.

I watch her hand now, waiting. She keeps it resting on my ankle.

"You should know she's my best friend, Joey." She sounds like one of the guys from the Godfather before he pulls out a gun and blows the head off of whoever's across the table from him.

"I do know that," Joey replies carefully.

"Then you should know I'm really protective of my friends. Especially my best friend."

He nods. My eyes narrow. I don't get it. Where's this coming from?

"And being with my best friend is earned." Tori stares him down. I reach for her hand before she can point the finger. "She's not a prize that lands on your lap. Got it?"

"Of course," he replies, unable to look away from her blazing brown eyes.

"Um, can I talk to you a minute?" I request, squeezing Tori's hand.

She blinks away from Joey and looks to me with a brilliant smile. "Yeah, sure."

I open the door and ease off Joey's lap. Joey moves to get out, and Tori presses her hand into his chest, pushing him back against the seat.

"I got it," she says, crawling around him. She steps out and shuts the door in his face.