“He’s in there every Wednesday night,” Kai pointed out. “They got some meeting of the over-eighteen female chastity club or something?”
“Come on,” Damon whined. “That’s way too easy for me. They don’t have to be eighteen.”
“Or female,” Kai added.
I snorted as Damon whipped around and threw a playful punch at Kai. “Bastard.”
Kai just laughed, trying to shield himself.
I shook my head, pulling away from the curb and steering back onto the street.
But then Damon shouted at me. “Wait, wait, stop.”
I slammed on my brakes, seeing Griffin Ashby, the town’s mayor, dart in front of my truck.
Shit. That was close.
He looked over at us, dressed in his gray suit and yellow shirt and tie, narrowing his eyes on Damon as he crossed the street. Damon stared back, but when Ashby’s gaze twisted into a scowl, Damon stuck up his middle finger, taunting him.
Ashby looked away, stepping up onto the sidewalk and disappearing into the White Crow Tavern.
I hit the gas, taking off down the street. “What is it with you and him?”
Damon sighed, taking a cigarette out of his pack and sticking it between his lips. “I ruined his daughter.”
“Arion?” Michael asked. “Thought you said she had the brain power of a Pringle.”
“Not that one,” Damon mumbled, lighting his cigarette.
Ashby’s other daughter had to be only fourteen or so. I’d never seen her and Damon together.
But his gaze was turned out the open window now as he smoked, and if I knew anything about Damon, it was that if he was vague, it was on purpose.
Heading up into the hills, I drove down the darkened highway, the sun having set an hour ago and the sky nearly black now.
Kai flipped a page in his booklet. “What is that?” I asked.
“Course catalog.” He flipped another page, harder this time. “A fucking course catalog.”
“Come to Westgate with me,” Michael said.
“Or UPenn with me,” Damon added.
I smiled. “Or Fiji with me.”
“You’re coming to UPenn with me,” Damon told me.
Fat chance.
I flicked the ashes out the window and took another drag. College was months away, but decisions needed to be made soon. If I weren’t a Grayson, I’d never be able to get into Princeton, but the fix was in, and I was off to Jersey next summer whether I liked it or not.
I couldn’t think of anywhere I wanted to be less, but I also couldn’t think of anywhere better to be. That was my problem. As my dad said, “Until you can make a decision, we’ll make it for you.”
Apparently, a beach bum in the Polynesian islands wasn’t a lofty enough goal.
Kai tossed the catalog down on the seat next to him. “My father wants me on my own. He thinks we all need space.”
“From all of us, or just Will and me?” Damon asked, humor lacing his tone.