Page 30 of Villainous Summer

“You don’t like your beer? I thought the strawberry one was your favorite,” Wren asked.

“It is. But I overdid it at the party last night,” I admitted.

Devin snorted into her huckleberry cider. “That’s an understatement. She told my neighbor that he looked like Fred from Scooby-Doo and then stole his drink.”

I didn’t remember doing that but couldn’t deny it.

“Whatever. You know I’m right about him. All he needs is an ascot.”

“I never said you were wrong, but you still can’t say it to my grandparent’s podiatrist neighbor.”

I feigned a smile, holding onto Autumn’s ginger ale.

She grumbled but left and returned a minute later with her own and a small plate of crackers and smoked salmon.

The conversation flowed around me. Autumn updated everyone about the new geoduck exhibit at the Marine Science Center, where she worked. Devin shared that her company would use her graphics for the next orange-kale-matcha tea to debut in the fall. Adrian told us that his students had accidentally set an orange on fire and then dumped it into a trash can in the back of his classroom.

“The room smelled pretty good, actually.”

The beers in their glasses went down and then it was time for a second round. Adrian offered to treat us again, and after a few exchanges, we let him.

The moment he was out of earshot, Wren leaned in close to me and hissed, “Okay, what is going on with you? I know you can’t be upset about not being with that Conan guy.”

“Cory.” I shook my head, wondering why. “And it’s not about not being with him anymore.”

“Tell her,” Devin said.

I shot daggers at Devin, who returned my look with equal ferocity.

“It’s a long story, and I really don’t think your new boyfriend wants to hear it.”

Wren nodded, then got up and disappeared into the brewery. A minute later, she came back, holding the new round of drinks but without her boyfriend. “Adrian is going down to the food stands and is getting everyone a Viking burger—”

Devin opened her mouth to say something.

“I know except for you, Devin. He’ll grab you a veggie burger.” Wren turned to me. “Now, give it to me. What’s going on? You barely said a word, look like you’re going to be sick, and didn’t make an inappropriate comment about the penis fish when Autumn was talking.”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “They’re not fish. Geoducks are a mollusk, which is the second larges—”

“Aut. Not important right now,” Devin teased.

Wren bored her eyes into mine. “Something is very wrong, and you need to spill it.”

Same as the night before, I spared no detail, giving my friends the worst of what had occurred. Autumn’s face paled when I mentioned seeing Nico and what he had told me.

Wren’s cheeks flared red.

I sat back and allowed my friends to process.

Devin was the first to speak, likely because she had a twenty-hour head start on the information.

“Like I asked her last night. What are you going to do about it? Show them the list.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the bulleted note from the day before. In the sober light, the spelling mistakes and gibberish entries sprang to life.

Wren studied them, tapping her bottom lip. “Okay, well, as funny as placing glitter inside his showerhead would be, you’d have to get into his house to do that, and I don’t think you have it in you for breaking and entering just yet.”

“Agreed,” Autumn chimed.

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