Page 40 of Furious
“Fuck knows. She’s pouting because she didn’t get an invitation to pledge Zeta Theta Beta and didn’t make the cheerleading team. She blames me for not helping her enough. She hasn’t talked to me in a couple of days. But the last time we spoke, she accused me of ditching her for you.”
Oh boy. “Come on, that’s ridiculous.” I giggle nervously. “You and Angela go way back. You’ve been friends as long as you have been friends with the guys.”
Heather agrees with me. “Exactly. But in her mind, that meant exclusivity. She’s mad because I didn’t put you off from going out with Lev.”
“Oh?” that surprises me. “Why did she think you would do that?”
She rolls her eyes. “Because she’s been crushing on Lev since elementary school. She thought I should have told you that Lev was off limits. She even said I should have invoked the girl code.”
“Girl code? No offense, babe, but that’s ridiculous. I barely know Angela, and it’s not like she and Lev are exes or anything.”
“Exactly.” Heather nods. “She kept whining about how much she loves him and what a bad friend I am for encouraging you to go out with him. I told her that she needs to move on. Lev told her he wasn’t interested more than once. When I reminded her about it, she told me her and I are through and she hung up on me.”
And she walked straight into Cal’s arms. I don’t say that out loud.
“Wow, that’s a little intense. And uncalled for.”
“Yup.” Heather links her arm with mine, opening a side gate that connects the end of the Hunters’ backyard with her property. “But let’s go and get you ready for your hot date. I’ll drive you to get some sexy underwear in town and then we’ll come back and do your hair.”
That sounds like a plan.
I’m excited to spend a whole afternoon and evening with Chance and Lev. I’m wondering if they’re going to tell me about the secret races. If they do, I might have to confess that I was there too.
Chapter 10
Noel The Knife
LEV
“Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to meet Fox to pay for last night’s bets?” Chance asks, eyeing the barbershop at the end of Star Cove’s old marina.
I show him my phone. “Positive. Dave dropped me a pin right after practice.”
“I haven’t been here in a decade. This part of town has really become run down. It’s no wonder the city council wants to re-develop everything.”
I’ve heard those plans ever since I can remember. Once upon a time, this area would have been bustling with people and workers.
The old Country Club was turned into a dusty lifeboat museum that’s under funded and didn’t see many visitors.
All the shops that in the past used to serve the boat owners who moored their vessels here have been closing one by one.
The only relics of what the marina used to be are Seafarers, an old bar, and Gavin’s barber shop.
“Did you know that there was a barber shop here?”
“I did. I got my very first haircut here.” I answer. “Not that I can remember that, but I used to come here once a month withmy dad. That was one of the very few things he made time for. I used to love coming here because I’d have my dad’s attention to myself for an entire afternoon. There used to be an ice cream shop right over there and after we got a haircut, Dad and I used to sneak an ice cream before dinner. It was our little secret.”
Chance knows how little time my parents have always devoted to our family. Their careers are their focus and the rest is just treated as accessories; something to add to their status in town. That includes me.
“Did you stop coming when you were old enough to go get your own haircut by yourself?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No, not really. Gavin retired around when we were in middle school. He left his shop to his son, Noel.”
“Does Noel suck at cutting hair?”
It’s impossible to resist the urge to mess with Chance. “You should find out and get a haircut today.”
“Is that a dare?” his eyes widen and I almost tell him that it is.
