Page 88 of Enemies to Prom Dates
“You headed to The Woods?”
I was. Beth was working tonight so there was no chance for us making other plans.
“Yep.”
“Can I get a lift?”
“Sure,” I answered before I realized this wasn’t the first time Chas had asked me to pick him up or take him somewhere. “Where is your car by the way?”
“Shop. Something wrong with the engine,” Chas said. “The guys going to be there?”
I nodded. It’s what we did. Played football, got drunk in the woods, and scrambled before the cops came. When had I grown so completely bored with it all?
“Okay, let’s do this” he said, slapping me on the back.
I didn’t think any harder than he normally did, but I couldn’t exactly be sure.
* * *
I was agitated.We were standing around the bonfire. I’d passed on a beer, so there was nothing to keep my hands busy while Ed was breaking down some of the game’s highlights for Heath, who hadn’t bothered to show up. Mostly because he could care less about football, which always made it a little funny to watch Ed try to explain it all to him.
“I don’t know what a skinny-post route is, Ed. How many times do I have tell you? I like soccer.”
Ed winced. “Nobody likes soccer, man. That is so weak.”
“I live to disappoint you,” Heath drawled. He lifted his thin cigarette to his lips and took a puff.
“I can’t believe you’re still smoking those. They smell like shit.”
“Cigarillos smell like mini cigars and have an actual flavor. This makes me infinitely cooler than normal smoking assholes.”
Chas laughed at that. “Oh, come on, Heath. You know that’s not what makes you cool. It’s your perpetually foul mood.”
Heath just rolled his eyes then out of nowhere asked, “Fitz, you got condoms in your car? I’m feeling frisky tonight.”
“Glove compartment,” I said. I always had condoms on hand. Not because I was a skank constantly chasing down pussy, but because my dad basically planted condoms on me all the time. In my wallet, in my car. In the drawer of my bedside table at home. He said he wasn’t taking any chances with my future.
I didn’t bother to question Heath about it. I knew this was how he rolled. He’d get an itch, he’d scratch it then move on.
“Who you got your eye on tonight?” Ed asked, looking around to see if he could spot Heath’s target.
“No one in particular,” Heath said. I tossed him my car keys and he caught them out of the air. “Unless Janie gets here. Anyone else think she’s turning into a serious hotty? There’s something alluring about all that feminist shit she’s always spouting. Makes a guy want to put a hard cock in her mouth to shut her up.”
“Hey,” Ed snapped. “You don’t talk about her like that.”
“Really, Ed? Why not?”
Ed seemed to falter over his answer, then he looked at me. “She’s Beth’s best friend. I would think she and Reen are off our trash-talking list. Am I right, Fitz?”
“Absolutely,” I said, humoring him. Mostly because I knew Heath only said what he did to get a rise out of Ed. Ed was one of Heath’s favorite targets just because he had so many vulnerabilities.
There were times I wondered if Heath actually liked Ed. But then that was how Heath treated everyone really. It’s not like Ed was all that different.
“Well, in the absence of Janie, I’ll have to make other arrangements. Wish me luck in my hunting,” Heath said, taking another puff of his cigarillo before crushing it out with his boot. “I’ll leave your keys in the car.”
With that he blended into the woods and I knew it was doubtful we would see him again.
“Why do I let him get to me?” Ed asked me once Heath was out of ear shot. “Every fucking time.”
