Page 42 of The Big Easy & Other Lies
I nodded, and we turned to leave, Livvie and Bran calling their goodbyes to Rhett. Outside, I hurried toward the car, anxious to beat Delphine home.
“Your hair is not on fire. Slow down,” Livvie complained. “These shoes are killing my feet.”
I slowed and let her and Bran catch up. “Do you think he’ll be mad I didn’t ride with him?” I asked.
“No,” Bran said. “You showed up. That’s a pretty clear signal. Don’t worry.”
“A clear signal of what?” I demanded.
“Don’t play dumb,” he said. “If you invited him to something, what would you think if he showed up?”
“What am I inviting him to?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter. It all says the same thing. So what would you think if he showed up?”
“That he was interested,” I admitted after a minute.
“Even for a dumb dude, you wouldn’t have to spell it out after tonight,” he said. “And Rhett’s not dumb.”
Also, he seemed to be rising on Bran’s cool dude scale, all the way from “all right” to “not dumb.”
“Let’s go,” I said, over the analysis. “I’m dead if Delphine catches me out.”
We picked up the pace and hopped in Jelly Bean. For once I was glad that we never had to tell Livvie to step on it. As fast as she drove, my heart raced even faster until we pulled into the driveway and saw no sign of Delphine’s Volvo.
I had one foot out of the car before Livvie even stopped completely. “Later, y’all!” I said, and I ran for the house.
Livvie was already back on the road by the time I got the door shut. Up in my room, I smiled at my mom’s book. Trista and I had both fooled our witch long enough to spend an evening with Prince Charming. Trista came back from her first night at the ball with stars in her eyes but a heavy heart. Her prince begged her to come again, but she knew it was impossible. She collapsed into more tears by the pond, grieving the heart she had already lost to Sterling.
My heart was intact, but there was no denying that Rhett was weaving a spell that had only intensified with each note he played tonight. I had no idea what kind of spell he was casting, but I had a feeling I should be fighting a lot harder to resist it.
Instead, I wandered to my closet to think about my outfit for the next day, because it mattered again. So predictable. I laid out my cutest jeans and a white T-shirt, then chose a rainbow-striped canvas belt I’d embroidered with the word “basic.” I’d wrap the truth around my waist and let it embrace me because there was no denying that’s what I was being with this crush.
I thought of Rhett’s eyes, half-closed as he sang in the dark club, and I couldn’t even hate myself for being a cliché.
Chapter 16
I woke up with bizarre physics formulas cramping my brain. It boded poorly for the day. School didn’t improve anything. My brain swam through history in a tired fog until the bell rang to announce lunch and freedom. I’d spent at least half the period wondering why I hadn’t seen Rhett. When I caught myself doodling a hawk in the margin of my notes, I scribbled through it and tuned back into Mrs. DeLinde’s lecture.
Livvie met me halfway down the hall after class. Bryce Dutton, who was large and did something for the football team that involved flattening opposing players, whistled as we passed. Livvie flipped him off over her shoulder.
Rhett was waiting at my locker when we rounded the corner.
For the first time, the weight of the day lifted. I smiled. “Hey.”
“Hey, there, Hawk Lee,” Livvie said. “You can drive us to Boudreau’s.”
He executed a bow in her direction. “Your carriage awaits.”
At the diner, the first person to make her way to our table was Lily. Of course. I’d only managed a single bite of my catfish po-boy when she glided over.
“Hey, Cam,” she said, a friendly smile pasted on her face. “I heard you’re slumming in the Quarter at shady dives with some undercover rock star. Is that true?”
I choked and Rhett patted my back, then settled into rubbing circles on it instead. “Probably,” he answered for me, as he massaged me. “I think she’s the slumming with undercover rock star types.” Still massaging. “Wish I knew who it was. What do you guys think?” he asked Bran and Livvie.Stillmassaging. “Is our Cam living a double life in the Quarter at night?”
“Yep.”
“Definitely.”
