Lust

get sick of the bimbos and finally notice her. A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

Besides, thanks to Harper’s intervention and some-okay, a lot of-careful dieting, she now had much better hair, clothes, and body than she’d had in eighth grade. Maybe the next time her bikini top popped off, Kane wouldn’t be so quick with the towel…

“Earth to Miranda,” his voice punctured her reverie. “Dreaming about my hot bod again? You girls just can’t help yourselves, can you?”

Miranda snorted, hoping her face wasn’t too red. “As if.”

Did she sound believably casual-but not so disgusted that he would think it inconceivable that she’d been thinking about his tightly toned forearms?

Miranda knew there was a middle ground somewhere between obsessed stalker and mortal enemy, but she’d never had much luck finding it. (This likely explained why all her carefully constructed flirty banter, designed to make junior high crush Rob Schwartz realize she was interested, but not too interested, had instead left the JV quarterback with the unshakeable conviction that she hated him.)

She’d gotten a little better since then-but not much.

Beth and Adam were late.

They came into the diner arm in arm, whispering to each other. Harper waved to get their attention, then quickly looked away. It was too sickening to watch.

“Where’ve you guys been?” Kane asked with a leer when they arrived at the table. “As if I have to ask.”

Beth tucked her hair behind her ears, blushing, and Adam began to stammer out something about lost keys and car trouble and-

“Oh, just sit down,” Harper interrupted. “We waited for you to order dinner, and we’re starving, so let’s just get to it.”

“Spoken with your usual grace and accuracy,” Kane said. “I second the motion.”

Beth and Adam squeezed into the booth next to Miranda, smushing her up against the window, since the bench was meant for only two people. But Harper chose not to say anything about it-the way things were going, Beth would probably just smile politely and offer to spend the rest of the night perched on Adam’s lap, to save room. She was just so accommodating. And, Harper had to admit, beautiful. She’d changed out of her first-day-of-school outfit (standard Beth: classic-cut jeans, black T-shirt, gold hoop earrings, bland and forgettable) into a backless turquoise sundress that matched her eyes and perfectly set off her sun-drenched hair. And Harper wasn’t the only one to appreciate it. As Beth leaned forward to order her food, Adam reached over and began slowly rubbing her bare back; Harper couldn’t pull her eyes away from his hand, lightly playing its way up and down Beth’s skin. She could almost feel its warm pressure on her own.

Harper shook her head violently to knock the fantasy away, and then waved them all to be quiet. There was a reason she’d invited them out tonight-aside from the understandable need for large amounts of grease and sugar after the long first day of school. And, since she was losing her appetite by the minute watching the lovebirds fawn, it was probably time to get started.

“Okay, now that you’re all here”-she tried not to glare at Beth-“here’s the deal. We’ve got two weeks until the annual lame back-to-school formal, right?”

Kane groaned. “Don’t remind me. What a joke.”

Harper ignored him and continued. “And two weeks until the annual top secret after party, organized by a select group of seniors.”

“Kerry Stanton and those girls did it last year, right?” Beth asked. “Wonder who they tapped for this year.”

Harper gave her a withering stare. Was the girl an idiot?

“Kerry e-mailed me this afternoon,” Harper explained with a self-satisfied grin. “Looks like I’m up.”

“You?” Miranda asked, grinning. “Awesome.”

“Actually-us.”

Adam held up his hands in protest. “Hold up, Harper-look, we’re all impressed that you’re now officially the coolest of the cool and all, but if you think you’re roping me into some kind of dance committee…”

“God, it’s not a dance, Adam. It’s a party. A secret, illicit, just-for-seniors party?” She smiled winningly. “And I know you all want to help out, get on the inside track, be adored by the masses-”

“Not to mention, get first dibs on the best beer and the comfiest mattresses,” Kane pointed out. “Sign me up.”

Harper smacked him and was about to launch back into her spiel when the diner door opened, and in walked Kaia. On anyone else, her Little Black Dress would have looked ridiculously out of place amidst the neon and trucker chic, but Kaia seemed oblivious of context, striding forward with purpose and grace as if, to her, the waitresses appeared clad in Hugo Boss, not polyester. She looked completely at ease, though Harper could tell, just from the little things-the single finger she’d used to push open the door as if afraid of the germs, the delicate steps she took as if expecting at any moment to splash her kitten heel into a puddle of mustard-that she was not.

“Are you kidding me?” Harper muttered to herself. “Maybe she won’t see-”

“Kaia, over here!” Beth chirped, waving the new girl over. “I invited her to come along,” she explained to the table. “I thought it would be nice-you know, she doesn’t know anyone, and-what?” she asked, irritated, as the boys laughed, while Miranda and Harper just rolled their eyes. “What is it?”

“It was a nice thing to do,” Adam assured her, laying a hand on hers. “I’m sure she appreciated it.”

“I know I do,” Kane added, quickly shutting up as Kaia approached.

“Am I too late?” Kaia asked as she arrived at the table, eyeing the empty ice-cream dishes.

“No, we haven’t even ordered yet,” Kane reassured her, shifting over to make room for her (now Harper too was smushed against the window-and if there was going to be a male body pressed up against her like this, Kane’s was really not the one she would have chosen). “Don’t worry, Harper just likes to eat dessert first.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Kaia asked, and while her tone was light and pleasant, Harper could feel the girls icy eyes boring through her.

“So, about this party…” Miranda began, trying to defuse the tension.

Harper kicked her furiously under the table, but it was too late.

“Party?” Kaia asked. “Sounds like I’m just in time.”

“We’re all going to help Harper organize this party thing in a couple of weeks,” Adam explained.

What was with the “we”? Harper wondered. He hadn’t sounded so enthused a moment ago. Before she walked in.

“Not all of us,” Beth added, her eyes darting away. “Sorry, Harper, I wish I could help, but I’m way too busy already”

“What are you talking about?” Adam asked. He whirled to face her, his mouth crinkling into a frown.

“You know, I have a bunch of after-school meetings, and this new job, and my brothers to take care of, and-”

“Can’t you just make the time? We never get to do anything like this together,” he complained, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He took her hand in his, but she quickly pulled it away.

“No, I can’t just make time-it’s not that easy. And anyway-” Beth suddenly realized that the whole table was eagerly watching their back-and-forth. “Can we just talk about this later?” she requested in a more measured tone.

“Fine. Whatever,” Adam said sulkily. “I guess Kaia can take your spot.”

“I’m sure Kaia’s way too busy for that sort of thing,” Harper quickly interrupted. “Places to go, people to do, you know how it is.”

“Harper!” Adam turned toward her, shocked.

“What? She’s a big-city girl-why would she want to waste her time on small-town shit like this?”

“Uh, she is sitting right here, you know,” Kaia pointed out. “Though apparently you’d prefer it if I weren’t. Excuse me.” And, perfectly composed, she stood up and glided toward the door.

“What the hell are you doing?” Adam hissed. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Whatever, she said it herself this morning,” Harper told him. She raised her voice so that more of the