chilly. It was a decidedly weird day for the most epic of epic water gun attacks that Garrett clearly believed Cal and I were on the verge of perpetrating.
Garrett’s smirk was enough to bring my irritation to a semi-boil, and I felt my cheeks heat up. Maybe I wasn’t so cold after all.
“So, you’re filling that Super Soaker to…?” He let his voice trail off.
I had nothing—no reason, no excuse—to give him, so I stood there silently, just staring at him.
It’s possible he thought I was speechless from his hotness, because his smile turned a little too I know you want me , and then he ran his hand through his perfect hair in a move that made his muscles flex.
“Ew!” I said it aloud even as Calvin saved me.
“Car radiator has the tendency to overheat,” he told Garrett flatly as he wheeled up. “Water bottle I was using sprang a leak. Needed something to put water in, and these were in the garage.”
He’d returned from the ’Boy with an extra-large travel mug of coffee steaming in his chair’s cup holder. As I sent him a silent thanks, he shot me back a WTF look.
I shook my head. I had no idea why Garrett had stopped to chat. His car was parked on the other side of the lot—he must’ve pulled in while Cal was in the CoffeeBoy and I was busy with the water machine. I definitely would’ve noticed if the midlife-crisis-mobile that he drove—his plastic surgeon father’s sports car—had been parked there when we’d arrived.
I did know, however, that I needed a confrontation between Garrett and Cal about as much as I needed a hole in the head.
“Oh! Hey, Cal,” Garrett said nonchalantly, as if he were greeting a casual acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a while, instead of a victim of his relentless bullying. “’Sup, bro?”
Calvin rolled his chair right between Garrett and me, moving fast enough that Garrett needed to take a quick step back to avoid getting his designer sneakers smushed. “ ’Sup? ” Cal repeated disbelievingly. He chuckled. “Right. Okay. Bro. Sky? You about ready to get going?”
“Yup.” I stashed the last water gun in the backseat and closed the door. The machine still owed me a few more cups of water that I’d already paid for, but I was willing to forfeit that in order to get away from here as quickly as possible.
“Where are you guys headed?” Garrett asked. His tone was weird. Something about Garrett being here at all was just off. He suddenly both looked and sounded less certain, like he was maybe going to ask if he could hang out with us.
I checked the sky for the coming apocalypse—negative, the world was still turning—and then went point-blank. “Aren’t you supposed to be on some fabulous vacation right now? In some fabulous, far-off land?” Before we left school for the Christmas break, he’d made sure everyone had heard about his impending Swiss mountain getaway. I’d applauded the news—the farther Garrett was from Coconut Key, the better, as far as I was concerned.
Calvin rolled his eyes, clearly disinterested in Garrett’s answer. He beeped open his car door and lined his chair up with the ramp that would pull him behind the wheel. “Girl, we need to get going, for real. Dana’s going to be pissed if we’re late.”
“Wait. Dana, as in that hot-ass blonde with the leather?” Garrett cracked an obnoxious grin. And, just like that, we were back in familiar douche territory.
Cal gave Garrett his own obnoxious smile—which was really more like a hundred-watt expression of joy. “As in that hot-ass blonde with the leather who couldn’t keep her hands off me at your party?” Some months ago, Dana had blown Garrett’s tiny mind by pretending to be Cal’s girlfriend, which had been epic to watch, but probably even more epic from Cal’s perspective. He continued, “The hot-ass blonde who referred to you as Tic-Tac dick ? Oh yes. That Dana. Yup.”
I laughed. Our leather-clad Greater-Than friend’s ability to be insultingly
Garrett’s smirk was enough to bring my irritation to a semi-boil, and I felt my cheeks heat up. Maybe I wasn’t so cold after all.
“So, you’re filling that Super Soaker to…?” He let his voice trail off.
I had nothing—no reason, no excuse—to give him, so I stood there silently, just staring at him.
It’s possible he thought I was speechless from his hotness, because his smile turned a little too I know you want me , and then he ran his hand through his perfect hair in a move that made his muscles flex.
“Ew!” I said it aloud even as Calvin saved me.
“Car radiator has the tendency to overheat,” he told Garrett flatly as he wheeled up. “Water bottle I was using sprang a leak. Needed something to put water in, and these were in the garage.”
He’d returned from the ’Boy with an extra-large travel mug of coffee steaming in his chair’s cup holder. As I sent him a silent thanks, he shot me back a WTF look.
I shook my head. I had no idea why Garrett had stopped to chat. His car was parked on the other side of the lot—he must’ve pulled in while Cal was in the CoffeeBoy and I was busy with the water machine. I definitely would’ve noticed if the midlife-crisis-mobile that he drove—his plastic surgeon father’s sports car—had been parked there when we’d arrived.
I did know, however, that I needed a confrontation between Garrett and Cal about as much as I needed a hole in the head.
“Oh! Hey, Cal,” Garrett said nonchalantly, as if he were greeting a casual acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a while, instead of a victim of his relentless bullying. “’Sup, bro?”
Calvin rolled his chair right between Garrett and me, moving fast enough that Garrett needed to take a quick step back to avoid getting his designer sneakers smushed. “ ’Sup? ” Cal repeated disbelievingly. He chuckled. “Right. Okay. Bro. Sky? You about ready to get going?”
“Yup.” I stashed the last water gun in the backseat and closed the door. The machine still owed me a few more cups of water that I’d already paid for, but I was willing to forfeit that in order to get away from here as quickly as possible.
“Where are you guys headed?” Garrett asked. His tone was weird. Something about Garrett being here at all was just off. He suddenly both looked and sounded less certain, like he was maybe going to ask if he could hang out with us.
I checked the sky for the coming apocalypse—negative, the world was still turning—and then went point-blank. “Aren’t you supposed to be on some fabulous vacation right now? In some fabulous, far-off land?” Before we left school for the Christmas break, he’d made sure everyone had heard about his impending Swiss mountain getaway. I’d applauded the news—the farther Garrett was from Coconut Key, the better, as far as I was concerned.
Calvin rolled his eyes, clearly disinterested in Garrett’s answer. He beeped open his car door and lined his chair up with the ramp that would pull him behind the wheel. “Girl, we need to get going, for real. Dana’s going to be pissed if we’re late.”
“Wait. Dana, as in that hot-ass blonde with the leather?” Garrett cracked an obnoxious grin. And, just like that, we were back in familiar douche territory.
Cal gave Garrett his own obnoxious smile—which was really more like a hundred-watt expression of joy. “As in that hot-ass blonde with the leather who couldn’t keep her hands off me at your party?” Some months ago, Dana had blown Garrett’s tiny mind by pretending to be Cal’s girlfriend, which had been epic to watch, but probably even more epic from Cal’s perspective. He continued, “The hot-ass blonde who referred to you as Tic-Tac dick ? Oh yes. That Dana. Yup.”
I laughed. Our leather-clad Greater-Than friend’s ability to be insultingly
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