"You can't stay," I told her. "Who should I call?"
Her lips pursed. "No one."
I recalled her mom, the hot-shot banker. "Your mom," I said. "What's her number?"
At this, she gave a sad, drunken laugh. "I dunno."
"Think," I told her.
"No," she slurred. "I mean, for real." She squinted, hard, like it hurt to think. "Miami, maybe?"
I stared down at her. "What?"
She lifted her head and puckered her lips, waiting, I assumed, for a kiss. When no kiss came, she let her head fall backward, where it thudded to the floor. She closed her eyes and gave a weak moan. "Owwww."
"If you think it hurts now," I said, "just wait 'til morning."
She opened her eyes and gave a drunken giggle. "You're funny."
"I wasn't joking."
She reached out and clutched my shirt. "She's not really a banker, you know."
I shook my head. "Who? Your mom?"
"Yeah," she slurred. "She's like a dancer."
I shouldn't have asked. But I did anyway. "What kind?"
"Uh, exotic?"
So her mom was a stripper? Was that for real? Or was that just the booze talking?
Lying there, Brittney looked up at me with sad, puppy-dog eyes. "Why don't you like me?"
No way I'd be answeringthatquestion. She was down. I could kick her by pointing out the reasons. But I didn't have the heart. So instead, I gave a non-committal shrug.
With a long, sad sigh, she let go of my shirt. "You like Amber better. I can tell. Everyone likes Amber better."
"Probably a reason for that."
Brittney's gaze narrowed. "She's not prettier than me. I can tell that, too."
"There's more to life than looks."
Brittney gave a drunken snort. "Oh sure, easy for you to say. You're like the hottest person I know."
I wasn't hot. I was tired of the bull. "Then maybe you need to get out more," I told her.
"Oh, come on," she slurred. "You know you are. If you were ugly, you'd know." She gave a sloppy giggle. "And if youdidn'tknow, I'd tell you, because you'dwantto know. Am I right?"
I shoved a hand through my hair. At this point, all I wanted was to see her gone.
Again, she reached for my shirt. This time, she missed, grabbing a handful of empty air. "Wait, you don’t thinkI'mugly, do you?"
I pulled back. "No."Not on the outside anyway.
"I wish I were Amber," she slurred. "She has it sooooo easy."
