I dug deep and forced a professional smile. "Sure, lemme grab it." I began heading toward the back, but then turned back to ask, "Wait…does this mean you're over Shark Bike?"
He grinned. "Hell no. I love the shark. But I told this mega-fan I'd let him take the Sharkster for a spin, you know…clear him as a VIP. The kid's gonna flip. Anyway, I'm doing him a solid, and in return, he's bumping my status on the access list. But now I need the Viper."
This was a lot of information, and I wasn't sure I understood half of it. Then again, I was feeling pretty muddled for reasons unrelated to bikes. Still, I couldn't help but ask, "What's an access list?"
Chad waved off the question. "Eh, don't worry about it, just tech stuff. So, the Viper – can I take it now?" He glanced around. "Or do you guys need to, like, untangle your key-party first?"
48
Who Needs a Last Name Anyway?
Maisie
"Key parties?" Tessa said. "I think they were big in the seventies."
We were sitting side by side on the sofa, and yes, Iwasclutching a tiny little bottle. But who could blame me after that scene with Devon and Sierra?
Oh, and Griff.
In some ways, he was the star of the show, considering that Sierra couldn't take her eyes off him – well, when she wasn't clutching onto him, that is. The thought of it still made me want to throw something – but not the bottle, because it was still half-full.
I gave Tessa a perplexed look. "So how exactly do they work?"
"You seriously don't know?"
"Well, it's not like I've ever been to one." I took a big swig from my tiny bottle – something with vodka and a hint of lime. "Have you?"
"Oh, please," she scoffed. "Who do you think I am?"
"Well…you're someone who knows a lot more thanIdo."
She wrinkled her nose. "But not from experience."
"So?" I persisted. "How do they work?"
"Basically, you go to a party and toss your room key into a hat or whatever. Then the party guests pick a key at random and have sex with the key's owner."
I almost shuddered at the thought. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, but…" She hesitated. "I'm thinking they'd need separate hats for guys and girls, right?"
I considered the logistics. "Maybe only the girls put in their keys, and the guys pick."
Her expression turned thoughtful. "Or maybe the girls pick."
"Either way," I said. "You wouldn't want to jumble them all together." I gave a bitter laugh. "I mean…I'm not gonna sleep with Sierra."
"Speaking of which… you never said. What happened after they left?"
"Nothing," I said. "This college kid came in and rented Shark Bike, and that was that."
She stared like I'd just answered the wrong question. "Forget the bikes. What happened with Griff? Did you guys talk about it?"
The knot in my stomach tightened just a little. "I tried. But he was really standoffish."
"How so?"
"He was all quiet and tense, like he used to be, you know, back in the beginning. He said barely a dozen words all afternoon."
