And we owed it all to Beau Bradford. Talk about bittersweet.
Piper tried to hand me my half of the tip Beau left us. But I stared at the money as if I couldn't trust it.
“Aren't you going to take this?” Piper asked, waving the $100 bill at me.
I folded my arms and turned my nose up. “I don't want it.”
“Why not?”
“Don't you get it? That whole visit was a power-play by him. He came here to lord his money and celebrity status over me.”
Piper chortled. “Camille. No offense, but I think you're acting a little nuts. I think I can read between the lines, though … you guys totally used to bang, right?”
I almost choked.
“Ew—gross—no. Never.”
“Really? Because I was picking up on a serious'banged like rabbits back in the day and yet still haven't got all that hot lovemaking out of their system'kind of vibe from you guys.”
That thought, thatimage, of me and Beau 'banging?' My throat squeezed shut like I'd just inhaled a cloud of cancer. I hacked and coughed until at last I could speak again.
“That is actuallysoobjectively wrong and terrible, you don't even know how bad it is.”
“Oh yeah? So what happened between you two?”
“Wehatedeach other, Piper.”
“I get that—but why?”
“Because—” I hemmed and hawed. “Because, reasons.”
Piper stared at me, waiting for an explanation that I wasn't prepared to give her.
“You realize you're not making a very convincing case here, right?” she asked. “And didn't you say you were like a shy bookworm type all throughout school? How the heck did you end up on that guy's radar?”
“I don't wanna talk about it, okay? And give me those!” I reached for the hockey tickets so I could tear them in half, but Piper pulled them out of my grasp before I could snatch them away.
“Oh no. We're going to that game.”
I laughed sharply. “No we're not!”
“You see this?” She pointed at the print on the ticket. “Row 1.Row 1!These are front row seats, Cammy.”
I shrugged. “Fine. Keep the tickets. You can go, but I won't.”
She pouted. “Well … what about the club?”
“I amdefinitelynot going to that, either.”
“But just earlier today, you promisedthat you'd come out with me next time something came up.”
“I didn't promise anything.”
Piper stamped her foot. “Cam! C'mon! Have some fun.”
“Nope.”
“Okay then.” She shrugged and started to walk off. “I guess I'll be going to the club alone.”
