Page 38 of Five Mountain Daddies

“Well, well, well, if it isn’tLondon.”

I smile back at him, mind racing. “Arnold,right?”

He nods, clearly pleased. “Heard you were back intown.”

“Oh,yeah?”

“Sure, for the summer. You haven’t been around in a while,huh?”

“Yeah, I mean, guess I’ve just been busy atschool.”

I feel uncomfortable right away. He’s bigger than me, with squinty eyes and a square jaw. He’s wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, your typical trashy local outfit, and he’s grinning like a moron. I’m cut off from the rest of the restaurant by him, and I feelcornered.

“Hey, yeah, that’s great. How’s Leadwood treatin’ youagain?”

I shrug. “Fine. Just here eating dinner with myparents.”

“Cool, cool.” He nods, trying to look smooth. “How about you come out with me and my friends sometime? I hear you like toparty.”

That last sentence makes my blood run cold. “Youwhat?”

“You like to party,” he says. “We can take you out. Show you a goodtime.”

“Uh, no thanks. I don’t know what youheard.”

I try to step around him, but he blocks my way. “Oh, come on,” he says. “I hear you’ve been up to that fancy club, what’s it called? Bedsheets or some shit?” He laughs, a rude and uglything.

“Excuse me, I need to get back todinner.”

“Oh, come on, London,” he says, grabbing my arm, and it’s all I can do to keep myself fromscreaming.

“Let me go,” I say, pushing back againsthim.

He stumbles back against the wall and I realize that he’s drunk. I’m suddenly well and truly afraid, even though there’s a room full of people just a few feetaway.

“You bitch,” he hisses. “I’m just trying to be nice. I heard you’ve been slutting it up with those fucking weird twin guys. You think nobody would find out?” He glares at me, and I can practically taste his hatred anddisgust.

“Go fuck yourself,” I say, and push past himagain.

“Slut,” he says as I hurry back to thetable.

I sit down, shaken and upset, but I try to hide it. My parents keep talking amiably, but they must sense that something’s wrong, because they don’t linger like they normallywould.

After I pay the bill and we head out, I catch a glimpse of those two assholes, Arnold and Slater. They’re staring at me, laughing at something, and it makes me sick. I suddenly feel like everyone’s staring, and they allknow.

Everyone knows I let the twins get me off, I fucked Ryan, I got off with Ryan ad Henry at the same time, I kissed James, I kiss all of them. Everyone knows what I’ve been doing and everyone thinks I’m aslut.

I’m practically having a panic attack, but I do it quietly in the back seat of the car. We get home and I go right up into my room. I don’t even try to pretend like nothing’s bothering me. I’ll apologize later, blame it on the alcohol or something. My mom will feel justified in giving me looks for drinking, but that’s fine, I’d rather that than have them think I’m awhore.

I don’t want to cry, but I do. I don’t know why I let this fucking town get to me. That was upsetting though, a big drunk guy talking down to me like that, blocking my way, not letting me escape from him. I wanted to hit him and scream but I couldn’t. I could barely push himaway.

I hate him. Really, I hate what he represents. All this small-town bullshit, with their prejudices and judgments and their small-minded attitudes. I can’t take any of it, but I have to. I’m stuck here, at least until the end of thesummer.

But after that, I’m gone. The thought is bittersweet. I want to get the hell out of here, especially right now, but I still don’t want to give up whatever I have with theguys.

I grab my phone and text James. I don’t know why, but I just do it. “How can you stand this town?” I send tohim.

He responds almost right away. “It’s home. Whathappened?”

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