Page 57 of Brazen Mistakes

“How excellent?”

“I can pull a 180 drift with a front wheel drive car in the snow.”

All three guys stare at me like I’ve just professed my hatred of color-coded notes.

“My dad was serious about teaching me how to drive in all conditions and all stress levels. We’d borrow his friends’ cars so I could try stuff out in bigger and smaller vehicles. He’d take me to the country so I could get used to the dark and the deer, and into downtown so I could adjust to one-way streets and bike lanes.”

Jansen turns to Trips. “Can we buy her a car? She needs a car.”

“Not until we graduate. We’ve got a cover to keep. She can’t suddenly come into money right after she moves in with us.”

Jansen turns back to me. “What do you want? I’ll get it as a graduation gift. Something new? Vintage? It’s got to be fast, though. I want to see you fly.”

I blink at him. “You’re not buying me a car.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t just buy people cars. That’s only mildly less terrifying than buying someone a pet.”

Trips claps his hands, getting our attention. “Back on task. Jansen, you’ve got Clara for the rest of the afternoon. Teach her sneaky shit. If she’s good at it, go back to picking pockets. Tomorrow, Clara, I want you down here at one, and we’ll do etiquette and waltzing. Shopping has to be done soon, too, in case anything needs tailoring.”

I feel the start of a grin peel at the corner of my mouth. “I knew we needed a syllabus for this. Or at least a shared calendar.”

“No paper trail, no evidence. Speaking of which, I’m deleting the document I showed you earlier.”

I nod, understanding, but not liking it. The list of hospital visits, that one is going to stay with me for a while. And now I’m curious about the statute of limitations for child abuse-related charges.

My agreement received and the plan made, Trips marches back upstairs, leaving Jansen to teach me the finer points of sneaking, with RJ as my target.

If it turns into a tickle war every time RJ spins and catches me close to him, well, at least it’s a fun way to learn.

Chapter 21

Clara

The small amount of Walker’s dinner I force into my stomach removes the last of the haze from my mind, and I’m once again reminded that humans need to eat.

Regularly. Even if everything tastes like dirt right now.

The last few days have been so busy, so chaotic, so full of things that I never even thought about learning to do, that I haven’t had a chance to reflect, and I’m fucking grateful. I don’t want to think about the moral implications of taking up grand theft auto over my winter break.

Instead, I’ll focus on learning everything I need to survive Trips’ party without incident. I’ll carve out a space for me in these guys’ lives, one that’s separate from the space they’ve opened in their beds.

That one is a lot less complicated. Mostly.

But even the Trips situation makes sense now. He wants me. I want him. His family is a fucking shit show and if we get involved, neither of us is safe.

The hum of my newfound anger at the injustice of it buzzes in my chest as Jansen and I pull off into a shopping center far in the western suburbs. We’ve already passed mansion after mansion, stone and iron gates following tall brick walls, near spires stretching out from the grasping branches of winter trees, lit from below with warm landscape lights. “You wore your long underwear, right?” Jansen asks as we pull into the shadows at the end of the lot.

“I don’t have long underwear. But I put on some running tights under my jeans, and the boots you got for me are cozy personified. I’m not worried.”

My phone buzzes as Jansen parks, and fear that it’s the Bryce alert has my palms sweating. Emma’s name flashes on the screen instead, though, and a grin stretches across my face. I show my phone to Jansen, who nods, letting me know that I have time to chat with my bestie.

“Hey!” I say, the phone pressed against my ear.

A moment later, I regret that move, as Emma’s squeal makes me flinch. “Oh my God, Clara, how did you know?”

“How did I know that Ramblin’ Moxie is your current favorite band? You only talk about them at least once a day.”

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