Page 9 of Counter Bet

Steph closes the fridge door as I step into the kitchen. She hands me a cold beer, eyeing me over the rim of hers. I can’t help but feel like I’m under a magnifying glass.

She quirks an eyebrow. “I hear you gave Lauren the time of her life today?”

I smirk, then take a swig. “Guilty as charged. You know I don’t back down from a bet. Besides, corrupting virgins is fun. You should try it.”

Steph scoffs, but a smile plays on her lips.

“How did you find out about it anyway? Ben and I kept this bet under the radar.”

Lauren doesn’t want her perfect reputation tarnished, so she won’t have said anything. The only other person besides Ben who knows is Emily, the head cheerleader.

As I recall the look in her eyes, my core tightens. I could’ve slid her panties down and had her right there in the school bathroom. She wouldn’t have stopped me. Despite being the head cheerleader and the future homecoming queen, she’s not as clean-cut as she wants everyone to think she is.

Steph throws her head back, laughing. “You’re not subtle. You know that, right?” She takes another swig of her beer.

I shrug. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not going back for seconds. Besides, it was just a bet which I won.” I wink.

Amused, Steph shakes her head. The movement makes her curls bounce. “Whatever. Let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got a treat for us tonight.” She grabs the car keys off the counter. “Can you get the bag on the chair over there.”

“What am I? You personal slave?” I joke, grabbing the bag and hooking it over my shoulder. I follow her outside, past the sleeping dog to her rusty old car parked at the end of the drive. It’s a death trap, but it still runs. I toss the duffel bag into the back and steal a sucker from the glove compartment. “Where are we going?” I ask.

Steph straps on her seatbelt and cranks the engine. The car coughs to life, filling the air outside with a cloud of grey exhaust fumes.

She looks over her shoulder as she reverses out of the driveway. “You know Jamie Parker? The receiver?”

I narrow my eyes.

She completes the maneuver. “Jamie is throwing a party tonight. The whole football team is going to be there.”

I pull the sucker out of my mouth. “And?”

We never go to their parties.

She taps her fingers on the steering wheel in time to the music playing on the radio. “We’re going to play a little prank on Jamie.”

“Okay?” I reply, dragging the word out.

Steph nudges her head toward the backseat. “Look in the bag.”

I unfasten my seatbelt and stretch my body between the seats to grab the bag. Whatever she has planned is going to get us into trouble. I place my sucker on the dash, unzip the bag, and peek inside. It’s too dark in the car. The passing street lights are not enough to see by, so I reach up, switching on the overhead light.

Steph sings along to the chorus. I dig through the bag, chuckling darkly. I lift out a can of spray paint, reach for my sucker, and purse my lips around it. “What’s the target? His house?”

Steph starts laughing. “You’re unhinged, Dallas!”

“Hey!” I point my sucker at her. “I’m not the one who’s bringing my best friend and a bag of spray paint to a party I’m not invited to.”

Steph glances at me. “Smartass!” She steals my sucker off me, putting it in her own mouth. I try to grab it back, but she bats me off. The car sways on the road until she rights it.

“We won’t arrive there in one piece if you keep that shit up.”

“Don’t steal my candy.”

She smiles around the sucker. “I believe it was inmyglove compartment.”

“Semantics.”

We fall silent as we turn down Jamie’s opulent street. The houses here look like small mansions, and the cars in the driveways cost more than I dare to think about. It’s such a contrast to the rundown streets we call home, where hookers fight over street corners, and the walls are so thin you can hear your neighbor beat up his wife.

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