Page 10 of The Jester and His Outlaw: Part One

“Are you alright? You’ve been dodgy all damn weekend. You’re freaking me out.” She furrows her brow, turning her head to the side before she brings her palm to my forehead. I swat it away, scoffing.

“Stop that,” I order, glaring at her. Damn, I am touchy.

“At least it got your attention. Now tell me what the fuck is wrong with you and don’t give me any bullshit.” The clinking of ice cubes dropping in a crystal glass tells me that it’s time to break into my parents’ liquor cabinet. Personally, I like the fruity drinks better, but there is an old bald man living in my best friend. She drinks Irish whisky better than most of my father’s friends.

“What are you pouring?” I ask over my shoulder while I debate whether I’m going to get up and help her, so I get something I like instead of what she believes I should like.

“I’m sure you’re aware of what I’m pouring.”

“Something that puts hair on my chest?” She lets out a shrill bit of laughter that echoes off the water when I mock her. She always tells me it’ll put hair on my chest and make me a better man. Like I need either of those things, but whatever. Foxy wouldn’t be Foxy without her ridiculousness.

“Jesus, are you drunk already? You sound like a hyena with that nonsense.”

“You’re an asshole. Why would you say something like that?” The slight concern in her voice is clear.

Giggling, I get up, stretching my long limbs. My knees click and pop, my shoulders protesting from all the injuries I’ve had from years of playing physical sports. Concrete beneath my feet burns as I pad across it to my now frantic best friend.

“I don’t sound like that do I? Oh my god, I laugh so much, no wonder none of the guys will pay attention to me anymore.”

“No, they won’t look at you because Jensen has put his claim on you.”

“Shut up. No, he hasn’t.” Unbelievably, her cheeks flame even darker than the sun has already turned them. She has had the biggest crush on Jensen since we were young but denies herself because her parents would love for them to date. What better merger than multibillionaires? The two of them have remained immune to their parents’ pestering and never dated, though this year Jensen has noticed her, but they have always been friends. They would make the perfect couple, however, she is still refusing herself a good time and the possibility of actual love because it’s what her parents want. Can’t blame her there either. If Jensen tries hard enough, she’ll give in. Only time will tell.

“Girl, he has. You should go for that. Did you see how much he grew over the summer? Climb him like a tree, make him your next conquest.”

“Jensen’s more than a conquest and you know it.” Over a bottle of whisky, she narrows her eyes at me, raising a brow.

“Then go for it already.” I grab my fruity drink from the door in the mini fridge and twist the cap off. It bounces off the edge of the trash can and rolls across the concrete, trailing off into the pool.

“I can’t,” Foxy tells me after taking a sip of her whisky. I grimace, remembering the one time I drank that shit. Nope, never again. Why anyone would want to burn their throat like that is beyond me.

“The dude drools over you when he sees you. Throw him a bone. Screw your parents, they made you two for each other.” I smile, trying to lighten my mood by playing matchmaker, even though it’s pointless. She’ll never give poor Jensen a chance. Must be nice to have guys falling all over her, kissing her feet. Though it is my fault why none of them want anything to do with me. I was a miserable bitch last year, and I also made the choice to date Jonas, so no guys are going to look at me in fear of retribution from him. I’m done with the opposite sex until college is over at the very least.

“No. I can’t. They would never leave me alone.”

“Is it because they would never leave you alone, or you love the chase too much? Once you get a good guy, you won’t be able to commit?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know I’ve gone too far.

We’ve had many discussions about this. She is getting her kicks in now while she can because once she marries whoever her parents choose for her, that’s it. No one will ever be able to touch her after that.

We like to believe she has the choice of who she will end up with, but she won’t. We can only hope that it’s Jensen. That’s why she won’t go for him. One day, when she’s good and happy with him, her parents will rip them apart. She flinches, her breath catching.

“Damn, you’re being rude tonight, bitch. What is your problem?” Her head rolls as she asks me.

“Shit, Foxy, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean that.” She rolls her eyes at me then pushes off of the bar to come stand by me, and I can tell she’s half ready to slap me.

“Okay,” she starts, dropping to my side. She sets her cup down on the concrete and dips her feet into the pool. “For a second, I thought I was going to get on your ass like I did last year.” She gives me a friendly, pointed look that makes me shrink a couple of inches. Foxy has that power to remind me of just who I was without judging.

“It’s hard being in school knowing what I did last year. It has nothing to do with Jonas. I’m way over him and, frankly, there’s nothing to get over. He was a colossal waste of time. It’s…”

“Does this have anything to do with Riggs Sutton?” She blurts, never one to beat around the bush. My head drops in a shy nod to avoid eye contact with her. There is no putting off talking about what happened much longer. All week I’ve kept quiet about it. “I saw the heat between you guys on the first day of school.”

“The guy is a raging asshole. That was not heat you saw. That was me wanting to stick my foot up his ass.”

“Jesus, what did he do?” she snickers, leaning into me and bumping my shoulder. Her expression flattens when she sees that I’m not laughing. She picks up her glass and brings it to her lips to silence herself.

“He has a severe dislike of rich people, and he called me Rusty Crotch,” I mumble the last part. Something must have gone down the wrong pipe because she spits out her drink and splutters.

“Ouch.”

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