Robin Wasserman - Lust

“Great,” she said, trying her best not to wrinkle her nose at the sight of Adam’s Chevy It looked even more wretched close up, like a junk heap molded into the shape of a car, held together with duct tape. Prized possession? It didn’t speak very well for his taste-of course, from what she’d seen so far, neither did Beth. But she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

She looked over her shoulder at Kane, who was climbing into a vintage silver Camaro. And he was just as hot as Adam, though he lacked the adorable Southern accent. But the guy was obviously a total player-and thus not nearly as much fun to play with. No, she decided, climbing into the backseat and slamming the door shut behind her, Adam it is. At least for now.

Beth and Adam chattered together in the front while Kaia sat in silence, watching the dark streets fly by.

“You want to come back to my place?” Adam asked his girlfriend. “My mom’s probably out for the night…”

There was a long pause, and Beth looked over her shoulder and glanced at Kaia. “I’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said eventually. “And, you know, curfew.”

“I just thought that-”

“Why don’t you drop me off first,” Beth cut him off. “I’m on the way.”

Trouble in paradise? Kaia wondered. Interesting.

Adam just grunted and turned off onto a side street. He pulled up in front of a squat ranch house, sandwiched between a row of identically impersonal boxes. A tricycle lay on its side in the middle of the small front lawn, which looked as if it hadn’t seen a lawn mower in years. The cramped patch of overgrown weeds was the perfect companion to the house itself, with its peeling paint job and rusted aluminum siding. Home sweet home.

Adam turned off the car and unfastened his seat belt, but Beth stopped him with a quick kiss.

“You don’t have to walk me in,” she whispered. “I’ll just see you tomorrow.” She kissed him again, this time long and hard, and then got out of the car and raced up the front walkway, a narrow path of loose gravel and chipped cement. She paused in the doorway, fumbling in her purse for the key, then, finally, pulled open the door and slipped into the house, the slim beam of light cut off as she closed the door behind her.

Adam was still for a moment, watching her figure disappear into the darkness. Then he twisted around in his seat and grinned at Kaia.

“Why don’t you come sit up here?” he suggested, patting the seat next to him.

Perfect. Kaia hopped out of the car and switched into the front seat. As she fastened her seat belt, she lightly brushed his hand, which rested on the gearshift-he tensed, almost imperceptibly, and she knew he’d felt the same electric charge of excitement that she had at the touch.

She ignored it, however, and began playing with the radio stations, searching in vain for something that was neither country-and-western nor fire-and-brimstone.

“Not much to listen to out here, is there?” Kaia complained, as Adam started the car and pulled back out onto the road. She flicked the stereo off in disgust. “Not much to do, either.”

“No,” he admitted. “But it’s a good town. Good people, you know?”

Could this guy be any more of an all-American cliché? She didn’t know they made them like this in real life.

“Anyway,” he continued awkwardly, “I’m sorry again about before, in the diner-Harper’s just, well…”

“An acquired taste?” Kaia suggested, faking a smile.

“I guess you could say that,” Adam admitted. “See, the thing you’ve got to understand about Harper is…” His voice faded off, and he squinted his eyes in concentration, trying to find the right words.

“Her bark is worse than her bite?” Kaia offered.

Adam laughed ruefully and shook his head. “No, I’d watch out for her bite, too.”

Good to know, Kaia thought. “Then what?” she persisted. “I mean, you seem like such a nice, genuine guy, and I guess I’m just surprised that you’re… that not all of your friends are… I’m just a little surprised.” Kaia guessed there was no particularly polite way to say, So, your friend is an überbitch . Hopefully she’d made her point without doing major damage to her mission.

“Look, I know Harper can be kind of-”

“Harsh?”

“Kind of a bitch, basically,” Adam acknowledged. Kaia suppressed her laughter-good to know he wasn’t totally blind. “It’s not something I love about her,” Adam continued with a sigh. “But the thing about Harper is, well, things come pretty easy for her. She gets bored-and you can see why.”

“Bored? In this town? No ,” Kaia drawled sarcastically. How could you be bored when the bowling alley was open 24/7?

“No, it’s not just that,” Adam clarified. “It’s not just that it’s a small town. It’s Harper-she just-doesn’t belong here, somehow. She’s better than this place.” He shook his head ruefully. “And the problem is, she knows it.”

“It sounds like you-” But Kaia cut herself off almost as soon as she began. No reason to put ideas in his head. If he was too dense to figure it out for himself, she certainly wasn’t going to help him along.

“I what?” he asked, confused.

“Nothing.” Kaia paused, watching the dark shadows of parked cars, deserted buildings, flat, arid land speed by. The emptiness was endless. “Have a lot of respect for her, that’s all,” she finished feebly.

“Well, I’ve known her a long time,” he explained, pulling onto the empty highway. “She was the first friend I made when I moved here. I trust her-and whatever else she’s done, she’s never betrayed that. She’s the same with Miranda. When Harper decides you’re worthy of her time, she’s actually the best friend you could have. Loyal as a pit bull.”

“Which would explain both the barking and the biting,” Kaia pointed out.

He laughed. “Exactly.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and Kaia realized that this was the most she’d ever heard Adam speak. He hadn’t said much during dinner, and even when Beth was in the car, he’d mostly been listening to her prattle on about her day. The strong, silent type, Kaia decided. Likes listening better than talking-so maybe she should give him something to listen to.

“Well, pit bull or not, you don’t have to worry about me,” she assured him. “I can handle myself. You have to be tough when you…” She let her voice trail off and looked down at her hands. Would he take the bait?

“When you what?” he asked, sounding concerned.

Score.

“It’s just-you know, it’s hard, bouncing from school to school, always being the new kid, knowing that neither of your parents want you around…”

Amazing how truth can sometimes be more effective than fiction.

Kaia let her voice tremble, just a bit. “And people assume things about you, you know, treat you in a certain way, like you’re this person, this person who has nothing to do with who you really are…”

Adam took one hand off the wheel and rested it on her shoulder; Kaia suppressed a grin.

“Hey, we’re not all like that,” he assured her.

Kaia laughed, shakily.

“Listen to me, ‘poor little rich girl.’ And I don’t even know you.” She wiped an eye, hoping he wouldn’t notice the lack of a tear.

“Can we just… just forget I said anything?” she asked.

Adam nodded-but he kept a firm hand on her shoulder.

They drove in silence down the empty highway for several miles, until Kaia pointed to the shadowy silhouette of a mailbox, the only sign of civilization along the dark stretch of road.

“Turn up here, I think,” she said, and the car swung left, up a long gravel pathway, arriving at the foot of a large house of glass and steel.