Page 40 of The Bad Boyfriend Curse
“What’s wrong with Peter McCrae?” I ask. Mike Jacobs said he was a good mayor.
Liv shrugs. “He’s… old. The city’s changed a lot since he was first elected. This whole subdivision didn’t even exist back then. My dad says that your stepfather is the first viable competition McCrae’s ever had.”
“And speaking of your stepfather,” Kaitlyn says with a teasing grin, “what’s this I hear about you bringing that burnout Noah Jacobs to aclubparty?”
My eyes widen. Since Liv and Sadie weren’t able to make it, Noah and I were pretty much the only teenagers at the party. And Sadie and Liv promised not to tell anyone about my fake dating Noah. Maybe Kaitlyn’s parents were there? “Um, yeah. My mom said I could bring someone, so I brought Noah. I know him from the park program.”
Kaitlyn laughs. “You’re alegend, Meera. I mean, it’siconicto bring someone with aneyebrowpiercing to the club. He was probably stoned out of his mind, right?”
I shake my head. “Noah doesn’t do drugs. Or drink, actually.”
“He’s full of crap,” James says. “The Jacobs boys had whisky in their baby bottles. Once a burnout, always a burnout.”
“He’s not a burnout,” I say. “Noah’s not really like his brother.”
Kaitlyn looks suspicious. “You two aren’t, like… together, are you? Ortalking? I mean, he’s hot, but you know he’s, like, major trouble, right?”
I glance at Sadie. I don’t like how Kaitlyn and everyoneelse judges Noah like this, but I know defending him won’t really help. “We’re friends. He’s cool. You heard him at Donut Den. He’s a talented singer.”
Kaitlyn rolls her eyes. “I mean, anyone can scream heavy metal. It wasn’t even an original song like mine. I’m sure your father wouldn’t approve of you spending time with drug dealers and criminals.”
“It wasn’t heavy metal,” I start, about to defend Noah again, and then I shrug. They have already made up their minds about Noah. And actually, Noah’s bad reputation is why I brought him to the party. “I admit, I really brought him to ruffle my mother and Jason’s feathers a bit.”
Reagan grins. “Iconic. Like Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker. I wish I’d been there to see the faces of the old men at the club.”
I bite my tongue, thinking about how it seems like Kourtney and Travis are genuinely in love with each other. Do Reagan and the others really think that people who seem wildly different can’t be happy together? Kaitlyn doesn’t look as impressed. “Still. I wouldn’t even befriendswith the guy.”
“You’re such a snob, Kaitlyn,” Quinn says. He turns to me. “Don’t listen to her. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be friends with Noah. And yeah, he was unreal on the guitar.”
Kaitlyn glares at Quinn. “You’resuch a bleeding heart, Quinn. Not everyone is down on their luck with a heart of gold. Drug dealers and criminals are terrible people. They’re breaking the law.”
This is clearly a conversation they’ve had before. I liked Kaitlyn the first time I met her, but not anymore. I mean,technicallyI’ma criminal. And Noah’s in community service for the same reason as me.
Nanabapa always calls people bleeding-heart liberals when they talk about being kind to people struggling, like drug addicts or the poor. It’s something Mom and he have argued about a lot. She always said that it’s society’s duty to help people who need it. I wonder if she’d still argue with Nanabapa about politics, now that she’s married to a wealthy man and spends all her time in a country club.
I stand, needing to get away from Kaitlyn. “I think we have white cheddar popcorn. I’ll get some and more drinks.” I head toward the sliding door straight into the kitchen.
I’m so annoyed. Okay, angry. People like Kaitlyn are why people like Noah can’t get ahead. To her, he’ll never be anything but a burnout. At least Sadie, Liv, and Quinn seem more accepting.
But I also feel weird. Here I am enjoying Jason’s pool, in an expensive new bathing suit so that I’ll fit in with Sadie and her friends. How long until I turn into one of them like Mom has? I grab the bag of popcorn from the pantry and find a big bowl to put it in.
The sliding door opens. It’s Quinn. “Do you need help with the popcorn?”
I shrug. He comes into the kitchen and stands so close to me that I can feel the heat generated by his body. I can see the faint outline of his golden abs.
So far I’m failing spectacularly at staying away from guys.
He’s looking at me with genuinely concerned eyes. At least I think they’re genuine. “Are you okay, Meera?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I say. “I’m just having trouble getting used to this place.”
He sits on the barstool by the counter. I start filling the big bowl with popcorn.
“Getting used to this house, to Cherrybridge, or to my friends?” Quinn asks. He’s looking at me with those blue eyes so intently. Like he one hundred percent cares about my answer.
“All of the above?”
He chuckles. “It must feel like another planet from the city.”
