“It’s a good ways yet,” Billy says, leaning forward to see me past his cousin. “You still live next door to the Norths, right? Get your ass up in here and out of the rain, girlie.”
He’s smiling, and Lexi’s already thrown open the door, and big fat drops are quickly eating up the dry spots remaining on the sidewalk. Lexi scoots over, shoving the backpacks under her feet aside to make room for me.
“Okay,” I say, forcing a laugh as I grab the oh-shit handle and haul myself up in. “I thought you were one of those people trying to lure girls into their vehicles by asking for directions.”
“You get those too?” Lexi asks. “I swear, every time I walk alone, one of them comes cruising by. Why are men such soulless pigs?”
I lean over and slam the door, and she turns to Billy.
“What, you think I know?” he asks. “Why don’t you ask that pig whose dick you’ve been riding?”
“Oh my god, shut up,” she says, smacking his arm just as he pulls back into the lane. “Or I’ll grab the wheel and run us off the road. Besides, he’s not like that, and you are, so I’m asking you.”
“Like what?” Billy asks, scowling at her. “A child molester who picks up girls off the side of the road?”
“Well, no,” she says. “But an odious pig? Hell yeah. Half the girls in the Slut Club would go Lorena Bobbitt on you if they got the chance.”
“Hey, that’s not fair,” he protests. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game, baby.”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me, like we’re sharing some inside knowledge with just our eyes. I want to be in that club—not the Slut Club, but the not-a-total-virgin club. I want to be able to know what she means by that look, and not in some vague, abstract way. I’m tired of being left out when they talk at lunch about what guys are good in bed, and who has a crooked dick, and whose spunk tastes weird.
Not that I want to know about the guys they’re talking about, but I want to be able to relate. I’ve already gathered that Billy’s a total manwhore who doesn’t do girlfriends any more than the other Crows. After the way the North brothers treated me, though, there’s no way I’m asking them for such an intimate favor. But maybe Billy would rid me of my V-card—just get it over with, no muss, no fuss. He’s hot, he’s my friend, and he definitely knows what he’s doing.
“Anyway, back to your problem, Rae Rae,” Billy says, hopping a curb as he takes a turn too fast. He flips the wipers to high as the rain starts pelting down on the truck.
“What?” I ask, feeling heat creep up my neck. He can’t possibly know what I was thinking, but I did tell Lexi I was a virgin. Is that the problem he’s talking about?
“The dudes harassing you when you’re walking,” he says. “Just tell them you belong to the Murder of Crows, and they’ll burn rubber.”
“Oh,” I say with a nervous laugh. Of course he’s not going to offer up his dick for me to sit on and break myself in with. That would be too easy. Besides, there’s the whole Rae Ban to contend with. Just because I belong to the Crows, according to Maddox, that doesn’t mean they can touch me. Apparently I’m off limits to everyone.
“And as for your comment, Lex, you know I like a real woman who knows her way around the D.”
So much for that fantasy.
“Ah, right, the perks of being a pool boy,” she says, cracking a smile.
“Fuck you,” he says. “I’ll dump your ass on the side of the road right now.”
“Kidding, kidding,” she says, holding up her hands. “I know you only bang the hot moms.”
“Which is more than you can say,” he mutters. “Picking up daddies at the playground and shit.”
“If you call me a homewrecker, I will punch you in both testicles.”
As I watch their easy camaraderie, a twist of wistfulness winds through me, making goosebumps stand up on my arms. They bicker nonstop, but they’re family. They have each other, just like Maddox and Lennox, even when they fight. On top of that, Billy has the Murder of Crows, and Lexi has the Slut Club. I wouldn’t even care if people called me a slut if I had friends like that.
Instead, I have a dead bird for company.
Billy turns onto Sullivan, and I wish he’d drive slower, make the ride last a little longer. Even if they’re only talking to each other, using the secret language of their history that leaves me as lost in translation as when the Norths speak Spanish, at least I’m not alone.
“Hey, you want to come over?” Lexi asks, turning to me. “You can stay the night. I have my own room. And my mom doesn’t care if I have people over on a school night, as long as I do my homework.”
I want to cry at the prospect of sleeping in a real bed again, but then I think of Poe, alone in my shed. Lexi even gave me the perfect excuse, if I want to use it. I can just tell her my parents don’t allow me to spend the night on school days.
Billy pulls up along the curb in front of my house, leaving the engine running. “Go get your stuff,” he says, picking up a canvas CD case and unzipping it. “I’ll rock out while I wait.”
“Okay,” I say, climbing out of the car.