Darker Days (The Darker Agency #1)(13)
“Down, girl.” I snickered and hitched a thumb sideways in Lukas’ direction. “Lukas is a cl—”
“Hey, Jess.” Garrett Redding thumped his loaded tray on the table, wedging himself between Lukas and me.
“—own,” I fumbled. “Lukas is a total clown…”
Garrett didn’t seem to notice. He stuffed half a cheeseburger into his mouth and chewed noisily. Why did football players have to eat like pigs? He took a long swig from his Pepsi, then swiveled to face Lukas. “Where’d you come from?”
“I’m Jessie’s cousin. From out of town.”
“Lukas is here to check out the school. See how he likes it,” I said, ripping open the bag of Cheetos I’d brought. Steering the conversation away from Lukas was the best thing I could do. I popped a Cheeto into my mouth, and asked, “How’s your mom doing?”
A few weeks ago, Mom and I had tracked down Garrett’s MIA Dad. He’d gone to work one day and never came home. When we finally found him, he was in the burbs of Pennsylvania with his other family. Mrs. Redding had an idea her husband had been cheating—she just never expected to find an entire family. In the end, she was just happy to know the truth. And have proof. The way I’d heard it, Garrett’s dad made a cushy six-figure salary. We’d given Mrs. Redding enough ammo to take him for everything and then some. The whole thing had given me warm squishies.
Garrett nodded and downed the rest of his soda in one gulp. Thumping his chest twice, he let out a yak-worthy burp and said, “Copasetic. She wants to have you guys over for dinner. Ya know, to say thanks.”
“It’s no big. Just doing our job and all that.”
Garrett shrugged. His eyes lingered on mine for a second, like there was something more he wanted to say, but instead, he turned to Lukas. “Where ya from?”
“Yes, Lukas,” Kendra snickered, leaning her elbows on the table. “Where are you from?”
“My family is from Penance originally, but I’ve moved around a lot.”
Huh. From Penance? That was new information. Useful, too, if he was telling the truth. Penance was big on history. I was betting Marnie Phelps—the town clerk—kept records in the basement of Town Hall, along with boxes full of donations from days past. If Lukas didn’t want to share about his past, maybe I could dig up some dirt.
“Looks like you’re not the only new kid in town. Did you get a load of the new chick?” Garrett let out a sharp whistle. “Hawt! Girl’s got a pair that would drive a priest crazy.”
Lukas blinked. “A pair of what?”
Garrettt held both hands in front of his chest and pumped them up and down. “Dude, she’s fappable.”
Kendra groaned and flicked a perfectly manicured finger at him. “Classy. Real classy.”
Lukas closed his eyes and sighed. “It saddens me to bear witness to the decline of the English language.”
“New chick?” I asked in an attempt to side track them.
“There.” Garrett pointed to a gathering crowd across the room as a blonde girl sauntered into the room. “Hottie at twelve o’clock.”
At the other end of the table, Lukas paled. He gripped the edge of his seat and whispered, “She’s one of them.”
The girl was surrounded by what looked like almost every guy in the school. She was at the center, talking and giggling as the crowd hung on each word like she was spouting the formula to end world hunger. Or the cheat codes for Halo.
As if she’d heard Lukas speak, she turned and winked in our direction. The crowd reluctantly parted, and she strode toward us, working the cafeteria floor like it was a runway in Paris.
“How did she get away with wearing that?” Kendra whispered in awe. She’d gotten sent home on the first day of school this year for wearing a skirt that was two inches too short. It was a sore spot.
The girl’s too-tight black sweater dipped to a dangerous V, showing off cleavage that would make a porn star proud, and ended just above her belly button. The skirt—if you could even call it that—hung at least seven inches above regulation and bordered on sheer.
“Totally hating her right now,” Kendra whispered as the chick made it to the table. I knew how she felt.
“I remember you,” she purred, settling beside Kendra, across from Lukas.
“You guys know each other?” Garrett was all but drooling. Eyes wide, he snapped his fingers in front of Lukas’ face. “Lukas. Dude. Introductions.”
“We know each other very well—though we’ve never been formally introduced. I’m Vida.” She giggled, and I instantly wanted to crack her in the jaw. “At the moment, anyway.”
She held out her hand, but Lukas didn’t take it. In fact, he was glaring at it like it was covered in fungus. I had to bite down hard on my tongue to keep from laughing at his expression.
She didn’t seem to take it personally. Withdrawing her hand, she tugged the edge of her shirt, pulling it tighter around the chest area. “Are you enjoying yourself? This place is a feast, isn’t it?”
Garrett, who was obviously floored by Lukas’ lack of interest, leaned farther across the table, eyes glued. Vida winked and blew him a kiss. I kind of felt bad for the guy. If this kept up, he’d be drowning in his own drool by the time the bell rang.