Page 29 of Lawton

"But acting's not easy," Amber said. "My cousin, she's an actress at the playhouse. She rehearses like ten hours a day. Weekends too."

"So what?" Brittney said. "That's more likeplaying. Not working." She squinted at Amber. "Hey, didn't Dakota work here for a while?"

Who was Dakota? Hell if I knew.

But Amber was nodding. "Yeah, but not for the money. You know her dad's totally loaded."

In spite of myself, I had to ask. "If not for the money, then why?"

"Because," Amber said, "it's like being a showgirl or something. Lots of girls get off on it." She shrugged. "Anyway, she only worked here for a couple of weeks."

Brittney smiled. "Was she fired?"

"No, she quit," Amber said. "She said the other girls were mean to her."

"Girls can be so bitchy," Brittney said. "I totally hate that."

I gave her a look. "Yeah. Me too."

Brittney hesitated. "Um, yeah. But anyway, if you ask me, they're not as pretty as everyone says."

I glanced down at my watch. We'd been here only fifteen minutes. It felt like an hour. I wouldn't be here at all, except I owed it to Amber.

Tonight, I'd invited her over for dinner. I'd fed that dinner to the neighbor's dog. I'd left Amber and her friend hanging at my place while I put the moves on another girl. But that wasn't the thing that had me sitting here in some theme restaurant listening to Brittney's bullshit.

I'd come back from Chloe's place to find Amber and Brittney shivering on my front porch, locked out. So while I'd been sitting in my own warm car, Amber and Brittney had been standing outside in a thunderstorm, waiting for me to come back.

I was only supposed to be gone for a few minutes. I'd been gone a lot longer than that. And not for any sane reason. After pulling out of Chloe's driveway, I'd driven halfway around the block, doubled-back, and parked two doors down from her house. And then, I'd watched.

I'd been curious. That's all. Whodidshe live with?

Parked, and mostly hidden in the downpour, I'd studied the place. For how long? Too long. In the end, I learned nothing.

Afterwards, I'd come home to find Brittney and Amber huddled under that stupid umbrella. At the image of Amber standing there, smiling through the goosebumps, I felt like a total asshole. Her skin was pale, and her lips were blue. Dinner, I knew, was a piss-poor repayment. I'd have to do something else. If I were lucky, it wouldn't involve Brittany.

Sitting in the restaurant, I glanced out a nearby window. The rain was gone. It had stopped while I'd been watching Chloe's place. Was that the reason I'd finally left? No more cover?

Probably. My car didn't exactly blend. I should've grabbed the sedan.

"Lawton!" Brittney said.

I glanced over at her. "What?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

She wasn't worth a pretty lie. "No."

Next to her, Amber spoke up. "She said that her pursewasthe real deal." Amber frowned. "But I still think the pattern was off."

Just shoot me now.

I glanced at my watch. Eighteen minutes. I looked around, trying to gauge how long this whole thing would take. I should've ordered a salad. I hated salad. But it was fast, right? Because you didn't have to cook it.

"I guess you never know," Amber said, "The purse could've been a factory-second."

"It wasnota factory-second," Brittney insisted. "I know, because it was a gift from my mom. Remember? The bank president? She's really into labels, so she knows."

I glanced down at my wrist. Nineteen minutes.