There were probably a hundred kids there, most of whom Cam recognized from Trumbull. It was the popular crowd and some of the second tier—and most of their necks swiveled when the fallen angels entered the scene. Cam and Roland were the only guys not wearing khaki shorts and polos. Arriane was the only girl who didn’t look like every other girl. Cam watched a dozen high school guys scope her out.
“Jeez, fellas,” she said. “Leave my drawers on, will ya?” Then she leaned in close to Cam and whispered, “I’m not wearing any drawers!”
Roland scooted off to get some drinks while Cam and Arriane grabbed seats at one of the high tables by the window.
“This is dreadful,” Arriane said, looking around at the snobby group of students. “I can’t believe you’ve suffered through two weeks here. All for Lilith. It’s almost like you like her or something.”
“Or something.” Then Cam spotted her. “There.” He pointed across the room.
Lilith was sitting in the third row with Jean Rah; his girlfriend, Kimi; and Luis. Karen Walker joined them after she finished tuning Chloe’s guitar.
Lilith was all dressed up. She had on glossy lipstick, and her short velvet dress was black as coal, setting off her fire-red hair in thrilling contrast.
“I think I’m starting to understand your dedication,” Arriane said, and whistled. “Girl is fine.”
Cam agreed, of course, Lilith looked beautiful, but she didn’t look radiant the way she had at the bowling alley. That was the day Cam had felt closest to her, just before Lucifer spread the word about the suicide. Tonight, sadness softened Lilith’s edges, and Cam knew it was because of him.
“What are we talking about?” Roland said, plunking coffee cups before Cam and Arriane.
“Hottie alert,” Arriane said, and nodded in Lilith’s direction.
“She’s still got it, even after all these years.” Roland turned to Cam. “What’s your strategy, man?”
“I don’t have one yet,” Cam admitted, watching Luis crack a joke to Lilith that he yearned to hear. “I’m hoping one will come to me.”
“Basically,” Arriane said, and swigged her drink, “he’s screwed.”
Then the audience started cheering, and Cam watched as Chloe King and her band took the stage. They wore short black leather skirts, corseted tops, and big hoop earrings. The whole band was wearing silver lipstick, but Chloe was the only one who could pull it off.
“Sup, y’all,” Chloe said as she picked up her guitar and the rest of the girls grabbed their instruments. “We’re the Perceived Slights, but you already know that.”
“Give it to us, Chloe!” one guy yelled out.
“Show me how bad you want it,” Chloe said.
The audience went wild.
Chloe grinned. “This is a special preview of the song we’ll be playing at prom,” she said into the mic, and winked at the audience. “Only the cool kids will be able to sing along tomorrow night.”
Cam watched as Chloe scanned the audience and her gaze fell on Lilith. He readied himself to lunge if Chloe fired off some nasty insult about Lilith being there, but then, to his amazement, Chloe nodded subtly at Lilith and smiled.
“Two, three, four,” she shouted as her band began to play a song called “Rich Bitch.” It wasn’t anything like Cam had expected—no pop, all melancholy, leaning heavily on the recorded backbeat, with Chloe’s guitar screaming feedback the whole time.
Chloe’s band members had all obviously had years of expensive lessons. They played their instruments well enough, their voices never strained, and they looked good. But they had none of Lilith’s glittering rawness. Even sitting down in a crowd, Lilith made these girls look boring.
Chloe’s face was red and she was out of breath when she released the final note. Lilith was the first to rise from her seat and cheer, whooping and clapping her hands.
Cam had assumed Lilith came tonight to scope out the competition, but clearly something deeper was going on. He hated feeling so distant from her that he couldn’t even guess what she was thinking. He sat through three more songs of the Chloe show before the first set was over and the band took five.
“Can we flee yet?” Arriane whined.
Roland raised an eyebrow. “Cam?”
“Give me a minute,” Cam said. As the audience went to grab more coffee or hit the bathroom, he made a beeline for Lilith. She was heading toward the coffee bar. He swooped in right behind her and touched her shoulder.
“Hi, Lilith.”
She spun around immediately. The sight of Cam seemed to drain her of energy. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to see you.” Cam stared at her lips. They should never go this long without being kissed. “What can I do to make things right?”
“Did you make a bet with Luc that you could get me to fall in love with you?”
Cam opened his mouth. He rubbed his jaw. How did she know that? This was not a conversation to have in public. “Can we step outside?” he asked.
“Does that explain the band, and your interest in me in general?” She paused, swallowed. “The bet, Cam. Did you make it?”
“No,” he said. “Yes.”
Just then the girl taking coffee orders leaned over the counter and raised her voice. “Next? Hey, redhead. You want something or not?”
Lilith stepped out of line. “I just lost my appetite.”