“Let’s talk about something else,” I suggested. Relief eased the taut line of Roxy’s shoulders. I searched for something else and settled on familiar grounds—the connection between here and Shepherdstown. “I’m still kind of in shock that you all know everyone from Shepherd. It’s a small world.”
“I know!” Roxy exclaimed, her eyes brightening. “It’s bizarre—amazing—but crazy bizarre. I know they were just as surprised as you were. I know you don’t know Calla well, but I hope you get to hang out with her when she comes back to visit. She usually spends every other weekend here with Jax.”
“That would be cool,” I murmured, forking the omelet into my mouth.
Katie snickered. “You said, as enthused as a kid opening up a package of socks Christmas morning. Why’s that? You don’t like Calla?”
“No. I mean, I like Calla, but, I don’t know her, but . . .”
“But what?” Katie prodded.
Pushing the fluffy yellow stuff around my plate, I didn’t know how to respond, because I wasn’t sure how much Calla had known and told Roxy. I picked up a slice of bacon and crunched away. By the time I finished, I decided to be truthful, because why not?
Wasn’t like I was ashamed of anything Calla could’ve told Roxy.
“I’m not sure if she likes me,” I said, picking up another slice of salty, greasy bacon.
“What?” Roxy’s lips parted as she pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, maybe because I’ve had relations with Cam . . . and Jase at one point.” I went for a drink of cool soda. “Not when they were with Avery or Teresa or anything like that, but . . . yeah, some girls don’t care if that was in the past, before them. And Calla is really close to Teresa.”
“Oh.” Roxy blinked once and then twice. “Calla never mentioned anything like that.”
Pressing my lips together, I resisted the urge to smack myself in the face. Well, perhaps this was an even worse conversation idea. Go Steph! “Well . . .” I raised my hands with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m not really close to any of those girls for that reason.”
“But all of them seemed super excited to see you,” Roxy insisted, frowning. “None of them were catty or gave you the side eye. And I notice all cattiness from a mile away. It’s like a special radar I have.”
Hmm. Maybe they were cool with me? But I wasn’t even sure Teresa knew about Jase and my one and only hookup. I knew Avery had found out about Cam, but Avery was always hard to read. Maybe I should’ve just kept my mouth shut about all of this. I barely knew these girls and I just told them I’d hooked up with two random guys they knew.
I went back to pushing my omelet on my plate. “You probably think that sounds slutty—”
“No. I don’t,” Roxy stated firmly. “Not to me.”
My lips curved up in a smile. “Contrary to what some might believe, the list of guys I’ve been with isn’t as long as my arm.”
“Mine is as long as my leg,” Katie replied and then tipped her head back. Her brows furrowed together. “Well, wait. Probably as long as both legs and an arm.”
“Wow,” murmured Roxy, appearing impressed.
“Sounds like you have me beat.” My smile raised a notch as I peeked at her. “But it’s weird being close to them—Avery and Teresa. Which is strange, because one of my other friends—Yasmine—she’d messed around with Cam, too, and it’s not weird for us.”
“Was Yasmine in love with Cam and Cam in love with her?” Roxy asked. “Because if not, then that probably explains it.” She popped a piece of cantaloupe into her mouth. “And you weren’t in love with him either, right?”
“Nope. Good point.”
“I bet some chicks think you’re a real tramp.” Katie laughed.
My smile slipped off my face. “Well, yeah, I’m sure some do. Actually, I know some do.” Suddenly, I thought of Nikki Glenn, a girl who was in my English 102 class my second semester at Shepherd. “This one girl, a couple of years ago, wrote ‘vengeful tramp’ in shaving cream on the hood of my car.”
Roxy’s eyes widened behind the glasses. “Oh, wow.”
“In September, during a heat spell.” Pursing my lips, I nodded. “Yep. I ended up having to get a paint job. That doesn’t come off. And just imagine the looks I got when I drove the car into the body shop.”
“Did you sleep with her man or kick her dog into traffic?” Katie asked.