“Damn, man,” he mutters. “Do all of the girls on the island look like that?”
I hitch my thumb over my shoulder at Sloane sitting two seats behind me. “Do all of the girls on the mainland look like that?”
“Yeah, okay. Okay. She’s hot, though, right?”
“Which one?”
Larkin laughs like I told a joke. He reaches across the aisle with his fist, waiting for me to bump it. I do, if only to make him put his hand down. Kailani is coming back with his drink.
She sets the tall bubbling glass on a napkin in front of him. “Ginger ale. In a glass. No ice.” When she stands up straight she looks between the two of us. “Anything else I can get you, gentleman?”
“You could sit down,” Larkin offers, pulling his feet away from the empty seat. “Take a break.”
Her smile tightens. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I could get fired.” Her eyes fall on mine, lingering for a few seconds. Finally she laughs to herself, scratching nervously at her forehead. “I—I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think it’s such a weird coincidence, I can’t not mention it. You’re Trey Domata, right? You went to Pearl City High School?”
“I did, yeah,” I answer warily.
She puts her hand over her chest. “So did I.”
“Seriously?”
She raises her hand in oath. “I swear it. I did. Your freshman year was my senior.”
“Did we know each other?”
I really hope not, because I don’t recognize her or her name.
“Oh no, no. I would have been way too cool for a freshman,” she jokes, her laugh throaty and genuine. “And I didn’t follow football at all. I was a water polo junky.”
“Watching or playing?”
“Playing.”
“It shows,” Larkin comments with a grin.
Kailani casts him a patient, practiced smile. “That’s sweet, but it’s been a lot of years since I played.”
“You still look like an athlete.”
“Thank you.”
My eyes widen. “Wait, if you were there my freshman year than you remember the—“
She puts her hand on my shoulder excitedly. “The fire in the science room! Yes. I was on that floor when it happened.”
“Did you see it?”
Kailani suddenly assumes a blank expression, innocent and ignorant. Her hand stays on my shoulder. “See what?”
“Don’t hold out on me. You saw it didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I have so many bets out on this, but I’ve never talked to anyone who was actually there. I will give you so much money if you tell me what really happened.”
“That is not a legally binding statement,” Hollis calls from behind me.
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Larkin asks, sounding impatient.
Kailani and I stare at each other for a long moment. I wait her out, and eventually her lips curl into a cunning smile. I smile back, dying for her reply.
Finally she puts me out of my misery. “It wasn’t true.”
“No!” I cry, punching the air angrily. “Fuck!”
“It was an electrical fire,” she laughs. “The AC unit in the room blew up. There was no goat. He didn’t kick Mr. Hahn and give him that limp. He didn’t knock over a Benson burner and set the flag on fire.”
“Fuck,” I repeat, defeated.
“That rumor got so huge. I still can’t believe it.”
“It was too good to be true.”
“Hahn got that limp playing football in college.”
“It’s a tough sport,” Larkin reminds her. “Some guys aren’t built to take it.”
Kailani nods, smiling darkly down at me. “And some men are made for it.”
I smirk. “Let’s hope so. I don’t have any fall back talents.”
“I doubt that.” She turns to me, her back to Larkin for the first time since the start of our conversation. She steps in close, brushing her thigh against my shoulder. “Is this going to be your first time in Chicago?”
“Yeah.”
“If you want a tour, let me know.” She covertly drops a napkin into my lap. There’s a number scribbled on it in blue pen. “I could show you around.”
I palm the napkin. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”