“You know him, Faith?” Dad asked.
“Not well,” she said, not wanting to spoil Kyle’s job by telling her parents about his reputation as Suttonville’s resident bad boy. “I didn’t even know he did lawn work until today.”
“Uh-huh,” Mom said, smiling down at her plate. “But you certainly know now.”
Dad turned to stare at them. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing.” Mom carried her plate to the sink and kissed Dad on the cheek. “Just that he proved his green thumb today.”
As they headed out of the kitchen, Faith heard Dad ask, “But how do you know? All I can tell is that he’s really good with a shovel.”
“I think he’ll surprise us,” Mom said, her voice fading as they went deeper into the house.
No doubt about that. Was the kitchen warm, or was it just her? With a sigh, Faith washed the dishes, then hurried upstairs. She wanted to text Vi, but hadn’t been brave enough to look at her phone. When she did, she almost choked for real.
Sixty-two notifications.
Hands shaking, she opened Snapchat. There were forty-two from guys on the football and track teams, all of them more vile than the next, and some even included pictures a ten-gallon jug of brain bleach couldn’t erase. Angrily, she started unfriending every guy Cameron might call “friend.” It wouldn’t stop them, but she wanted them gone for however long it worked.
Twenty of the other messages, mostly texts, were from girls asking if it was true, letting her know they’d seen Cameron with Holly, or expressing sympathy—some of it fake, some of it real. It was enough to make her want to hurl her phone across the room.
Instead, she called Violet.
“Hey,” Vi said. “You okay?”
“No.” Faith gulped down air to keep from crying. “That utter, complete douche nozzle.”
“Girl, don’t put down douche nozzles like that. Call him what he is—a rancid piece of shit.”
Faith managed a laugh. “I love you.”
“I know.” Violet sighed. “Any thoughts on how you’re going to play this?”
“No, not thoughts. Action,” she said, determination welling up in her chest. “I worked out a deal with Kyle Sawyer today.”
“Kyle Sawyer, the man-whore bad boy? Skateboarder, street racer, troublemaker…that Kyle Sawyer?” Violet sounded utterly shocked. “Where in the world did you find him?”
“My backyard.” Faith told her all about her encounter. “Vi, he’s hotter than the sun and has a rep darker than the devil’s. This is going to drive Cameron in-freaking-sane.”
“No doubt, but…are you sure?”
“Yes, absolutely. He was nicer than I expected, and has his own problem with Cameron. It’s the perfect arrangement.”
Violet burst out laughing. “Hell, yes, it is! Okay, here’s what we need to do—because a story isn’t going to cut it. You need to talk him into taking you to Dolly’s one night this week. The two of you, sitting on the hood of that badass Charger, sharing a shake and whispering in each other’s ears? That will light up the rumor mill like nothing else in the world.”
Faith picked at her fingernails. This wasn’t a mistake, was it? “I’m not sure a drive-in is a place he’d consider going. Too…high school.”
“Maybe, but everyone’s going to be hanging out there for ice cream this week. Tell him it’s a good place to start a rumor and I bet he says yes.”
She was right about that. Dolly’s was the hangout when there wasn’t a party going on. Kyle might think it was lame, but Violet had a point. “I’ll ask him tomorrow.”
“Ooh, can I come over? I want to inspect the merchandise.”
Faith laughed. “Why not? He already knows I’m spying on him.”
“I want to meet him, make sure he’s not a freak,” Violet said. “Getting a gander would be a plus, though.”
Doubt sank into her bones and she flopped back on her bed, arm flung over her eyes. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
“What was that text from Michael?” Violet’s voice was hard.
Frustration filled Faith’s chest again, a hard, burning kernel. She needed to grab her courage with both hands and see this through. “Good point. Okay, rabid affair with a bad boy it is. See you tomorrow?”
“Yep, I’ll be there around noon.”
“Better make it one—I have church.”
“Oh, of course. Your parents would never let you forget that.”
Faith stared up at her ceiling, wondering if God was watching. “It’s not too bad. I kind of like going.”
“Better you than me,” Violet said. “I’d go up like dry kindling if I crossed the threshold.”
“That’s because your life is more interesting than mine.”