Lust - 1 by Robin Wasserman Page A

überbitch . Hopeful y she’d made her point without doing major damage to her mission.
    “Look, I know Harper can be kind of—”
    “Harsh?”
    “Kind of a bitch, basical y,” Adam acknowledged. Kaia suppressed her laughter—good to know he wasn’t total y blind. “It’s not something I love about her,” Adam continued with a sigh. “But the thing about Harper is, wel , things come pretty easy for her. She gets bored—and you can see why.”
    “Bored? In this town? No ,” Kaia drawled sarcastical y. How could you be bored when the bowling al ey was open 24/7?
    “No, it’s not just that,” Adam clarified. “It’s not just that it’s a smal town. It’s Harper—she just—doesn’t belong here, somehow. She’s better than this place.” He shook his head rueful y. “And the problem is, she knows it.”
    “It sounds like you—” But Kaia cut herself off almost as soon as she began. No reason to put ideas in his head. If he was too dense to figure it out for himself, she certainly wasn’t going to help him along.
    “I what?” he asked, confused.
    “Nothing.” Kaia paused, watching the dark shadows of parked cars, deserted buildings, flat, arid land speed by. The emptiness was endless. “Have a lot of respect for her, that’s al ,” she finished feebly.
    “Wel , I’ve known her a long time,” he explained, pul ing onto the empty highway. “She was the first friend I made when I moved here. I trust her—and whatever else she’s done, she’s never betrayed that. She’s the same with Miranda. When Harper decides you’re worthy of her time, she’s actual y the best friend you could have. Loyal as a pit bul .”
    “Which would explain both the barking and the biting,” Kaia pointed out.
    He laughed. “Exactly.”
    They were both quiet for a moment, and Kaia realized that this was the most she’d ever heard Adam speak. He hadn’t said much during dinner, and even when Beth was in the car, he’d mostly been listening to her prattle on about her day. The strong, silent type, Kaia decided. Likes listening better than talking—so maybe she should give him something to listen to.
    “Wel , pit bul or not, you don’t have to worry about me,” she assured him. “I can handle myself. You have to be tough when you …” She let her voice trail off and looked down at her hands. Would he take the bait?
    “When you what?” he asked, sounding concerned.
    Score.
    “It’s just—you know, it’s hard, bouncing from school to school, always being the new kid, knowing that neither of your parents want you around ….” Amazing how truth can sometimes be more effective than fiction.
    Kaia let her voice tremble, just a bit. “And people assume things about you, you know, treat you in a certain way, like you’re this person, this person who has nothing to do with who you real y are ….”
    Adam took one hand off the wheel and rested it on her shoulder; Kaia suppressed a grin.
    “Hey, we’re not al like that,” he assured her.
    Kaia laughed, shakily.
    “Listen to me, ‘poor little rich girl.’ And I don’t even know you.” She wiped an eye, hoping he wouldn’t notice the lack of a tear.
    “Can we just … just forget I said anything?” she asked.
    Adam nodded—but he kept a firm hand on her shoulder.
    They drove in silence down the empty highway for several miles, until Kaia pointed to the shadowy silhouette of a mailbox, the only sign of civilization along the dark stretch of road.
    “Turn up here, I think,” she said, and the car swung left, up a long gravel pathway, arriving at the foot of a large house of glass and steel.
    “Whoa,” Adam murmured softly. “Unbelievable.”
    The house—more of an estate, real y—gleamed in the moonlight. Its sleek modernity would have been utterly out of place amidst the age-encrusted remnants in the Grace town center, but out here on the fringe, the elegant beast seemed a perfect fit with the harsh aesthetics of the dessert landscape.