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dad.
    It’s all a bribe.
    Something Logan said sits funny with me. “Why do you think she’s scared of him?”
    â€œI don’t know.” He is silent for a moment.
    â€œHe’s just kinda weird, you know, like he can’t sit still or something. Like we can’t go out to dinner without him looking around the room like a thousand times. And all he does is brag about stuff. The things he buys my mom. The places for dinner. Like we should all be so grateful. And when we’re not like all falling over ourselves to kiss his ass he gets like . . . I dunno.”
    Logan and I sit there staring into the fire for a minute. I guess we both have shitty dads. Maybe everybody does. That would be something. Maybe the single moms everybody gets so apoplectic about are onto something.
    I think about my mom, having that ogre snoring in the bed beside her, and I shudder. Seriously.
    But at least he doesn’t sleep around all over the place. The only thing the ogre cheats on my mom with are his French fries.
    â€œYou know, Anika. If this is too weird to be here, I get it. I mean, it’s kinda like, a fake house or something. Well, it’s exactly a fake house, actually. Some people might find it a little . . . freaky?”
    â€œNo. No, it’s not freaky. I’m happy we’re here.”
    â€œYou are?”
    â€œYeah. I mean I snuck out, didn’t I?”
    We both sip our beers and stare at the fire.
    Silence.
    â€œYou’re like the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life.”
    He blurts that out. I can’t help but gasp. He covers his face with his hands. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that. I’m so lame. Please don’t leave.”
    I recover. “Tsh. What? Why would I leave?” I shake my half-empty bottle at him. “I mean, I think this is kinda like the best bar in town. It’s certainly the cheapest.”
    He smiles. “Right.”
    â€œBesides, it’s . . . Nobody’s ever said anything like that to me before.”
    â€œNo way.”
    I shrug.
    â€œI don’t believe you.”
    â€œWell, it’s true. What, do you think people just go around telling people they’re pretty all the time?”
    â€œNot people. You . I think people must say that to you every day.”
    â€œUm. They don’t. They say it to Becky . . .”
    â€œShe’s a cunt.”
    â€œWhoa!”
    â€œShe is.”
    It’s hard not to smile at this. Such sacrilege.
    â€œCome on, you don’t think that your dear friend Becky is an A-number-one velociraptor in disguise? I mean, she’s a total sociopath.”
    â€œUm. I think I plead the Fifth.”
    â€œShe is. You know she is.”
    We’re both smiling now.
    â€œCome on, admit it.”
    â€œNever.”
    There’s something in the air between us. Like a magic trick.
    â€œWell . . . I suppose . . . I should take you home now.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI should take you home. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
    â€œAren’t you gonna try to molest me or something?”
    â€œWhat?! No! You’re crazy, you know that, right?”
    â€œI just thought it’d be sort of funny.”
    â€œFunny?!”
    â€œOkay, okay. I wasn’t gonna let you anyway.”
    â€œWell, isn’t that like the definition of molestation?”
    â€œJust forget I said it, freak.”
    â€œYou’re the freak.”
    â€œNo, I’m not.”
    â€œYeah, you are. You’re the sexually deranged freak.”
    Now the demo couch pillow gets tossed in his face. And, of course, he tosses it back.
    I don’t want to get on his moped and go home. I don’t want to walk out these giant demo doors. I don’t want to do anything that makes any single tiny minuscule atom in this room change. I just want this this this.

fifteen
    â€œA nika, Shelli,