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digging into her giant bag. She pulls out a small compact and lifts the lid, revealing deep violet eye shadow. One eye screwed shut, her mouth pursed closed, she sweeps the shadow above the smoky gray color already applied to her eyelid. “Do you mind if we meet up with Mira?”
    I lean over the locker bench for my purse, using the metal locker door for balance. The edge cuts into my tight grip. “Mira?” Lewis’s Mira?
    She attacked Zach when he asked me about school at the taco dinner party. Her pointed glares the next day at the beach barbecue didn’t leave much to the imagination. She hates me, and Nessa wants us to go out with her?
    This is supposed to be a fun girls’ night, but Mira is Nessa’s friend and I can’t say no. Looking in the mirror at the end of the lockers, I stretch my mouth wide and smooth on the ruby lipstick Cali forced into my hand after she stealthily stole my lip balm. “Yeah, sure.” I rub my lips together and smile. The reflection in the mirror reveals a solid poker face. “The more the merrier.”
    Cali’s eyes are wide as I return her lipstick. She tucks the tube in her purse and covertly squeezes my arm. She gets my distress without me having to say anything. Having Cali in my corner helps.
    Nessa smiles shakily. “I’m glad it’s not a problem, because I sort of already invited her. She sounded down when she called.”
    I pull my small purse with the long strap over my head and across my body. “Is she meeting us here?”
    “She’s a dealer at Harrah’s. She gets off in a little bit. I thought we could grab a drink and wait for her there, then head to the club.”
    This should be an interesting night.
     
    The walk to Harrah’s is entertaining. An intoxicated hipster sits in front of the CVS like he’s on his living room couch, while tourists with their Keep Tahoe Blue T-shirts swarm the sidewalk between the casinos. A lust for winnings, hook-ups, and general naughtiness permeates the air.
    We enter Harrah’s double doors and order drinks at one of the bars. It’s while I’m waiting for my drink that I see them: the beautiful couple off to the side of a pit, Mira still in her uniform, facing Lewis.
    I thought I had purged him from my system, but now I’m drinking in his face, his body, the way he holds himself—careful but assured. My heart kicks up like I’m running a sprint, my breathing a choppy mess. The irrational urge to go to him has me squirming in my seat.
    Mira’s voice rises above the clamor of noise, which is saying a lot, because hello, we’re in a casino—that’s like talking over a wind tunnel. She thrusts her arms out angrily, spitting fire at Lewis, and he seems to be taking it.
    Nessa follows my gaze. “Damn , I’ve never seen them fight like that.”
    “What’s going on?”
    Nessa lifts a shoulder. “No idea. Mira’s not easy, but they’re tight, you know?”
    I shake my head. I don’t know. Seems more like they clash.
    “Well, I mentioned how Lewis, Zach, and Mira—how their families go way back?” Nessa says. “Lewis and Mira sort of grew up together. He returned to town partly for her. He wanted to help his dad with the business now that his dad’s getting older and he wanted to be closer to Mira. He’s protective of her.”
    Sure, she’s his girlfriend, and Mira is obsessed with Lewis. I’m surprised she allowed any distance between them.
    I have the worst attraction radar. Lewis is this protective, devoted boyfriend. He’s not available. Why won’t the fact stick in my head? It’s like I need it tattooed on my brain.
    “Where was he before?” Cali asks.
    “College—Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He graduated in construction management. He worked for a company on the central coast and returned about a year ago.”
    A nearby cashier gapes from her cage at Mira’s arm-waving. Mira’s creating a huge scene and Lewis is like this brick wall, taking the heat and not backing down.
    Almost as if he senses me, he looks up.
    Our