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anyway.” Ocean hits me again.
    She sighs and I know I have her. I don’t move back as I wait for the yes, hoping to feel her breath on my neck, but it’s Virginia who pulls away from me. I don’t feel her breath, her answer vibrating through me instead.
    “No.”
     

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
    ~Virginia~
    “You really like saying that word to me.” Pierced-lip boy cocks his head slightly. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
    There are certain rules I’ve given myself. Ever since I can remember, rules have been important to me. They’re important to Dad. Even though there were times Mom’s lack of rules were fun, most of the time they just made me flustered, frantic, as though the control I hold so tightly in my fingertips is getting pried away.
    Dad used to say that Mom’s carefree ways were what first drew him to her. That was before any of the other Charitys showed up, when her lack of control had been more about fun. Or at least that’s what everyone thought. Who really knows?
    When I first started to discover what was going on around me, when I first decided what I wanted for my life, I put my rules into place. I knew that was the only way not to let Mom’s curse claim me.
    I do homework when it’s assigned because there’s no point in waiting. You never know when something will come up, and as dorky as it sounds, I really would much rather be safe than sorry.
    I keep myself busy with school activities, because the more responsibility I have, the less space there is for distraction.
    I always have a plan.
    I avoid things that are creative, because artists and writers are flighty. They’re selfish. Grandma was. In many ways, Mom is too.
    I don’t let boys distract me. They make you forget about your plan, and for me, that isn’t an option.
    Pierced-lip boy’s eyes dart to the side slightly. I look over to see him watching the other guy as he walks to his car. Their eyes don’t leave each other as he gets in, pulls forward, and then stops.
    “We’re a little busy here,” he says, and for a second, I wonder about his name. He was called Ry…and I don’t need to know more than that. It’s not like I’ll see him again.
    “Remember what I said. I’m serious, bro.”
    The second he pulls away, pierced-lip boy steps backward. Wait. “Why’d you pull away?”
    He cocks a brow. “You want me close?”
    A stupid rush of heat pools in my belly. No, no, no. “Yeah right. It’s just, you didn’t get closer until he came out, and then the second he left…” Oh. “You were only acting like that to get under his skin! Why?” I’m surprised I said it, and annoyed I know it’s true. On reflex, my hand shoots out and I smack his arm.
    “Hey!” Pierced-lip boy holds up his hands. “No kicking my ass. Damn, you’re feisty. I didn’t ask you to go because of my brother, I asked you because you’re hot.”
    My eyes stretch wide at that no matter how hard I try to fight it. It’s not that I think I’m ugly, I don’t. But I’ve also never had a boy come right out and tell me I’m hot. It’s not logical, but I almost think boys at my school don’t talk like that. In reality, they don’t talk to me that way because they see me as too serious for it.
    When I realize my lips are pulling into a smile, I bite down on my cheeks. He must notice, because he gets this look on his face. I’ve seen it in movies a million times—the cocky half grin, the intense eyes that feel like fingers brushing across your skin. Whoa, holy crap. Staring at his eyes for the first time in daylight, I can see they’re totally different colors. One is blue, and the other is half-blue and half-brown. My resistance starts to weaken. His eyes look deep, as though there are more layers than he’s showing.
    “Go to the party with me, Virginia.”
    It’s the name that pulls me out of his spell. Every time he says my name, he uses Virginia, even though I told him I go by Lulu. “No, thanks. I have a plan, and getting drunk at some