“He’s a friend of my father. Apparently, they have history. Anyway, I’m here visiting. Maybe we should get together and hang out sometime.”

I would rather chew my own arm off.

“Who is your father?” I found myself asking.

“Mario Fulton.”

“Mario is your father?”

Her eyes narrowed at my question as if she had the right to be suspicious of me. “Do you know my father?”

“Not quite. His name came up few times.”

“Interesting.” She twirled her finger in her hair, feigning indifference. “About what?”

“This and that.”

“So are you going to tell me your name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I hear you are a very special girl.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Don’t you want to know why?”

“Sure,” I answered impatiently. I had little interest in what she had to say. “Why?”

“Because it takes someone special to actually throw away cock as good as his.” She grabbed her receipt from the self-checkout machine at the same time I did and flounced from the store. I followed behind her at a slow pace hoping she would be gone by the time I exited the store.

When I finally did, it was in time to see her hop in the familiar black muscle car. The engine roared to life before speeding away, taking my stomach and heart with it.

* * *

“That bitch!” I watched Sheldon pace back and forth across the floor of her bedroom. Willow was curled around a pillow with me, rubbing my back. “Ugh. What a smarmy bitch,” she continued. I’d just finished telling them about my encounter with Diana at the store. “I knew she was no good.”

“Wait… You knew about her?”

A guilty flush spread over her skin as she sunk down on the bed. “Yes. I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It’s just that I’ve been so wrapped up in everything that happened with Keenan, I—”

I touched her hand to stop her. “It’s okay. I understand.”

Sheldon had just begun to come out of her shell, and I think it had everything to do with Keenan being released from the hospital a month ago. He hadn’t been back at school because of his lung. The patch on his lung was fragile at best, and the condition of his release required he stay in bed. I talked to him at least once a week, and according to him, anything was better than the hospital.

I wondered if Keiran still planned to go along with his idea to get Keenan a lung. It had been three months and nothing had happened. Finding out today that Keiran was still dealing with Mario, and even worse, babysitting his daughter, had me reeling.

“No, it’s not okay,” Sheldon’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “That wouldn’t be the way I would want to find out.”

“How long has she been staying with him?”

“Three months?”

I felt my heart drop to my stomach, which twisted in pain. She was there when he was with me. Granted, we were only together for a week, but he laid claim to me long before.

“Yes, but I really don’t think he has touched her.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Other than the fact that he can’t stand her?”

I nodded. “Well, I think her and Quentin have history.”

“What? How?” This came from Willow, who had been silent until now.

Sheldon ran down the entire story of the day she had met Diana, and by the time she had finished, I was as stumped as I was when I met her.

“Well, you know what they say—if you lay down with dogs, you are sure to wake up with fleas.” I laughed at Sheldon’s apparent dislike for the girl who was intent on making sure she wasn’t liked. My laughter died when I thought of an idea.

“I think I know how to make myself feel better.”

“You do?”

“How?” Willow questioned suspiciously.

“Ctenocephalides canis.”

* * *

Rihanna’s S&M blasted from the speakers as I made my way to school the next morning with my plan fully formulated. I bounced in the seat to the beat of the music.

All day, I rehashed my plan over and over, and when lunch finally came, I was bouncing with vindictive excitement. I skipped the cafeteria altogether and made my way to the tree where Collin sat with his usual abundance of books.

“Hey, Collin.”

He looked startled as he looked up at me. “H—hi.”

“I kind of have a favor to ask you.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. I know we don’t know each other well and this may be wrong of me to ask but I’m pretty desperate.”

“What do you need?”

“Fleas.”

“Fleas?” He pushed his glasses up his nose and peered up at me. “Why?”

“Revenge,” I answered truthfully. He didn’t react. In fact, he barely looked bothered at all by my answer. Being picked on and ridiculed for the last four years probably stirred similar feelings a time or two.

“Well, it’s winter so they will be pretty hard to get…”

“But I bet you know how, don’t you?”

He reluctantly nodded and then took me by surprise when he asked, “What do I get in return?”

“What would you like?”

“Well… um.” He blushed and ducked his head, which gave me a pretty good idea of what he was thinking.

“I’m not paying for fleas with sex.”

His eyes widened when he looked back up. “No. Not sex. A kiss.”

“A kiss?”

“Yes. I’ve never kissed a girl before.”

I mulled it over and just as his face started to burn redder from embarrassment, I made my decision. “Sure. A kiss it is, but when and where I say. Deal?”

“Deal.”

I sat down to eat lunch with him and to get to know him. If I was going to be his first kiss, then I felt it was the least I could do. In truth, I was honored. I could tell Collin was a good person and maybe with a little time we could actually be friends.

The rest of my classes, including fifth period, were a breeze because, instead of feeling nervous, on edge, and sexually frustrated, I calculated and planned. By the end of the day, I was practically rubbing my hands together.

Before showing up at Keiran’s house, I called ahead to make sure he was at practice, and Diana was apparently being watched by Quentin. Surprisingly, Collin was able to supply me with the fleas right after school. As it turns out, his basement was a museum for various bugs. Go figure. I haven’t paid him his kiss yet, but I’d already warned him it would definitely be a public one. The larger the crowd, the better.

Keenan answered the door, shirtless and dressed only in sweats. He snatched the bag of burgers he made me bring him from my hands before retreating into the kitchen. I called out to tell him I was going to use the bathroom before disappearing up the stairs. He had no clue what I actually came here to do. I was here under the pretense of wanting to visit a friend. It’s not that I didn’t trust Keenan, but I couldn’t risk the chance of him talking me out of it. Besides… who would willingly allow fleas in their house?

I snuck around upstairs, looking for the guest bedroom where Diana would likely be staying in. If she isn’t actually sleeping with Keiran.

I pushed open the door directly next to Keiran’s room and hit the jackpot. It was blatantly clear the room had been inhabited by a female and for a long time now. I fought back the flare of anger and shrugged off the bag on my shoulders. As tempted as I was to snoop, I didn’t have much time before Keenan would get suspicious and come looking for me.

I removed the jars he instructed me to keep warm and carefully opened the first. The pillows were my first victim before I moved on to the sheets and then her clothes. Satisfied, I made my way to the bathroom and the shower where, just as I suspected, there was a feminine bottle of shampoo and conditioner. Opening the caps, I dumped a few fleas inside before screwing them back tight and hoping they would survive. I was down to my last jar, which I saved for the best part. I made my way back down the hall and pushed through Keiran’s bedroom door. His room was exactly as it had been when I was last here during a much darker time. I remembered most how he humiliated me when he used my mouth for the first time.