Sydney and Anthony were late coming over — “it took us more time than we thought to get settled,” she told me breathlessly over the phone, which I thought was probably Syd-speak for we decided to test out the hotel bed first. No matter, since Connor had made our dinner reservations for eight-thirty. When my friends did finally appear, she looked more or less calm and composed, but I caught a faint pinkish blotch on her neck that I guessed was her attempt to cover up a fresh hickey. I tried not to smile; I’d resorted to the same subterfuge on numerous occasions over the past week.
“Awesome belt,” she said, nodding as she gave my outfit the once-over.
Flagstaff was just as casual as Jerome, so something sparkly for New Year’s wasn’t really appropriate. I wore a black long-sleeved wrap T-sh
