Free Devoured by Amanda Marrone Page B

you pulled up. She said her pool is open—and heated. And get this, she told me to tell you they have a movie-viewing room and a bunch of bootlegged recordings of Broadway shows—shows that were never supposed to be filmed.”
    Nicki turns to me quickly with one eyebrow raised again. “Like what?”
    “I didn’t ask—that’s more your deal—but she obviously only mentioned it because she wanted you to come. And Luke said Ari is kind of complicated, so she—”
    “Oh,” Nicki says, drawing out the word. “And when were you talking to Luke ?”
    My cheeks burn. “I … just … kind of ran into him—an out-of-the-blue kind of thing.”
    Nicki rolls her eyes. “Uh-huh. Good thing you and Ryan will be working closely this summer.”
    “I’ll have you know Ryan and I have our summer completely planned. When we’re not at Land of Enchantment, we’re going to be hiking the Presidential Range. Well, we’ve started with some of the smaller mountains to work up to the big guns, but we have a book where we can check off each hike, and I started a scrapbook with pictures of us at the summits.”
    Nicki yawns. “Scrapbook? Must be love. Anyway, someone on this Broadway message board said there’s a bootlegged copy of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels making the rounds. I wonder if Ari has that. I’d love to see Norbert Leo Butz.”
    “Norbert Leo Butz ?”
    “Don’t let the name fool you, the man is a comedic genius—a genius with a voice to die for.” Nicki glances down at the center console, grabs her CD carrier, and tosses it over to me. “See if you can find the soundtrack— it’s hilarious.”
    “I take it this means you’ve changed your mind about going to Ari’s?”
    She smiles at me. “Sure, let’s get our suits and head over. I’m not sure I’ll go swimming, though.”
    “It’ll be just us girls,” I say, knowing Nicki feels overexposed in a bathing suit.
    “We’ll see.”
    Nicki and I stand on Ari’s front steps, staring at the door knocker—a tarnished brass rabbit with an arrow through its chest. My hand is poised over the knocker part, which is shaped in the form of a bow with the string pulled back in a wide arc.
    “I can’t do it,” I say, pulling my hand back.
    “Yeah, that’s more than a little disturbing,” Nicki whispers.
    “Let’s just ring the bell again.” I push the button, and the seemingly endless chimes begin again. “Someone’s got to hear that.”
    Nicki cocks her head and examines the rabbit. “Where would a person even find a knocker like that? Creep and Barrel?” She grimaces and pushes the bell again.
    “I’m coming!” a voice yells from inside.
    “That sounds like Ari’s stepmother,” I say in a hushed voice. “Brace yourself.”
    The door flies open and Miss Patty gawks at us. I force myself to keep my smile steady as I take Patty in. She’s forgotten to draw on one of her eyebrows, and her mascara is smudged and gathered in the creases under her eyes. She’s wearing a pink velour jumpsuit that’s a little too snug across her stomach, and several of her hair extensions are dangling by their clips.
    “Morgan!” she croaks. She wobbles a bit, and then steadies herself by grabbing the doorframe. She squints and leans toward me, alcohol burning on her breath. “No, it’s Megan,” she says, giving me a wink. “I never forget an enchanted team member.”
    “I’ll bet,” I say, trying not to stare at her one eyebrow.
    I guess she has the right to do whatever she wants after business hours, but hearing her slur her words and watching her clutch the doorframe in order to hold herself up is a stark contrast to the overly bubbly woman I interviewed with. “Ari invited us over. This is Nicki—she’s not an enchanted team member.”
    Miss Patty stumbles back a few steps and opens her arms wide. “Well, let me welcome you to our humble abode.”
    We step in and it’s obvious there’s nothing humble about this place. Marble staircase, crystal