Scarlett's full red lips broke into a wide smile. "That's why I'm going to guilt you into being friends with me." Cassie
laughed.
She enjoyed Scarlett's unpretentiousness. She was just the kind of no-nonsense girl Cassie would have been friends with back in California.
"For example," Scarlett said, "I'm going to remind you that I moved here with a single pathetic suitcase to convince you to go shopping with me."
Cassie remembered Diana's snarky comment about Scarlett's suitcase and was embarrassed by it all over again. She glanced at her watch. She had another two hours before she had to be at the lighthouse. What could be the harm in going around to a few stores for an hour?
"Lucky for you, shopping is one of my favorite leisure-time activities," Cassie said.
"Does that mean you're in?" Scarlett asked.
"Why not?" Cassie stood up. "My errands can wait." Scarlett shot out of her seat. "That worked even better than I thought it would."
Shopping with Scarlett was the perfect diversion from all of Cassie's troubles. Since she couldn't talk about any of the Circle's issues, she had to put them out of her mind entirely.
It was like getting to be somebody else for a few hours, somebody with normal concerns. Concerns like, Is forty dollars too much to pay for a tank top even if it's really really soft? And Scarlett was a master shopper; she could pluck out the best item on a sale rack with the speedy foresight even a witch could admire. She somehow talked Cassie into buying turquoise-blue feathered earrings.
"These are more your style than mine," Cassie said, just after the impulse buy.
"We can share them." Scarlett smiled brightly. "In fact, we can share most of this stuff. That's the beauty of being the same size."
Cassie agreed and then suggested they unload their shopping bags into the trunk of her car before searching out the perfect summer shoes. She and Scarlett slipped so easily into friendship that Cassie forgot she was supposed to be keeping her distance from her. So the sight of Diana stepping out of her Volvo across the parking lot didn't strike Cassie as an immediate cause for alarm. Her panic didn't set in until Diana's eyes met hers - first with the delight of a surprise encounter, followed by a narrowing, painful displeasure. Cassie had been caught blatantly defying a promise she had made to the Circle.
Diana approached them gradually. Her "hello" sounded more like a snub than a greeting. "I see you two have been having a good time," she said, gesturing to their shopping bags.
Scarlett, sensing the coldness in Diana's voice, smiled politely but said nothing.
"I ran into Scarlett unexpectedly," Cassie said.
Diana derided Cassie with her eyes. "I guess there's a lot of that happening today."
Cassie bit her lip but said nothing.
Scarlett shifted uncomfortably and said, "Maybe I should get going."
"No," Diana said. "I should." She stepped past them toward the mall 's entrance. "I'll talk to you later, Cassie."
"That girl really does not like me," Scarlett said, once Diana was out of earshot.
Cassie wasn't sure how to begin defending Diana's behavior. It's not like Scarlett could possibly understand. "It has nothing to do with you," Cassie said. "Believe me. But I'm still sorry."
Scarlett shrugged it off. "I'll let you make it up to me by joining me for dinner."
Cassie was torn. She knew the right thing to do was to separate from Scarlett and immediately go do damage control with Diana, but she'd been having such a good time, and breaking off from Scarlett now would only hurt her feelings.
"How about burgers from Buffalo House?" Scarlett asked. "I'm buying."
"I really shouldn't." Cassie felt for the bag of herbs in her tote and looked at her watch. But a bacon cheeseburger sounded like bliss right now. A girl had to eat, right?
"Okay," Cassie said at last. "If you come with me to run this errand first. It's just a quick favor for a friend. Then we can go for burgers."
Scarlett beamed. "Perfect," she said.
Of course, the Circle would not approve of Cassie bringing Scarlett along, but she was careful. And Scarlett didn't ask any questions, even when Cassie insisted she stay in the car while she ran into the abandoned lighthouse with a paper sack under her arm. And since Melanie and Laurel hadn't arrived yet, all she had to do was drop the bag onto the table and go. It took less than a minute to get in and out. And then she and Scarlett were free to race over to Buffalo House for burgers.
Later that night, Adam came over to Cassie's for a cozy night of popcorn and a movie. Her mom was upstairs, allowing them their privacy in the den, where they lounged on the soft-backed couch. Cassie sunk down into the cushion with her head resting on Adam's shoulder, breathing him in. She could get drunk off the smell of him.
They weren't really watching the movie, or at least Cassie wasn't. She had her eyes closed and was focused on Adam's gentle caresses, how he slid his soft fingers up the inside of her arm, starting at the wrist, moving to the elbow, and back down again. She could have done that all night; the movie was just noise in the background. But then Adam looked down to see if she was awake.
"You're sleeping," he said.
Cassie opened her eyes. "I'm not sleeping, just enjoying." Adam got a serious look in his eye, and Cassie was sure he was about to lean in to kiss her. This was how their movie watching usually turned out. But this time, instead of kissing her, he clicked the movie off and sat upright.
"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," he said.
Cassie also sat up straight and pulled her knees into her chest. She couldn't imagine what was about to come out of his mouth. A million possibilities, one worse than the next, raced through her mind.
"Diana said she saw you out shopping this afternoon," Adam said. "With Scarlett."
Cassie stiffened. "Oh."
"She thinks your friendship with Scarlett is getting too close."
"Well, thank you for telling me what Diana thinks," Cassie said.
The remark made Adam raise his voice, which was something he never did in Cassie's presence. "I don't think I should have to tell you that you're putting yourself at risk by spending so much time with an Outsider," he said. "You're putting all of us at risk."
"Is that even how you really feel, or is that how Diana feels?"
Adam jerked back as if Cassie had taken a swing at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"