“Yeah,” Ryan agreed.

Bruce yanked Liam’s hoodie from around his waist and reversed it. “What the fuck is this, then? I fucking saw you guys. I don’t know how you did it, but this thing is worth like seven hundred bucks or more and I don’t even know how much that jacket costs—probably as much as a car. I waited five fucking hours and I’m fucking keeping this fucking hoodie.”

Liam could feel his face getting red. Before the schoolyard fire he’d felt sort of ambivalent toward Bruce, but he hated him now, especially after having to wipe five-year-old-boy pee off the seats of the bathroom at the elementary school.

The thing was, he really didn’t want the hoodie anymore.

“Eight hundred bucks,” Ryan said flatly, as if reading Liam’s mind. “For sixteen hundred we’ll let you have both.”

Bruce glared at Ryan, probably thinking something racist, because he was the worst kind of asshole. “Look at Black Ryan, acting like he’s in charge.”

Ryan straightened up to his full, significantly taller-than-Bruce stature. “You saw us, we were in the store, and these parkas are selling for over a thousand dollars each. We’re giving you a deal. You want this shit or not?”

“Let me see it?” Bruce asked, and Liam could tell he was caving.

Ryan untied the parka and dangled it in front of Bruce. “Limited edition. Already sold out in preorders online. It’s a collector’s item.” He glanced at Liam. “Or we could just hold on to them and sell them in a year for double what we’re offering you.”

Bruce took hold of Ryan’s parka, licking his lips greedily as he turned it inside out and examined the washing instructions for authenticity. Typos meant it was a fake. He was all theirs now.

“I take Venmo,” Ryan said. “You can transfer directly into my bank account.”

“Huh?”

“Give me your phone and your credit card,” Ryan said impatiently.

It was all Liam could do to keep from snickering. Ryan was treating Bruce like a child. It was classic.

When he was done with the transaction, Ryan handed over Bruce’s phone and credit card along with the hoodie and parka. “There. You just paid me.” He nodded at Liam. “I owe you half. I know you don’t have a credit card. Don’t worry, I’m good for it.”

Liam nodded coolly. “Thanks man.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Bruce hugged the clothing that probably wouldn’t even fit over his ugly, stocky body, like an obnoxious asshole version of Linus from Peanuts with his blanket.

Finally, Ryan smiled. So did Liam. They couldn’t help it. They’d just copped a shit-ton of money from Bruce. “No problem,” they said in unison, knowing they were going to be laughing about this for the rest of their lives.

Chapter 17