Cole waited on anxious knees for his chance to move. Soon, three of the cheerleaders bent to scrub a low fender. The deputies circled in behind them, and Cole saw his opportunity. Keeping low, he sprinted onto the lot and dove unseen behind the last patrol car in the row. Out of breath and buzzing with adrenaline, he checked the rear door, found it unlocked, and climbed into the floor of the backseat. Tucking his knees under his chin, he pulled the door closed behind him.

A few minutes passed before Maxine Wiley stepped into view above him, pressing a soapy sponge to the window. The head cheerleader had once been Cole’s lab partner in biology. Sophomore year, she’d also been his backseat partner in the stadium parking lot following the loss to Gurney. Ancient history.

He cracked open the door and whispered her name.

Maxine jumped back, startled. She started to speak, but Cole shushed her.

“Keep working!” he hissed.

She glanced down. “That you, Cole Logan?”

“Don’t look at me. Just keep washing.”

She smiled and whispered, “God … you totally scared the hell out of me. We’ve been expecting you, you know.”

“Can’t tell you how much I appreciate y’all doing this, Maxine.”

“Yeah?” A shiny set of porcelain veneers parted her candy-apple lips. “So you gonna make it up to me, or what?”

The deputies burst into laughter nearby. Cole tensed. “Are they coming this way?”

Maxine shook her head. “No, it’s all right. They’re watching Mindy Lynn do a backward walkover. So is this game really on, or what?”

“Not without your help. Listen, see the fat deputy over there, got a stupid look on his face?”

“Can you be more specific?”

“The one with the keys on his belt.”

“Yeah, I see him.”

“I need those keys.”

She glanced at him, then looked out over the roof of the car. “No problem. Be right back.” She gave her hair a flip and her breasts a lift and moved away.

Cole waited, listening to chuckles from the deputies mixed with giggles from the girls. He came up just enough to see out the window. Maxine had her back to him. She sat in a full split across the hood of a squad car, wearing the appointed deputy’s uniform cap. She was waving a pair of foamy sponges overhead like pom-poms and getting spirited applause for her effort.

Cole lay back down. Minutes later the keys fell into his lap. Maxine went back to scrubbing the window above him.

“I thought this was supposed to be hard,” she whispered.

“You’re a champ, Maxine.”

“So how come you never took me out again, anyway?”

“After this, Maxine, I’m ready to take you to Paris.”

She winked. “Wait sixty seconds, then go for it. I’ll make sure they don’t see a thing.”

“I owe you one.”

With another wink, she moved away.