By the time Lia cleared it with her parents—she told them it was a study group over dinner—Gem had sent back one message just to her.

Guest. House. Privileges.

It was hard to miss that Ben’s family had money. His parents did tech stuff, giving them enough to live in Chenaux. The neighborhood was newer than its name implied, and the houses were a hodgepodge of McMansions and geometric modern things. Ben’s house was one of those modern homes that looked like an Escher painting if you stared too long.

Gem picked up Lia, Devon already in the back, and Lia slid into the seat next to him. He was wearing what he always wore, though he picked at the hem of his sweater in a way Lia had never seen. Gem wore a pair of faux leather bike shorts and their mom’s old University of Arkansas sweatshirt. Lia pulled her jacket tighter around her plain shirt.

“May is going to be there for a little while,” Gem said instead of greeting her.

Lia glanced at Devon. “Gem has been planning their first date with May for a while now.”

“It’s not a date,” muttered Gem, checking their reflection in the rearview mirror. “Yet.”

“Good luck.” Devon smiled at them in the rearview mirror. “You look really good.”

Lia patted Gem’s shoulder. When the group arrived at Ben’s house, Gem looked in the mirror once and nodded. Devon jumped out and held the door open. Lia and Devon walked to the door a few steps behind Gem, who knocked with a shaking hand.

May opened the door. “Ben! Your murder friends are here!” she shouted up the stairs behind her. She leaned on the door with one arm stretched to the top of it, all six feet of her taking up the whole entranceway. She looked like some flirtatious knight who could kick your butt or carry it over the threshold. She tapped her fingers against the frame. “I hear you’re doing well.”

“Yeah,” Gem said. “We’ve gotten two people.”

“Nice,” May said.

Devon leaned down and whispered in Lia’s ear, “You look good, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Lia whispered back.

His lips brushed her ear, as if he were about to say something else.

“Yes!” Ben thundered down the stairs and skidded across the floor. He bowed over one arm and gestured deeper into the house. “After y’all.”

They stepped inside. May shut and locked the door behind them. Ben and May’s parents were rich in a way that made Lia’s stomach hurt. The house had to have five bedrooms, and she was sure the kitchen that Ben led them through was bigger than any she’d ever seen. The five of them wandered out into the large backyard. Ben pointed to a small houselike shed against the far fence.

“I’ve got food, drinks, and enough games to keep us busy for three years,” Ben said. “What do you want to do first?”

“He loves hosting,” May whispered in Gem’s ear, her hand on their shoulder. “He’s like an old lady. If he could major in ‘party throwing,’ he would.”