Clare fiddled with a tube of lip gloss. “Taste of her own medicine.”

I darkened her pale eyebrows. “Speak English, Clare.”

“It’s better to show, not tell. But it’s going to take a couple of hours.”

“Okay. Puzzles.” I tossed the pencil on my makeup table. “I’ve got to go to Jack’s house.” I blended her blush and stepped back. She could be me.

“Why are you going to see him?”

“Same as everyone else. Getting a little something to help celebrate the New Year.”

Clare’s gaze met mine in the mirror. I could have been looking at myself. “That’s not the way to do it. He’s got a weird vibe.”

Her critique hit a nerve. “You screw everything with a heartbeat, Clare. At least I haven’t crossed that bridge yet.”

Clare stood, stepped back. “The shit he sells could kill you!”

“So could one of your boy toys.”

Her face paled. “I’m not doing that anymore. Just Kurt now.”

I pulled on a leather jacket. “What’s changed?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Clare stared at me as if ready to say something, but then she seemed to think better of it. “Just get home as soon as you can. Like I said, I have something to show you.”

“You’re being very mysterious tonight. Are you okay?”

She smiled. “Of course.”

I was too jumpy to press. “Can Kurt pick you up so I can use the Jeep?”

Clare frowned. “I don’t think you should go. I don’t like the way Jack looks at us.”

Her real concern smoothed my ruffled feathers. “It won’t take long. I’ll be back before you know it. And we’ll ring in the New Year at Jo-Jo’s party.”

Clare’s brow furrowed as she stared into the mirror. “Everyone’s going to think I’m you.”

“Isn’t that the point? You’ve been dressing up like me a lot lately.”

“How do you know?”

“I can tell when my stuff has been worn. No big deal,” I said. “However, if you show up to the party on time and sober, they’ll know you’re not me.”

Clare smiled. “I guess.”

“The eye makeup goes perfectly with the blouse.”

I moved to my closet and chose the jeans I’d bought a few weeks ago. They’d cost over three hundred dollars, and I’d taken a morbid pleasure when the clerk swiped my father’s credit card. “But wear these with it.”

“You haven’t even worn them.” Clare moistened her lips, and for the first time, I noticed she looked pale. “Great.”

“You okay? You look like you don’t feel well.”

“I’m fine. Drank too much beer last night.”

“You? Drank too much?”

“Kurt can be a bad boy,” she said, offhandedly.