The Hacker's Con Artist

Chapter 19

- - - - - - MARCH 28, 2022- - - - - -

St. Petersburg, Florida 8:00 p.m.

"HOW DO I look?" Lily asked, doing a little spin that caused the ruffles in her dress to flutter.

"Gorgeous," said Cora. "I knew you would rock that dress." It was true, Lily did look beautiful. But if Bonnie was being honest, she could care less about how Lily looked or the spring fling they were preparing for. There was only one thing and one thing only at the forefront of Bonnie's mind: Clyde.

Her thoughts were momentarily interrupted as whatever Harley was doing to Bonnie's hair sent a rush of pain through her scalp. "Ow!"

"Sorry," muttered Harley. "You just won't hold still."

"If Jackson doesn't ask me to dance tonight, I might cry," huffed Lily.

"How can he not when you look like that?" Cora replied.

"Boys can be dumb sometimes," Harley chimed in.

Lily turned her back to the mirror and put her hands on her hips rather dramatically. "What about you, Bonnie? Any guy you've got your eye on?"

Bonnie tried to put her head up but was immediately met with a grumble from Harley. She stilled, giving up on trying to look Lily in the eyes as she spoke. "I believe there may be one."

"Ooh, tell us," Cora gushed.

"He's not from around here. Y'all wouldn't know him."

"How'd you meet him?" Lily asked.

"At work. I was his waitress."

"Aw," said Harley. "There's nothing more romantic than reinforcing gender roles."

Cora instantly shushed her sister. "Harley, don't be rude. What's his name, Bonnie?"

Bonnie hesitated. Would they know his name? A part of her wanted to see if maybe—just maybe—the mental manipulation could start before the real party ever began.

"Clyde," she said. "His name is Clyde."

For a moment, there was only silence. Bonnie debated putting her head up, but knew Harley would throw a fit.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know anyone named Clyde," said Lily.

The pressure on her scalp lifted and she felt Harley shift behind her. "Okay, you're done."

Bonnie stood and approached the mirror, shocked at the complex maze of braids Harley had put into Bonnie's hair. The part of her hair not included in the updo draped around her shoulders in a torrent of strawberry blonde curls. She looked beautiful.

She couldn't help but remember how Landon and Rowan had stepped into the restaurant just before she would have had the opportunity to accept Clyde's offer. In hindsight, it was strange how much of a hurry they were in, almost as if they were aware they were fighting against Clyde to steal her attention. Bonnie wasn't used to being fought over, but she definitely wasn't opposed to it.

"Bonnie?" Lily's voice pulled Bonnie out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready to go?"

Finally, a question she wanted to answer. Ever since she'd found out the truth from Landon, she'd spent every waking hour plotting. The other girls didn't need to know that the real reason she was looking forward to the evening wasn't because of the dance. It was because she was attempting the ultimate game of chess and was finally about to call checkmate. Bonnie knew she was playing dirty, but she was also tired of letting things get in the way of what she wanted. She smiled at Lily and let her hook their arms together. "Let's tear up this dance floor."