I turn my attention back toward the stage just in time to see Drew emerge without his guitar. He heads straight for me.

"You came to my show," he says, giving me an awkward half hug.

"Yeah, me and Liv both." I gesture toward the bar.

He glances her way then grins at me. "You look beautiful tonight, Eveny. Really."

"You looked pretty good up there yourself." I change the subject before it gets uncomfortable. "I'm really glad we came. The band's amazing."

"Thanks!" He launches into a long explanation of how they're trying to get a record deal with some New Orleans-based music label, and I'm listening until a familiar deep voice somewhere off to my left catches my attention. I do a double take when I see who's sitting there.

It's Caleb, all by himself at a table near the back of the room, giving a pretty waitress his order.

I feel my heart leap into my throat. What's he doing here?

Caleb catches me staring and half raises his glass in greeting, then turns away as if he has no interest interacting with me at all.

As I force myself to refocus on Drew, I feel a river of heat flowing through me, and I hope it's not showing on my face. Drew's still talking, and when he leans in and touches my arm to make a point, I pull away and feel instantly guilty when a hurt expression flickers across his face. But what if Caleb thinks I'm with Drew?

Drew makes it worse a second later by giving me a peck on the cheek. "Seriously, Eveny, thanks so much for coming out tonight. It's really cool of you."

Then Tallon beckons from the stage, and Drew says sadly, "Looks like I have to go. But see you in a few, okay?"

Liv sits down next to me a moment later holding two drinks. She pushes one toward me. "They're both Sprite," she says.

I thank her, and I'm about to open my mouth to ask what she thinks Caleb is doing here when she asks eagerly, "So did Drew say anything about me?"

I look over at Caleb's table. He's deep in conversation with the waitress, who's in short shorts, a tight white T-shirt, and cowboy boots. I shake off a surge of jealousy. "He's really glad you came," I tell Liv.

"Awesome," she says.

The band begins playing, and we turn back to the stage. Drew keeps grinning at us, and Liv is squirming in her seat. Meanwhile, Caleb doesn't appear to be paying the slightest bit of attention to me. I'm puzzled that he's here, considering that the Peripherie isn't exactly the Dolls' domain.

"So would you think I was totally crazy if I told you I'd offered to help Drew's band?" Liv asks after a few minutes.

"Help them how?"

"So what if I offered to manage them?" she says. When I shoot her a confused look, she hurries to add, "I know it sounds kind of nuts. But I'm always listening to indie bands and reading Spin and Rolling Stone and all that. I've been saving up for this program that'll basically turn my Mac into a home recording studio-what if I offer to cut the song for them?"

"You know how to do that?"

"I'll learn," she says confidently. "Then maybe I can get out of this town and take Drew and his buddies with me. I mean, look at those guys." She points at the stage. "Girls will go crazy for them. They're all really cute, right?" Her eyes linger on Drew several beats too long.

"You sure this isn't just a way to hit on Drew . . . ?"

"No!" she exclaims. Then she shoots me a guilty look. "Maybe. But only a little. If you tell anyone that, though, I'll have to kill you."

I laugh and settle back to watch Little Brother's set. Just before the band finishes, Liv grabs my arm and says, "Wait, is that Caleb Shaw? What's he doing out here?"

I sneak a glance at his table again. He's reading the menu like it's a fascinating book. "I don't know," I say, trying to pretend I don't care.

Liv stares at me. "Wait, do you like him?"

"No," I protest unconvincingly. "He's just, uh, a nice guy, you know?"

"You don't have to lie. Every girl in Carrefour has had a crush on Caleb Shaw at some point. I even liked him for thirty seconds. But sooner or later, everyone realizes he just doesn't date."

"But I thought he used to date Peregrine."

Liv frowns. "That was really short-lived. I wasn't at Pointe Laveau yet, so I don't know all the details, but I hear he just wasn't that into her, and everyone sort of knew it except her."

I'm embarrassed by how happy this makes me. But then something occurs to me. "Maybe he's gay," I say, my heart sinking a little.

"No. Believe me, Max has asked. Several times."

I laugh, but before I can say anything in reply, Liv's already standing up.

"I have an idea," she says before waving her hands dramatically in the air. "Caleb!" she yells across the bar. "Over here!"

He hesitates before getting up and walking slowly in our direction. I can feel the hairs on my arms standing on end as he comes closer.

"Hey," he says in a low voice. His sky-blue eyes flick to me for an instant and land back on Liv. "What's up?"

"Well first of all, Caleb, I didn't know you hung out in the Peripherie."

"I do sometimes."

"But you live in central Carrefour, right?"

"Right."

"So Caleb, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," she continues. "I picked Eveny up, and I don't mind driving her home. But seeing as you live right by her, maybe you'd be willing to do it?"

Caleb looks startled, so I jump in to say, "Liv, that's really not necessary."

"Oh, but Eveny, I have to talk business with Drew and the band." Liv turns to Caleb with a faux-serious expression. "Plus, I've been drinking," she says. "Like, a lot."

"Liv, I'm sure Caleb is busy. And you said yourself you only did one shot."

"Caleb, are you really that busy?" Liv asks immediately. "I mean, you're going home anyway, right?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, that's fine," he says. "But I was about to leave, actually. I don't want to cut your night short." I feel like curling up and vanishing; it's so obvious he doesn't want to give me a ride.

I open my mouth to tell him to forget we even asked, but Liv elbows me in the ribs.

"Would you excuse us for a minute, Caleb?" I ask. He looks uncertain as I grab Liv's arm and drag her a few feet away. "What are you doing?" I demand.

"Just getting you a little alone time with the hottest guy in Carrefour."

"I didn't ask you for that!" I exclaim.

"You didn't have to," she says with a shrug. "Besides, I was kind of hoping this would give me some time to talk with Drew."

"Talk? Or make out?" I tease.

Her cheeks turn a little pink. "To talk about the band, Eveny."

I'm about to argue further when Caleb comes up behind us. "You ready to go?" he asks.

"If you're sure you don't mind taking me."

Liv's already slinking away from us. "Later, you guys," she says, winking at me.

"My Jeep's this way." Caleb begins walking toward the exit without waiting for me, and even when I hurry to catch up, he keeps a few feet of distance between us.

"I'm sorry about that," I say. "I didn't ask Liv to do that."

"I know."

"What are you doing here, anyhow?" I ask when he opens his passenger door for me.

"Driving you home," he says in an even tone. "We're neighbors, and Liv asked me to, in case you don't remember."

He waits for me to get in and buckle my seat belt, then he shuts my door and goes around to the driver's side. Once he's buckled in and has started the engine, I say, "What I mean is, what are you doing here? At Domion?"

"Listening to music, same as you," he says. "Why, are you implying I'm following you?"

"No, of course not!" I feel like an idiot.

For a moment, I'm sure he's about to say something else. But he puts the car in gear, mumbles something to himself, and backs out of his parking space.

It's not until we're almost out of the parking lot that I realize I've walked out without saying good-bye to Drew.

16.

The first few minutes of the drive are silent. I feel nervous and tongue-tied in Caleb's presence.

"So, Liv and Drew? I didn't know she liked him until tonight," I say in an attempt to cut through the awkwardness.

"Yeah," Caleb says, his eyes glued to the road.

"I mean, Liv seems so tough sometimes, like she doesn't need anyone," I add when it's clear he's not going to say anything.

"Yeah."

I take a deep breath. "But when you think about it, they're kind of perfect for each other."

"Yeah."

This is getting ridiculous. "Okay, so the way that conversation works is that I say something, and then you say something back-preferably something other than 'yeah.'"

This finally elicits a reaction from Caleb. He chuckles. "Yes, I know what a conversation is." He hesitates and adds. "I'm sorry. I'm not making this very easy, am I?"

"I just don't understand why you're avoiding me."

"I'm not," he says instantly.

I continue to stare at him until he clears his throat and says, "All right. Maybe I've been avoiding you a little."

The words hit me harder than I expect. "Why? Does it have something to do with zandara?" I ask after a moment of silence.

"It's hard to explain. I think it's better if we just don't talk about this."

"Look," I say, "I didn't even know anything about the Dolls or the sosyete or anything until two days ago. I wasn't raised with any of this, so you can't hate me because of it."

"I don't hate you," Caleb says immediately. His voice is husky as he turns and repeats, "I don't hate you."

"Well, it sure feels like it," I reply.

"It's not that. It's just..." His voice trails off. "It's just that certain people in town have certain responsibilities. And feelings make those responsibilities that much harder."

"Feelings?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant."

"Right," I say, feeling foolish. "Me neither."

"It's just . . ." He hesitates and starts again. "There are some things in this town that you don't understand."

I grit my teeth. "You know, I'm getting pretty tired of everyone talking in mysteries and riddles over my head."

"Eveny . . ." For a moment, I think he's going to tell me what he means. But instead, what he says is, "It's complicated."

"Seriously, no explanation? Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"No," he says quickly. "I'm trying to warn you. This town, it sucks you in. It's like all your choices start to disappear, and you realize your life's been planned out for you long before you got here."

"Well, that makes everything a lot clearer," I say sarcastically. I realize that he actually looks upset, so I soften my tone and add, "That's why you disappear to go surfing, isn't it? You're just trying to get out of here."

He looks surprised. "You remembered." When I nod, he continues, "I love that feeling of anonymity when I'm out there alone in the water." He pauses. "But now that I'm not going as much anymore, it sometimes feels like this town is closing in on me."