Sorority Girls With Guns by Cat Caruthers Read Free Book Online

to pay for her meal? No,  not him. The other one. The miserable-looking rich guy.”
    “ Oh!” I laugh at the thought of seriously dating Richard. “Him? You think he’s into me?”
    Hoolio shrugs. “I wait on a lot of couples, a lot of groups. I can always tell who’s into who, regardless of who came with who.”
    “ And you seriously think Richard wants me?” It occurs to me that maybe that’s why Richard is so pissy about money. Does he remember what I said about it being a barrier between us? No, of course not – he’s dating Morgan, and she loves money, too.
    Hoolio shrugs, staring down at the sand as he walks. “He’s definitely interested. He’s not sure if he’s even on your radar, and I think he’s probably right.”
    I shake my head. “He annoys the crap out of me. I mean, he’s a good-looking guy, and his personality might be okay if he wasn’t so judgmental. But I can’t see myself dating someone who’s constantly complaining about…” I trail off, realizing I can’t say anymore without outing the bet.
    “ About what?” Hoolio snaps his head up and looks at me. “What’s his deal, anyway? He’s a rich guy, palling around with people like you and me.”
    “ How do you know he’s rich?” I’m surprised that Richard’s doing such a good job faking it already.
    Hoolio shrugs. “I see all kinds working in that tourist trap. Lower-middle class, middle-middle class, upper-middle-class and beyond. You can tell, after a while.”
    “ How?”
    “ Lots of things. The clothes, the shoes, the hair. With girls, it’s usually the handbags – the fake ones are usually so bad you can tell they’re fake without knowing a thing about fashion. I don’t know what brand some of them are, but I know they’re fake.”
    “ And guys? Richard?”
    “ The shoes. Again, I don’t know or care about brand names, but the cheap ones look cheap from a mile away. Watches too, but not everyone wears one anymore – you know, with cell phones doing the same thing and so much more.” He grins. “But it’s not just that stuff, you know. Rich people have a way of acting – some of them are confident, like you. But some of them feel bad about their money – that’s Richard.”
    Okay, now I see what’s happened. Richard’s rich-hating crap is rubbing off on his rich-guy act and coming off as rich-and-ashamed. I’ve known plenty of those , and I see how the two could be confused.
    But what to tell Hoolio? He’s smarter than any guy I met at the university, which isn’t saying much. I can’t tell him the truth, but I kind of like him and don’t want to lie to him about everything .
    “ You’re right about Richard,” I say, feeling like I’m walking a tightrope. “He really disapproves of wealth, especially conspicuous wealth. But it doesn’t stop him from wearing brand names. It just makes him…hang out with people of a different economic bracket. But that means that he doesn’t really fit in anywhere…so I guess that’s probably why he has such a stick up his ass.”
    Hoolio nods. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
    “ I kind of feel bad for him,” I say. “But I’m not interested in getting together with him .”
    “ That’s good to know.” Hoolio stares out at the ocean and keeps walking. Playing hard to get – I hate to admit it, but that turns me on more often than it should. In my defense, Hoolio is kind of offbeat-way hot. And, he actually pays attention to me when I talk. Most guys just stare at my boobs and mumble neutralities. Or they try to ply me with alcohol, unaware of how ineffective it is on me.
    I definitely want to keep spending time with Hoolio, but I need to shut down his path of inquiry. “Enough about me and my friends,” I say. “Tell me something about you. Like, is Hoolio really your name?”
    “ It’s what my shirt says.” He shrugs and points at my chest. “Is Lady Gaga really your name?”
    I am, after all, wearing my favorite Lady Gaga t-shirt.