Nineteen

 

“Why does anyone need to find out?” David asked crossing him arms.

“You’re the one who needs this. How do you think you’re going to sell it to the guy blackmailing you if no one finds out?”

“I know, but I don’t do that sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing? You mean date girls?” Kimberly said. Looking at David’s perplexed face she suddenly started laughing.

“Yeah.” David said rubbing his neck uncomfortably.

“Then what about Heather? Aren’t the two of you going out?”

“Heather?” David asked rolling his eyes. “I don’t understand why people keep asking me about her. We’re friends. Nothing else.”

“Oh.” Kimberly bit her lip thinking of the way Heather blushed when Kimberly had asked her about David this morning. Maybe it was a good thing David was oblivious.

 

“Look, I just need to pretend to go out with you for your cousin right?” David frowning.

“You think Richard is behind this? Why would you think that?”

“Oh, you don’t know.” David said looking at Kimberly carefully.

“Don’t know what?” Kimberly said putting her hands on her hips. “You owe the truth.”

“Richard apparently does things like this regularly.”

“My cousin blackmails people?” Kimberly said slowly her eyes growing wide. She shook her head “Does everyone have dark secrets that I don’t know about?”

David shrugged his shoulders.

“What about Heather?” Kimberly said frowning and studying the ground.

“What about her?”

“How do you she isn’t the one doing all this?”

“Why would she?”

“Because, she used to ‘work’ with my brother on his ‘business projects’. Which by the way I’m starting to understand is his blackmail hobby. Wow, Richard is a freak”

 

“Now, this all makes sense. Heather’s the one who told me about the DVD in the first place. I bet it doesn’t exist.” David scowling.

“I don’t know I saw James take out the DVD at Richards house but I couldn’t tell what happened after that.”

“Then Richard took it.”

“But Heather hasn’t spoken to Richard in months, no wait. They spoke last night. I don’t think that was enough time for them to come up with a plan that perfect.” Kimberly said with a frown.

“So it could be Richard, Heather or the two of them together. Why would they want me to date you?”

 

Kimberly shrugged her shoulders. “Heather and I had a fight. Maybe this was supposed to get at me.” Kimberly said frowning.

“Or it could be to get at me.” David frowning. “Maybe it was Lawrence but he’d have to be working with someone here. So we have to pretend in front of Heather, Richard and someone who may or may not be spying on me or else I’m dead meat.”

“What about James?”

“That wouldn’t make sense. He already knows me and you aren’t into each other.” David said ruefully. “ Asking us to date is stupid.”

 

“So you want him to know Lawrence and the blackmail?” Kimberly crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

“No just the blackmail. The Lawrence part isn’t something I want him to know about.”

 

“I won’t do it.” Kimberly said frowning.

“But you said you would.” David angrily.

“I’ll only do it if James thinks it’s for real and I want to see his face when you tell him.”