Page 85 of The Boyfriend Experience

“No,” I interrupt her. “I haven’t been to Boulder in a long time. Let’s go somewhere. Somewhere nice.”

She eyes me suspiciously. And she should, right? Because Oaklee and Vivi have broken into her apartment and are about to steal things and they are probably like twenty feet away from where we stand right this moment.

“I’m starving, Hanna. And I want something good in a place I can relax. Because I ate a burger in my car for lunch today and bar food just isn’t gonna do it for me tonight. So you can come with me, or not. But I’m gonna go eat.”

She stares at me for another long moment, then sets her beer down on the counter and says, “Fine. We’ll do it your way. How about Joe’s Italian? It’s got wine and white tablecloths. Will that suffice?”

“Sounds perfect,” I say. “Let’s go.”

Joe’s is just two blocks down on Pearl Street, so we walk. Hanna is quiet as we wait for a table. Biding her time until we’re actually seated and have the menus out in front of us. I order a whiskey because I feel like this story might require one. And once we’ve ordered our entrées, she says, “OK. I would like you to give me the benefit of the doubt and check all your opinions of me and preconceived notions of what’s going on between Oaklee and I until I’m done talking. Can you do me that one favor?”

“Sure,” I say, sipping the whiskey. Because why not.

Hanna takes a deep breath and starts talking on the exhale. “I first met Oaklee at college, but I knew of her long before that. I mean, everyone knows about Bronco Brews, right?”

“I guess,” I say.

“Especially teenagers teaching themselves how to drink. It’s kind of a rite of passage to become familiar with your local celebrity brews and Colorado has no shortage of local brewers. So I knew of Oaklee because kids talk. And she was our age, she was pretty, and, well, you can probably guess what the boys at my high school used to say about Oaklee.”

“Is that why you fixated on her?”

She holds up a finger. “Hold that thought. I haven’t even started this story yet. I’m just telling you I knew of her before I actually met her. So we get assigned to the dorm at school freshman year and it’s pretty cool to room with her because she’s like… sorta famous in her own way.”

“So you knew about her and you were roommates, and you were both microbiology majors?” I ask.

“I see where this is going, but I was always going to use my degree to brew beer. I just couldn’t get accepted into microbiology with that as a goal. So I lied and told them I wanted to use it to eradicate diseases.”

“Why not?” I ask. “I mean why did you have to lie? Because starting this story with a lie, Hanna, it’s not looking good for you.”

“Well, here’s a newsflash. Science majors are competitive and back then microbiology was filled with people who wanted to use it for beer-brewing. Oaklee was always going to get in. Her father knew professors at CSU. They give out scholarships there. She had an automatic in. I didn’t. I had to take the major seriously so they would take me seriously.”

“Oh, come on, Hanna. That’s bullshit. Why not just admit you thought she was super interesting and decided to model yourself after her? Because it’s so obvious. I don’t think I’m interested in hearing any more if this is going where I think it’s going.”

“It’s going where you think it’s going, Lawton. Because that’s the truth. She copied me, not the other way around.”

I laugh so loud, people look over at us. “So that’s your story? You’re the victim? She stole your beer recipes? She stole your beer names, and labels, and”—I point out the window, down the mall where her shop is—“Buffalo Brews and Bronco Brews aren’t categorically similar, and Buffed Up isn’t a ripoff of Bucked Up? Is this what you’re going to tell me tonight? Because if so, I don’t think I can stand it.”

I check my watch, noting that it’s been twenty minutes since I got Hanna out of her apartment. And I wonder if that’s enough time for Oaklee to get what she needs. Because I don’t want to hear any more.

“That’s because you’re missing the most vital piece of information, Lawton. The same piece of information I was missing up until that first year of college.”

“Which is what?” I ask.

She stares at me. Takes a deep breath. Lets it out. And then says, “I am not Oaklee’s enemy. And if you listen to my story from beginning to end, you’ll see my side. You’ll see her for who she really is. A wild girl with a streak of mean. A girl who came from privilege, was given the world, has more than most, and wants to keep it that way. You’ll see that what she’s been telling you… is all lies.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - OAKLEE

Vivi and I watch through a cracked door on the far side of Hanna’s apartment as Law gets my text and makes an excuse to get her out of the apartment. And as soon as they leave, we go into sneaky thief mode.

Vivi goes straight to her office and starts hacking into her computer. I look around, stunned at what I’m seeing. Because… it’s my apartment. I mean, sure, it’s smaller and the art on the walls is her brand, not mine. But…

“This place is fucking creepy,” Vivi says from the office. “And I’m in. What should I be looking for?”

But this is my apartment. In like… a Bizarro World way.

“Oaklee!” Vivi whisper-yells. “Tell me what to look for!”

“Recipes,” I say, peeking my head into the office. “Look for anything that resembles a beer recipe. What yeast she’s using, anything you can find on her graphic design… stuff like that.”