“So they didn’t kiss?”
“Nope.” Zack shook his head, popping a Hershey’s Kiss in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. “I made sure of that.” He looked extremely pleased with himself.
Adriana couldn’t help but laugh as she pictured her brother yelling “fire” in the amusement park. “I can’t believe you got hauled into police headquarters.”
Zack made a face. “Security headquarters,” he corrected her. “And it wasn’t a big deal. They let me go once they found out who I was.”
“Well, I’m glad you did something right for once,” Adriana teased, pulling a Mason Pearson brush through her shining gold locks. She was in an inordinately good mood today. It was as if she knew something good was going to happen, even though it been a normal Sunday so far.
Zack shot up from where he’d been lazing on her daybed, a wide-eyed look on his face. “Did you just compliment me?” he asked excitedly.
She rolled her eyes, smiling a bit. “Maybe—ow!”
Zack had tackled her in a blur of tousled blond hair, nearly knocking her to the ground.
“And here it starts again,” Adriana complained. “This is why I’m never nice to you.”
“Don’t lie.” Zack squeezed her hard. “You love me and you know it.”
“I know no such thing.” Adriana batted him away, but she was laughing. “Are you going to stay in here all night?”
Zack gave her an offended look. “No. I have very important things waiting for me, you know.”
“Like your video games?”
He ignored her. “Just out of curiosity though, who are you going to homecoming with?”
Her hand stilled, then resumed brushing. “I think I’m just going to go alone.”
“Really?” Zack’s eyes widened even more. “Why? Did no one ask you?”
Adriana shot him a dirty look. “People asked me, Zack, I just don’t want to go with any of them.”
“Oh.” He fell silent, then smiled impishly. “Ok, cool. Well, I’ll see you later then.” With that, he bounded out of her room.
Adriana frowned, turning back to her mirror. Her brother was just too weird.
She set down her brush and was just about to grab her lotion when she heard the door open again.
“I thought you were going to play video games,” she said without looking up, unscrewing the top of her Crème de la Mer. It was supposed to be a face cream but she used it as an allover body moisturizer.
“Sorry, babe, video games aren’t really my kind of thing.”
Adriana whipped her head around, trying to mask her surprise when she saw Parker striding towards her. He wore a pale green button-down that brought out the color of his eyes and had his hands stuffed in his pockets. There was small, smirky smile on his handsome face.
“Ever heard of knocking?” she asked, recovering quickly.
“Knocking?” Parker raised his eyebrows. “What’s that?”
Adriana rolled her eyes. “Funny. Zack just left a minute ago. He’s probably in his room.”
“I know.” Parker leaned against the edge of her dresser and stared down at her. “I didn’t come here to talk to him.”
“Oh.” For some reason, Adriana’s stomach twisted nervously. It was not a sensation she was used to.
“Maya and I broke up.”
She froze, then started applying the cream to her hands with more vigor than ever. “So you finally decided to end the ruse, huh?”
Parker stared at her in shock. “You knew?”
Adriana smirked, feeling more like herself. “It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Everyone knew.”
He ran a hand through his golden-brown hair. “Roman didn’t.”
She laughed. “It’s Roman. What did you expect?”
Parker cracked a smile. “True.” He reached out and fiddled with one of her perfume bottles. “So…who are you going to homecoming with?” he asked casually.
Adriana sighed. Why was everyone asking her that question tonight? “No one. I’m going solo. Don’t have to be tied down to one guy that way,” she answered flippantly.
Parker frowned a bit, his green eyes flickering. “Right.” He stared down at the perfume bottle in his hand. “Don’t you want to know why we decided to end it now, right before homecoming?”
There was something about the inflection in his tone that caused Adriana’s mouth to dry up. “Why?” The word came out as a whisper.
Parker looked up, locking eyes with hers. She felt a strange sizzle beneath her skin, which had warmed considerably, even though the A/C was still at full blast.
What are you doing? she screamed to herself. This is Parker. The boy you’ve known since you were both in diapers.
“I thought it wouldn’t be fair to go with her to homecoming when I really wanted to go with someone else,” he said softly, never breaking eye contact.
Adriana instinctively held her breath, feeling a bit dizzy. She was feeling so unlike herself it was disconcerting, though not altogether unpleasant.
“So who do you want to go with?” Her voice came out scratchier than she would’ve liked.
Parker didn’t say anything for a moment, then he broke his gaze and pushed himself off of her dresser.
Adriana blinked, disoriented from the sudden loss of contact.
“I’ll show you.” Parker held out a hand to her.
She was confused. “What do you mean?”
“Trust me,” he insisted.
After only a second of hesitation, Adriana slipped her hand into his, trying to ignore the small jolt that ran through her.
Since when did Parker make her so jumpy, anyway?
She thought he was going to take her outside, but instead he led her to her balcony. When they stepped outside into the cool night air, Adriana shivered a bit, and he slid an arm around her in response.
“What did you want to show me?” Adriana looked around. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Look down.”
She obeyed, and immediately sucked in a breath when she caught sight of her family’s Olympic-size pool, which was located right under her balcony. Usually, it was a perfect, pristine blue, but tonight, the water glowed from the dozens of tiny votive candles scattered on its surface.
Tiny votive candles that spelled out one simple sentence: Will you go to homecoming with me?
Adriana’s throat suddenly felt too tight, and she gripped the railing of her balcony, unable to look away. For a long moment, no one said anything, and then she breathed, “How—how did you…?”
She felt more than saw Parker shrug. “Zack’s a pretty good distraction. Plus, I found out you can custom-make just about anything as long as you’re willing to pay.”
It was getting a bit hard to breathe. “This is for me?”
Parker spun her around, his face more serious than she’d ever seen it. “For someone who’s supposed to be so smart, you can be so dense sometimes,” he said softly. He was so close she could feel his breath fan across her face.
Adriana swallowed involuntarily, her heart feeling like it was in the race to win the Indy 500. In the back of her mind, she felt as though she should be insulted, but she wasn’t. It was kind of hard to concentrate, when Parker was staring at her like that…
“What do you mean?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
The green in Parker’s eyes intensified until they were practically smoldering. “Remember that time we were fourteen and went on vacation to France? And you were supposed to go meet that guy but couldn’t because your bike suddenly got a flat tire?”
Adriana’s breath hitched. “You did that,” she suddenly realized.
Parker neither confirmed nor denied it. “And remember when we were eight, and I pushed you into the pool? You didn’t speak to me for days…”
“Until you came over with a bunch of daisies you picked from the yard and an ice cream cone, to say sorry,” she remembered fondly, a small smile creeping onto her face at the memory.
Parker smiled in return. “Didn’t work out too well. Who knew ice cream melted so quick?”
She wanted to laugh, but the odd feeling in her throat prevented it.
“Were you ever upset?” Parker changed the subject abruptly. “When Maya and I were ‘dating’?”
Adriana’s stomach bottomed out. “No. I knew you weren’t really dating.”
He eyed her closely. “Not even when we kissed at Il Serrano?”
Her grip tightened on the railing as she remembered the strange feeling that tugged at her heart when she saw Parker and Maya kiss. She wanted to say no. She should say no, but the word wouldn’t come out.
Parker sighed, his eyes flickering again. “Adri…why do you think I did all that?” He gestured to the pool.
She swallowed. “I don’t know.” Even though, deep in her gut, she knew. She just couldn’t quite believe it.
He sighed again, a strange expression crossing his sculpted face. He stared down at her, gently tilting up her chin with one finger. “Then I guess I’ll have to tell you now.” His voice was so quiet she almost didn’t hear him. “Adri, I’ve liked you since we were both children.”
Her heart nearly stopped.
“I just didn’t have the courage to tell you, then you went away to Switzerland…” He trailed off.
Adriana swallowed. “But you’ve had so many girlfriends.”
“None of them were you.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” she whispered.
He shrugged, turning a bit red. “When I was pretending to date Maya, I kept on thinking how she would be the perfect girlfriend. Beautiful, smart, funny, all that. And I really did like her—“
A ripple of jealousy coursed through her veins, shocking her. She never felt jealous. Adriana opened her mouth to say something, but Parker held one finger up to her lips, shushing her.
“—as a friend. Because the whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I’d rather be with you instead.”
“So—“ Adriana’s voice was thick as she tried to process all this information. “So what—what now?”
“Let’s take it one step at a time, hmm?” Parker rested his forehead against hers. “So will you go to homecoming with me?”
It was a no-brainer. Adriana threw her arms around his neck, an act of ebullience she’d never done before. “Yes!”
And with that one word, she knew her life had somehow completely, irrevocably changed in the space of an hour.
* * *
“Damn, I am on fire, if I say so myself!”
I laughed as I watched Venice twirl in front of the three-way, full-length mirror in Adriana’s room, the skirt of her dress billowing out around her. Her dress was a strapless black number, splashed with brightly colored flowers that matched her personality perfectly.
I had to admit, she did look good. Adriana’s amazing hair skills had even managed to tame Venice’s riot of fiery curls so they fell in smooth waves down her back, and her alabaster skin gleamed under the lights.
“No moving,” the blonde now instructed as she finished curling my own hair. “Unless you want to end up looking like Shirley Temple.”
I made a face. “Like you would ever let me out of the house like that.”
Adriana laughed, wrapping one last lock of hair around the piping-hot barrel. “That’s true. I can’t wait till the boys see you. You look gorgeous.”
“Not that I would know,” I groused. She hadn’t let me look in a mirror since we started getting ready.
“She’s right, you know.” Venice bounced over, eyeing me critically. “You look like a goddess. Carlo is going to die when he sees you.”
I blushed. “I don’t know about that,” I mumbled.
I was so grateful that Carlo was still willing to go to homecoming with me though. How embarrassing would it have been if he’d already been going with someone else? A part of me felt bad, like I was using him or something, but honestly I was pretty excited about going with him. I always felt so comfortable around him, he was easy to talk to, and he wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes.
“Done,” Adriana announced, turning off her gold-plated curling iron. She beamed down at me. “My finest work so far, I have to say.”
“Really?” I reached up to touch my hair self-consciously. My hair had always been pin-straight, except when I went to the beach and it got all wavy from the sea water. I’d never purposely curled it before.
“Really. Go on, take a look.”
Venice clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh gosh, I can’t wait.”
Eyeing them a bit suspiciously, I stood up and walked over to the mirror. My hair was the last thing we needed to do before we were completely ready, and according to the clock on the wall, the guys should be downstairs waiting already
.
I knew Adriana was a master with hair and makeup, and the dress was gorgeous—which it better be, considering how much it cost. Nothing prepared me for what I saw though.
The girl staring back in the mirror looked exactly like me, only better, if that made sense. Her glossy black hair fell in big, lush waves down her back, setting off her bronze complexion that glowed as if lit from within. Her eyes were large and smoky, fringed by mile-long lashes, and her full, pouty lips were perfectly glossed to rival Angelina Jolie’s. The beautiful Fendi dress was clingy on top and bared her shoulders, while the skirt swished elegantly around her thighs, revealing just enough leg to be sexy but not skanky. The pair of gold Jimmy Choo stilettos Adriana had lent me completed the look perfectly.
“Is this really me?” I asked, stunned.
Adriana came up next to me, an unusually gentle smile on her face. “I told you, Maya. You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I whispered, still a bit in shock. I smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks so much, Adri. You look gorgeous too.”
And she did, even more than usual. She was all legs in her purple satin dress, and combined with her towering silver Blahnik heels and perfect golden locks, she looked like a princess, albeit a very seductive one.
“Ooh, I can’t wait till the boys see us!” Venice grabbed our arms. “Let’s go down!”
I laughed at her excitement, but I was feeling a bit fluttery myself. I knew Carlo, Parker, and Venice’s date were waiting downstairs. I’d been surprised when Adriana told us the story about how Parker had asked her out, but I was more than happy for them. It turns out my instinct was right after all.
The three of us descended the winding staircase that led to the Perrys’ giant living room, and the butterflies increased when I saw Carlo standing at the bottom. He looked devastatingly handsome in his tux, with his hair slicked back and a smile on his face.
“Hey,” he said, upping the wattage of his smile when he saw me. His gaze flickered appreciatively over me. “You look…amazing.”
I blushed. Even though I had an inane crush on he-who-shall-not-be-named, I wasn’t blind. Carlo was on fire.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
He handed me a single, perfect white rose. “I thought it’d match your dress.”
“Thank you.” I accepted the flower, touched. It was beautiful. No guy had ever given me a flower before.
Just a gift basket…
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No. I would not think about him. Not tonight. I deserved to have my fun.
“Are you ok?” Carlo asked quietly, as the others moved towards the front door.
I nodded, slipping my arm through the crook of his. “I’m fine. Perfect, actually.”
The concern in his face eased a bit. “Good.” He glanced in front of us, where Parker and Adriana were whispering conspiratorially to each other while Venice talked her date’s ear off.
I wonder where Roman and Zack were. Ugh, can’t I not think about him for even one second?!
“Rome and Zack are picking up their dates,” Carlo said, almost as if he’d read my mind. “They’re meeting us at the dance.”
“Oh. Ok.” My stomach fell a bit when I remembered Roman had a date too.
Not that it mattered. I wasn’t going to let that bring me down tonight. Not one bit.
* * *
Where the heck were they?
Roman scowled into the night, glaring at the limos that were pulling up, filled with couples who were not his friends.
“Roman, who are we waiting for?” the accented voice to his left asked, sounding a bit annoyed.
He turned and eyed his ‘date’ with aggravation. Objectively speaking, Solange was beautiful, as all supermodels were. The Brazilian had a thick dark hair, crystal-like blue-green eyes and a body most girls would’ve died for. She also had the personality of cardboard and was getting on his last nerve.
And the night had barely begun.
“My friends,” he said slowly, like she was too dense to understand the two words. Which she probably was.
Roman glowered at Zack, who seemed to be all fine and dandy with his date, a willowy redheaded model from Idaho or Iowa or one of those states.
The Scions usually brought models to school functions, if they went at all, because it was less hassle and they wouldn’t have to deal with the clinginess of Valesca girls afterward.
That is, until Parker decided to go with Adriana—which had been surprising but fine—and Carlo decided to go with Maya. Which was decidedly less fine.
Roman set his jaw at the thought. Out of all the people in the world, Carlo had to go with her.
What’s so great about her anyway? he thought furiously. She was upsetting the balance of everything, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“Oh, I think that’s them!” Zack pointed to the Rolls-Royce limo that had just pulled up.
“It’s about time,” Roman grumbled, stiffening a bit as he waited for his friends to get out.
Maya’s little redheaded friend and her date were the first to get out, followed by Parker and Adriana.
Roman tensed when he saw Carlo. The Colombian held out his hand to the last person in the limo, and a second later, Maya came into view.
All the air whooshed out of his lungs. Roman swallowed hard, rooted to the spot as Maya started walking towards him. Her dress fluttered behind her from the wind, and she looked more gorgeous than he’d ever thought anyone could look.
As he watched, she laughed at something Carlo said. In response, his friend wrapped an arm around her waist and said something that made her laugh again.
The scowl reappeared on Roman’s face as he resisted the urge to rip Carlo’s arm away from her.
“Hey, guys,” Maya chirped when she finally reached them. “You all look great.” Her eyes flickered over Solange before quickly looking away.
Narrowing his eyes, Roman reached out to grab his date’s hand. “Maya, I don’t believe you’ve met my date, Solange,” he said coolly.
Maya’s smile tightened a bit. “It’s nice to meet you,” she told the Brazilian politely.
Everyone else quickly introduced themselves, but Roman’s blood practically boiled at her indifferent courteousness. What the hell happened to the fiery-tempered girl he knew?
Whatever. It doesn’t matter, he thought darkly, as they made their way into the hotel ballroom where homecoming was being held.
The dance was already in full swing, but instead of joining everyone else on the dance floor, Roman stomped over to the Scions’ reserved VIP table. The others followed reluctantly.
“You don’t want to dance?” Solange asked in her thick accent.
“No,” he replied curtly.
“Well, in that case, can you look after our bags for us?” Adriana asked sweetly, placing her silver clutch on the table.
“What do I look like, your butler?” Roman growled, but it was too late. Everyone else had already moved to the dance floor.
For the next half hour, he just sat there and fumed, getting more and more irked as he watched everyone else have the time of their lives.
Carlo spun Maya around and dipped her exaggeratedly, like they did in the movies, and she broke out into silvery laughter as he did so.
Roman grabbed a glass of water from the table and took a huge gulp before slamming it down, causing the other glasses to rattle a bit.
What right did they have to be so happy when he wasn’t? He set the standards!
Who does Carlo think he is anyway, Fred Astaire? he thought rather nastily.
“Roman, I’m bored,” Solange whined beside him.
“So, go do something about it,” he answered disinterestedly.
Solange huffed angrily and stood up, her chair screeching as she pushed it back. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
When she didn’t receive an answer, she stormed off, but Roman barely noticed. He couldn’t take his eyes off a certain couple on the dance floor.
Several songs later, his friends came back to the table for a rest, sweaty and out of breath. A disgruntled Solange had also returned, and though she didn’t say anything, he could feel the waves of annoyance coming off her.
“I’m going to freshen up a bit,” Adriana announced, grabbing her clutch. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll go with you,” Maya offered, and Venice and Zack’s date, Cynthia something-or-other, echoed the same sentiment.
Apparently deciding another trip to the ladies’ room was preferable to sitting at the table not doing anything, Solange followed, leaving the boys to themselves.
They were silent for a moment.
“I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” Zack asked Venice’s date.
The boy flushed, obviously unable to believe he was sitting with the Scions. “Gr-Grant.”
“Grant.” Zack frowned. “That’s kind of a weird name.”
Parker shot him a surprised look. Zack shrugged. “What? It is.”
“Oh, y-yeah. My grandfather was named Gr-Grant, so—“ The boy shrugged, turning even redder.
“Oh.” Zack sipped his water. “How do you know Venice?”
“We-we’re in Eng-English together.”
“Fascinating.”
Any other day, Roman would’ve questioned Zack’s unusual snarkiness, but right now, he was too focused on the rose Maya had left on the table.
“So, Carlo, did you give that to her?” he asked casually, leaning back in his chair as if he didn’t care about the answer.
His friend didn’t even blink. “Yes.”
“That’s a bit tacky, isn’t it?” Roman sneered. “I mean, I thought people usually tried to get laid after prom, not homecoming.”
“Roman!” Parker’s voice was sharp, but Carlo shook his head, gazing steadily at Roman.
“I’m not trying to get in her pants, Roman.”
“Oh, really?” His grip tightened on his glass. “Judging by the way you two were dancing out there, I find that a bit hard to believe.”
“Not every guy has sex on their mind, Roman,” Carlo said calmly, infuriating Roman even more. “Besides, you might want to pay attention to your date instead of mine. Solange didn’t look like she was having too much fun."
“Yeah, well, she’s my date, so I can do whatever the hell I please,” Roman snarled.
“And Maya’s mine, so I can do whatever I please. Although, I have to say, you need to stop making her uncomfortable.”
Roman narrowed his eyes. “And if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?”
This time, a challenging look flashed across Carlo’s face. His voice was quiet but threatening. “You don’t want to know.”
* * *
“Are you guys ready?”Venice asked, grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser and wiping her hands.
“I am.” Cynthia, Zack’s date, smiled brightly. I’d been surprised by how friendly she was, though I supposed I shouldn’t stereotype all models as stuck-up snobs.
As much as I hated to admit it, even Solange was pretty nice. She wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier, though, if you know what I mean.
“Maya? You ready?” Adriana tilted her head.
I swallowed, turning the faucet on and off. “Um, in just a moment. You guys go ahead first, I’ll meet you out there.”
She gave me a curious look but thankfully didn’t say anything. “Ok. I’ll see you in a bit.”
One by one, the other girls left the bathroom, and the moment the door closed, I slumped against the counter, breathing a sigh of relief.
The truth was, I just didn’t want to go out there and face Roman again. More specifically, I didn’t want to face him and Solange together again.
I swallowed hard, my heart panging as I thought about them. They looked good together. Better than I would ever look with him…
No. Stop it. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, I silently chanted, but I couldn’t stop. I’d vowed not to let him ruin my night but it turns out I was just fooling myself.
It didn’t help that all the progress we’d made lately seemed to have disappeared. Roman had barely talked to me all night. He hadn’t even looked at me.
I bit my lip. To my horror, I felt tears spring up in my eyes. Out of all the guys in this world, why do I have to like him? I thought bitterly. He was the worst person to have a crush on. It had been so much easier when I hated him.
I still remembered how I felt when I first saw him standing there, waiting for us, earlier this evening. He’d looked…perfect, and for the briefest moment I’d imagined that was waiting for me. Then I saw Solange, and it all came crashing down.
Of course he wasn’t waiting for me. He had his own perfect, beautiful supermodel date, and I was just some charity case living in his house.
I sniffled, trying my best not to cry and ruin all the hard work Adriana had put into my makeup. Most of all, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. I’ve never cried over a guy, and I certainly wasn’t about to start now.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten and trying to push all thoughts of Roman out of my mind. Once I felt I was calm enough, I pushed open the bathroom door and started to walk back to our table.
On the way there, I caught sight of a couple making out against the wall. I frowned. Whoa, PDA much? They looked like they were about to rip each other’s clothes off.
When I got closer though, I realized the guy looked exceedingly familiar from the back, even though I couldn’t see his face due to the fact it was attached to his girlfriend’s. There was something about his hair, and the build...
And then I saw the girl’s dress. A slinky red silk number I’ve definitely seen before—because Solange had been wearing it.
I sucked in an unsteady breath, my legs suddenly feeling wobbly. No. It couldn’t be…
At that moment, the guy lifted his head, his stormy gold-flecked violet eyes locking onto mine.
I let out a small, involuntary gasp as I gripped my clutch so tight my fingers became numb. My face flushed, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest as pinpricks of pain danced across my skin.
A cruel smirk slashed across Roman’s face as he cupped Solange’s face in his hands. Without ever taking his eyes off from mine, he drew the Brazilian into another rough, passionate kiss.
It was as though all the breath had been knocked out of me. My stomach churned, making me feel as though I were about to throw up.
Air. I need air.
The tears welled up, blurring my vision, and I was finally able to gain enough control over my muscles to run past them. I didn’t even know where I was going, just that I needed to get away from him.
I was vaguely aware I’d passed by our table on my way out, but only because I heard Carlo calling after me.
Ignoring him, I burst through the doors of the hotel ballroom, stumbling a bit when I hit the crisp night air. I bent over double, dry-heaving a bit as the image of Roman and Solange locked replayed in my mind, over and over.
It shouldn’t hurt this much. Even though I liked him, it shouldn’t hurt this much. He was arrogant and insufferable and downright cruel. I shouldn’t even like him in the first place.
But I did.
“Maya.”
I felt Carlo place a soothing hand on my back, but his comforting touch only made me feel worse. I was so stupid, I didn’t deserve anyone trying to comfort me.
“It’s ok,” he murmured quietly.
I shook my head, gasping for breath. “I’m such an idiot,” I sobbed, hating myself for letting Roman get to me like that.
Carlo wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “No you’re not,” he said soothingly, running a hand over my hair and brushing the strands out of my tear-stained face. “You’re not. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
I shook my head in denial, pressing my face against his chest. I felt bad about ruining his shirt, since I was sure mascara was running down my face, but his embrace was so warm and comforting, and didn’t I deserve to be selfish just this once?
“I just—I just want to go home,” I hiccupped. There was no way I could go back in there. I should, just to show Roman I could. But I couldn’t. “Please, Carlo. Can we just go home?”
“Of course. I already called the driver.” He rubbed soothing circles on my back. “It’s ok. Just let it out. I’m here for you.”
That was when I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Wrapping my arms tightly around his waist, I cried my eyes out while he just stood there and held me.