LAURIE

“Cynthia, Paul, so lovely to see you.” Mom breezed up to the couple, with her best smile, while I lingered behind. They were vaguely familiar but from all the air-kissing and over-the-top laughter, I knew they ran in the same circles, the right circles.

“Here.” Nate arrived with our drinks and I frowned when I realized mine was virgin.

“If you’re lucky,” he said out of earshot of my mom, “I’ll let you have a proper drink later.”

“Let me?” I arched my brow.

“Oh come, Laurie, are you always this uptight? I thought you’d be happy I agreed to chaperone you. Your mom’s been sniffing after this for years.”

“Get over yourself,” I hissed, keeping my eyes on the crowd. Wicked Bay’s finest out to schmooze, get drunk and spend money. At least it was for a good cause, raising money for Wicked Bay’s new substance abuse clinic.

Sadly, the irony wasn’t lost on me.

I angled myself away from Nate, silently pleased with myself when he groaned under his breath. God, he was conceited and self-absorbed. It baffled me that my parents would rather me end up with someone like Nathaniel Teason over Kyle. At least Kyle was real. He was loyal and funny and had a good heart. He wasn’t like half the guys here; more concerned about scuffing their pristine white Ralph Lauren sneakers than anything else going on around them.

The whole thing made me want to puke.

“Laurie, Nathaniel, come and meet Sharon and Dempsey.” Mom drawled. “We were so happy when he agreed to chaperone Laurie. We weren’t we, darling?”

I mashed my lips together to stop myself from speaking and managed a tight nod.

“That dress, my gosh, it’s so beautiful,” Sharon gushed. Because yes, the dress was always more important than the person wearing it. “And Nathaniel, so handsome. Your parents tell me Berkeley is going well?”

“It’s good, yeah. I’m the captain of...” he launched into an in-depth description of his accolades. As if they defined him. Made him worthier. I kind of, almost, felt bad for the guy.

“It’s so exciting to think Laurie will be there for your senior year. A friendly face and all.” Mom wrapped her perfectly manicured fingers around his arm and beamed. All bright white and wedding bells.

How crazy was that?

I was seventeen, not even a senior, and she was already marrying me off to the Teasons and their perfect son. But I saw it, right there in her star struck gaze. She probably already had my dress put by at Contessa.

I zoned out after that, focusing on anything but the sounds of their voices. The beautiful drapes. The sweet smell of lilies. The overwhelming sparkle of pearls, diamonds, and gold.

“That poor boy having his reputation tarnished like that.” My ears perked up. “I mean, I always thought the story a little strange. What woman abandons her child, a baby no less? I met her once, she seemed so well put together, so nice.”

“That’s the drugs for you.” A male cleared his throat. “Beatrice probably made August pay her off to disappear.”

“Dempsey, please,” Sharon hushed.

“Only saying what we’re all thinking.”

My spine was rigid, my fingers clutching the stem of the glass in my hand tightly.

Kyle.

They were talking about Kyle.

“As you can imagine, we were shocked to find out,” Mom added.

“Oh, Gabi, me and my big mouth. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it’s been for you all.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to mine, and I sucked in a sharp breath when I realized I’d said it out loud. Nate snickered beside me, but I didn’t acknowledge him, too overcome with anger.

“Laurie,” Mom kept her tone light, but the warning was there in the tightness around her mouth. “Now is not the time.”

“Kyle Stone is a good guy. He didn’t ask to be abandoned. He didn’t ask for his mom to be a drug addict. And he certainly didn’t ask for your judgment. I mean we’re all here to raise money for a rehab center for Christ’s sake.” I seethed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some air.”

I left them standing there, mouths slack and eyes wide. Mom didn’t even try to come after me, but then, she was probably too busy making excuses for my outburst.

It’s been hard on her.

She’s young.

She thinks she’s in love with him.

I weaved through the crowd, the dress like a straitjacket as I tried to hurry for the French doors that led out to the marquee and lawns. “Laurie, wait up,” Nate called after me, but I kept going. Past the buffet table, past the curious stares and pointing fingers, until I reached the edge of the lawn.

“Jesus, you’re quick.” He came up beside me and leaned on the fence. “You okay?”

I flashed him a hard look, and he threw up his hands. “Whoa, I’m only asking. I take it they were talking about your guy.”

“My guy?” I got ready to chew him out but mashed my lips together at the last second. Nate wasn’t the enemy, not really. Even if he did represent everything I hated, it wasn’t his fault my mom was a judgmental stuck up bitch. “Kyle,” I let out a long sigh. “His name is Kyle.”

“I know.”

“So why’d you say that?”

He shrugged, raking a hand through his perfectly messy dark hair. “You know, my parents are just like yours.”

I snorted at that. “I find that hard to believe.”

“True story. I didn’t want to go to Berkeley, I wanted to go to Cal State.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t worth the guilt trip. Besides, I knew they’d cut me off.”

“You sold out.”

“Maybe. But I realized Berkeley wouldn’t be all that bad. It’s still college, one of the best fucking colleges in the country at that.” He puffed out his chest. “Now everyone’s happy.”

“And are you”—I met his eyes and raised a brow—“happy?”

“For the most part, sure. I agree to a couple of things like this a year and they let me live it up at college.”

“Live it up? Who says that.” I rolled my eyes.

“Smartass.”

A smirk tugged at my lips. “But doesn’t it bother you? All of this?” My hand swept between us. “It’s so fake.”

“Chaperoning a pretty girl for the evening is hardly a death sentence. Besides, if it gets them off my back about ‘settling down’, then I’m all for it.”

“Huh.”

“Huh?” He smiled and oddly, I found myself smiling back.

“You know, you’re not all that bad, Nathaniel Teason.”

“So I’ve been told.” His eyes dropped to my mouth and his tongue darted out, swiping his bottom lip. The air shifted, the hairs along the back of my neck standing to attention, and I shuddered.

“Okay.” I frowned. “What the hell just happened?” Stepping back, I put some distance between us, and he laughed smoothly.

“Come on.” He stalked closer, a predatory glint in his eye. “It would give them something to really talk about. Besides, you look so fucking hot.”

“Ugh. Gross. Just when I thought you were a decent guy you had to go and spoil it. I have a boyfriend.  And you’re... not my type.”

“Not your type?” He chuckled again raking a hand through his hair. “Baby, I’m everyone’s type.”

“You’re such a self-absorbed pig!”

“Come on, just one kiss. Make the parentals happy.” He crowded me against the fence, arms planted each side of my body and I froze, panic radiating through my chest. “I won’t even use tongue, if you don’t want me too.”

“Laurie, is everything okay down here?”

I’d never been more relieved to hear Jared’s voice, but Nate growled, “Fuck off, man, we’re busy.” He kept his hungry gaze on me.

“Not going to happen, dude. I think she said she had a boyfriend.”

Nate let out a frustrated breath and ripped himself away, setting his glare on Jared. “Who isn’t you. So, I’ve got to wonder, what is your deal, Teller?”

The air crackled between them, my eyes darted from one to the other. This was bad. This was very bad. But Jared was unwavering as he stepped up to Nate and said, “I’m a friend. And you’re leaving.”

“Who the fuck—”

“Or we can make a scene. You know, in front of everyone?” Jared flicked his head back to the party.

“Whatever.” Nate dragged a hand through his hair, meeting my gaze with his icy one. “She’s not even worth it.” His mouth curled with disdain as he stalked away not even sparing me a backward glance.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my body sagging with relief, unable to meet Jared’s heavy stare.

“Are you okay?” He moved closer, but I pressed back against the fence, finally lifting my eyes.

“Yeah, he’s a dick.”

“You’re telling me. I should have throat punched the guy.”

“Nah, he’s not worth the energy.” For a second, I thought Nate got it, I thought he understood what it was like to live in your parent’s shadow. Under their crushing expectations and standards. But in the end, he was just another self-absorbed douchebag.

“I thought you weren’t coming?” I changed the subject. Jared had said his parents would be here, but I wasn’t expecting to see him.

“Turns out I’m a glutton for punishment.”

“Jared, I—”

“It’s cool. I get it. You’re with Stone. But I couldn’t just leave you to the wolves. It didn’t feel right, you know.”

“You’re a good friend, Jared.”

He winced at the word, but I needed to say it. He needed to know that while I appreciated everything he’d done for me, it was all we could ever be.

“Okay.” He clapped his hands together breaking the tension swirling around us. “I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink.”

“Hmm, I don’t know, I think I already made my mom mad.”

A mischievous smirk spread over his face. “So what’s the worst that can happen? I just happen to have insider access and we’re stuck here for at least another two hours. May as well make the best of a shitty situation, what do you say?”

I pictured them gossiping about Kyle. About his mom and sister. And my blood boiled. I didn’t want that for my life. I was tired of seeking my parents' approval, of wishing they were someone they weren’t. It was a bitter pill to swallow but after seventeen years, they were never going to live up to my expectations, and I was never going to live up to theirs. So maybe Jared was right. If I was going to always be a disappointment in their eyes, I might as well embrace it.

“Let’s go.” I said pushing off the fence and hiking up my dress.

“For real?” He jogged up beside me.

“Yes. It’s either we hang out and get drunk or I call Kyle and he comes to pick me up and my mom causes a big scene. Either way, I’m screwed.”

And strangely, I was okay with that. Because hearing them talk about Kyle like that only reaffirmed my decision to stand by him.

Jared extended his arm to me. “To the bar?”

I linked my arm in his and smiled. “To the bar.”