How To Salsa in a Sari (19 page)

There was still time. She could call Serena and have the ballot reverted. It was the only way. Cat was being too nice for Issa to pull such a horrible trick.

Issa slowed down her steps and let Alisha and Cat go ahead of her into Gelatiamo. She had to call Serena.

She was about to use her cell phone when Cat reached over and strung her arm through Alisha's.

Issa frowned. She still wasn't used to the sudden closeness of her mother and her archenemy. But she could get used to sharing Alisha. After all, Cat had had to share Diego.

Issa heard Cat whisper to Alisha, “I can't wait till Adam comes over and we take pictures together before the dance. I'm pretty sure this is going to be, like, the best night ever.”

Alisha smiled and squeezed Cat's arm. “He's a nice kid.”

“I really like him.”

Fury streaked though Issa and she released her grip on her phone. Of course Cat hadn't changed. This was just an act in front of Alisha. The first chance Cat got she would revert to her standard spoiled-bitch attitude and flaunt Issa's ex-boyfriend in front of her.

But what if Cat really likes Adam? Like actually likes him?
Issa's tiny conscience whispered.

Not possible. Issa started to shake with anger. Cat's one and only goal in life was to make Issa look bad.

The plan was still on. Cat was going down.

It Matters Not Whether You Win or Lose; What Matters Is Whether I Win or Lose

“One
more picture of my girls.” Diego held up his fancy camera again. “Come stand in the front hallway.”

Issa gritted her teeth. Why was he doing this? All she wanted was to go to the ball and get this whole night over with.

“Smile!” Diego called.

Issa forced a fake grin and even placed an arm around Cat as they posed in front of the French doors. Cat hesitantly placed an arm around Issa, as well.

Cat's Chanel No 22 perfume infiltrated Issa's senses as Diego took the picture. She knew how the picture would turn out. Two pretty brunette high-school girls, one in a white gown, one in green. Both smiling, looking like they had no cares in the world. Looking happy. Looking like they liked each other. Like they were sisters.

After this weekend, Diego would burn all the pictures from tonight and definitely ask Issa and Alisha to leave. They would go back to Roy's—their house in the D.

Issa tried to cheer up at the thought of being with her father again, but all she felt was dread thinking of the moment she would be crowned Snow Queen. Alisha would be furious that she'd sneakily gotten her name on the ballot again. And Diego? He would just be disappointed in her and would listen to Cat when she begged her father to not marry Alisha. Cat would come out looking like the good guy in all of this and Issa would be the underhanded psycho who was out to destroy a potential family.

For you, Dad.

“There we go. What beautiful girls. Now, we had really better be leaving.” Diego replaced his camera in its case. “We'll lose our reservation at the bed-and-breakfast unless we're there in the next hour or so.”

Issa grimaced. Her mother and Diego. In a romantic B&B in Hartford. Spending the night together. Waking up late the next morning, looking at locations to have their wedding ceremony in. The thought made her sick.

“I'm here. I'm here.” Alisha ran out of the kitchen dragging a Louis Vuitton carry-on behind her. A real Louis Vuitton. A thank-you gift from Cat. “Okay, both of you girls have rides to the dance, yes?”

Issa nodded.

Cat bit her lip. “I was just going to drive myself?”

“Oh.” Alisha stopped. “What happened to—” She glanced at Issa and stopped.

“Adam?” Issa supplied. Where had all of Cat's big plans of flaunting Adam during the “best night of his life” gone?

“He'll meet me there,” Cat said nonchalantly. “I'll drive myself.”

Issa's curiosity was piqued. Cat wasn't going to make her grand entrance at the dance with a date on her arm? What was going on here?

“All right. You have our cell numbers. Call if you need anything. I've left a list of places we'll be visiting on the refrigerator.” Diego appeared to be paying no attention to his daughter's latest romantic development. “
Tenga cuidado,
both of you. Be careful. Don't open the door to strangers.”

Cat laughed. “
Papi,
we're not
ninos.
Please!”

“Let's go, babe.” Alisha lay a hand on Diego's arm. “Take care, girls. Love you!” she called as they sailed out the door.

Cat and Issa stared at each other after the door had closed.

The nice-girl act could stop now. The parents were gone. Cat could show her claws again.

Issa braced herself.

“You really do look great. Are you, um, going with Rake?”

Issa nodded. Here it came.

“That's good. He seems cool. Kinda quiet, though.”

Issa had no idea what to say. When was Cat going to turn back into Cat?

“Um, yeah.” Issa cleared her throat. “Well, I'm going to go to the guest house and call some people to make sure they're ready.”

“Okay.” Cat just stood at the base of the stairs, looking lost. Issa realized Cat no longer had anyone to call. Jewel and Sunshine were now hanging around with the senior cheerleader crowd. Cat was out.

“I'll see you at the dance.” Issa forced herself to sound cheerful.

“Bye.” Cat was still standing on the stairs when Issa closed the door behind her.

 

“Ohmygod, you look so great!” Megan Simmons ran up to Issa and Rake as they entered the ballroom at the Westin Hotel. “Ohmygod, the Belles are totally going to want to get a picture together. You totally have to come with me.”

Rake squeezed her arm and whispered into her hair, “How long do we have to be with those chicks? She is so freaking loud.”

“Not long, babe,” Issa whispered before smiling at Megan. “Wow! I love that color on you! You look totally like Kate Moss. But without the whole cocaine thing.”

Megan glowed, looking nothing like Kate Moss, her already tanned cheeks reddening. “Come on! Serena's totally waiting.”

“I'm going to get drinks for us.” Rake winked at Issa and strolled to where a group of guys, all the Belles' dates plus a few jocks, were standing around the punch bowl trying to look innocent. Issa had a feeling someone was going to spike the punch with a hidden flask in the next half hour.

“I told the girls about my mom,” Megan whispered as the girls headed toward the Belles. “And they thought it was so cool. I'm half Caribbean! It's only, like, the best vacation spot in the world! We're all going to go over spring break so I can understand my heritage and stuff. You should totally come!”

Issa smiled. Leave it to Megan to turn a revelation about her mother into a fun-in-the-sun adventure.

“So, tonight's the night,” Serena said as she hugged Issa with the standard Belle hug, cheeks touching with barely any body contact. “Your first time onstage as Athens High royalty. Excited?”

“Yeah,” Issa said, trying not to let the waltzing butterflies in her stomach become apparent.

“Where's Cat?” Serena searched the crowd of people. “I haven't seen her or that pathetic Adam kid all night.”

Issa turned to look. Serena was right. Cat was nowhere to be seen. She, however, did notice Gigi entering the ballroom, in a gorgeous strapless pink number. She was more surprised by the guy with his arm through Gigi's. Ishaan. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear and she laughed.

Well, they seemed to have moved on quickly. Issa tried to calm the jealousy streaking through her. Why did she care anyway? She was about to get everything she'd ever wanted. Let them have each other and spend the rest of their lives talking about how much they hated her.

Even as she turned away from Gigi and Ishaan, she could almost feel the silkiness of Ishaan's faint stubble against her cheek. She could feel her cheeks heating up. She was thinking stupid thoughts. She was here with a gorgeous guy who was obviously crazy about her. What did she want with overly critical Ishaan anyway?

“Drink up.” A plastic wineglass filled to the brim with a suspicious liquid appeared from behind her. A moment later, she felt Rake's lips on the back of her neck.

She accepted the glass and turned to find herself folded into Rake's arms. “Let's get this crown of yours and get out of here,” he whispered in her ear. “Your parents are out of town, right? Let's go back to your place. We can finish what we started the other night.” He traced a finger down her back.

Issa felt chills run down her spine. The other night. She could barely remember what they had started, and her grounding had given her a good excuse to stay away from any other close encounters of the Rake kind. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready for the next step that he was obviously expecting.

“Oooh, he is so hot!” Megan whispered to Issa as soon as Rake turned around to talk to Megan's date. “What did he just ask you? To go back to your place? Wow! Hot!”

Issa managed a smile. “Yeah. I guess.”

“You're on the pill and stuff, right?”

Issa didn't answer. The pill? Yeah, right. Alisha would have her head on a platter.

“All of us got on it as soon as we turned fourteen. What about you? It's
so
important, right?”

“Yeah, me too. The pill. Yay.” Suddenly, Issa wanted nothing more than to get out of there. “I need to get some air.”

She whispered an excuse about the ladies' room to Rake and made her way out to the balcony. She leaned against the railing and pressed the cold glass against her cheeks.

What had she gotten herself into? The so-called cool crowd seemed to be way over her head. Apparently all of the Belles had been having sex since fourteen. Rake expected that she would sleep with him after they'd been together for only a month. She didn't know how to tell him she was a virgin and really, she wanted to wait awhile.

She took a deep breath. She was overreacting. She would explain to Rake that she wasn't ready. A fuzzy memory of Rake's hand inside her dress even after she'd asked him to stop came back to her. He had to listen to her tonight. She would stay completely sober this time.

“Hey, Iz.” She whirled around at the voice.

Adam.

He stood ten feet away, wearing a tuxedo, his dirty blond hair spiked up in front. Glasses gone. Acne greatly reduced.

She barely recognized him. Cat had performed some sort of miraculous makeover on him.

“Adam. Hey. What's going on?”

“I need to talk to you.” He was suddenly standing very close to her. “Listen, I—I still love you. And I'm so sorry.”

What the hell was he saying? Was he already drunk from the potent punch?

“Where's Cat?” Issa took a step back. He was too close. She never thought she would feel uncomfortable having Adam so close to her. This was Adam. She'd known him since before he'd even had facial hair. But knowing he was Cat's boyfriend and if she came out here at that moment…

Adam reached out and grabbed her arm. “I broke up with her.”

“You what!”

Issa couldn't fake a cool exterior. Adam had broken up with her for Cat. Then he broke up with Cat for her. He had to be insane or something.

“Look, Adam. I don't think—”

“No, no, please hear me out. Please. We are so good together. I was such an idiot. I mean, I forgot how much you meant to me.”

Some of the emotions from the day he'd broken up with her started to flood back. “You forgot how much I meant to you when? When Cat got you into her hot tub? You lost your memory at that second?”

“You know what she's like! I mean, I was caught up in the moment and—I just want you back so badly.”

Issa pushed him away. So this was why Cat had come to the dance alone. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Cat. Once the most popular girl in school, she was now dumped by Adam Mitchell before the Snow Ball. Everyone would know by tomorrow morning.

“I'm sorry, Adam, but honestly, I haven't thought about you in months. I think maybe it's time you took a break from girlfriends.”

With that she pushed him away. One last glance back at this stricken face told her that hadn't been the answer he'd been expecting. Too bad.

So strange. When he'd broken up with her, she'd imagined that same scene in her head a hundred times. Never had it ended the way it just did. She just didn't want to be with him anymore. She'd never realized it before, but Adam was kind of a loser. What the hell had she been thinking?

Sheeeeeeeeeeeee.

Issa jumped at the sound of microphone feedback.

The chairperson of the dance committee tapped the microphone, earning shrieks from the crowd. “Ladies. Gentlemen. Please give your attention to me. Up here on the stage. No, not down your date's dress. Here.”

“There you are!” Megan appeared from nowhere and grabbed her arm. “We've been looking for you everywhere.”

But Issa wasn't seeing Megan. Her eyes were on Cat. She was sitting in the back of the room in the corner, head held in her hands, her shoulders shaking. She didn't seem to be taking the breakup with Adam well.

Suddenly, she wanted to go to Cat. Just sit next to her and tell her Adam was so not worth it. She took a step toward Cat, but Megan firmly pulled her in the other direction.

The announcer continued. “Let's all raise our glasses to this year's Snow Queen.”

Issa found herself standing next to Rake a few steps away from the stage.

No, no. Not now. Not like this.

“Our Snow Queen. Isabelle Mazumder!”

The spotlight fell on Issa and Rake. The student body burst into applause and Issa was ushered onto the stage. The bright lights shone in her eyes as a heavy silver tiara was placed on her head. It felt like a crushing helmet. She raised her hand to block out the light in her eyes. She couldn't see anything. Not even the audience.