Private 09 - Paradise Lost (4 page)

"Your mother sure hasn't changed," Noelle said to Paige.

"She has this thing about speaking her mind," Paige explained.

"No problem," I replied, even though I wasn't entirely sure that was an apology.

"Ah. There's Gage. I'll catch up with you ladies later," Daniel said, quickly excusing himself.

"Never been all that comfortable around a group of females, that one," Noelle pointed out.

"Daniel? No, he just wants to catch up with the guys," Paige said, hooking her arm around Noelle's and leading us farther into the party. "So, tell me, was this girl really related to Ariana? Daniel says she never mentioned a half sister the entire time they were together." Wait. Daniel dated Ariana? How could she have liked that guy and Thomas? They were obviously polar opposites. But then, she was a total nut job.

"Well, Ariana did have a talent for keeping secrets," Noelle said. 

Kiran and Taylor fell into step with me behind Noelle and Paige. It was obvious that Paige considered herself on the same level as Noelle, which no one else in our circle would ever do. Except Ariana, of course. But again, bonkers.

A tray of barbecued chicken and pineapples on skewers passed by, and I was just reaching for it when an older couple moved aside and I saw a guy about my age standing near the railing overlooking the water. He had shaggy, light-blond hair, all combed forward toward his face and sticking out in an adorable way around his ears. He wore a black T-shirt and battered jeans and was leaning against the railing with his arms--his very nice arms--braced at his sides. There was a pensive look about his angular face as he stared out at the ocean. I reached out and stopped Kiran.

"Wait. Is that Upton?"

All four of them stopped, and then laughed.

"No, no, no, no, no," Paige said. "That is not Upton. That is Sawyer Hathaway."

"So very not Upton," Noelle added derisively.

"Although he has gotten cuter," Kiran said, looking him up and down in a pondering way as she took a sip of her drink.

Taylor glanced around, and then whacked me with the back of her hand. "That is Upton." I followed her gaze across the pool, past all the glittering conversation, bleached-white smiles, and clinking glasses. It was as if time stood still. All noise ceased to be. There was no air.

Noelle had not exaggerated. Upton Giles was the single hottest male specimen ever to walk the earth. Tall and muscular, but in a lean and extremely sexy way, Upton had sun-kissed light-brown hair that was perfectly tousled all over. His buttery tan was shown off by his white linen shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves and unbuttoned just enough to show off a smooth, chiseled chest. He wore a black rope necklace with some kind of ring hanging from it and had a smile that could fell a thousand supermodels. Even from across the patio, I could tell that his blue eyes matched the Caribbean Sea. He was talking to a guy with short brown hair and a decent smile, but I barely gave the guy a glance. When you were looking at Upton, he was all you could see.

Boy was hotter than Josh. Hotter than Dash. He was even hotter than Thomas. He was hotter than a grilled Josh-and-Thomas sandwich with Dash filling.

"Told you," Noelle whispered in my ear.

"Holy crap," I replied, before I could censor myself. All the girls laughed.

"What's the joke?" Amberly asked, coming up behind me. My shoulders curled forward as all the hairs on my neck stood on end.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," I said flatly. Noelle shot me an admonishing look. "We were just talking about the Upton Game."

"Oh my gosh, I am so in. Paige filled me in on the deets when I got here," Amberly said, the skirt of her blue flowered dress billowing out in the breeze. "And he's, like, Africa hot."

"And you're, like, five years old," I replied, mocking her voice by pitching mine up two octaves.

"God! What's your problem?" Amberly asked me.

"Do you really need me to explain it to you?" I replied. "I knew you were an airhead, but I didn't think you were that stupid."

Amberly's jaw dropped, and Noelle grabbed my arm, yanking me away from the others.

"Okay, you need to chill. This is supposed to be a vacation."

"Well, it's not going to be one if I have to deal with her the whole time," I said through my teeth. "Do you even know what she's done to me over the past week? Talking down to me, trashing my room ..."

"I'm aware, but you're going to have to let bygones be bygones," Noelle said. "Otherwise you two are going to drive me crazy. And I, for one, am here to have fun. Aren't you?" I took a deep breath and looked around at my gorgeous surroundings. My eyes went straight to Upton. "Yes."

"Good. Now let's get back over there before they start thinking we're lesbian lovers having a spat," Noelle said.

I laughed out loud. Noelle was right. I was here to have fun. And I could avoid Amberly for the next few weeks. When I returned to the circle, I stood between Kiran and Taylor and averted my gaze from the little china doll. See? No problem.

"Everything okay?" Tiffany asked, joining us.

"Fine. We're all good," Noelle assured everyone.

"Good. Then shall we officially kick off the Upton Game?" Paige suggested.

"Wait. Poppy's not here yet," Kiran protested.

"She's not flying in until tomorrow," Taylor added.

"Her loss," Noelle said with a smirk. "By then the game could already be won." The girls all laughed devilishly, and I rolled my eyes. This whole thing was just so silly. But they seemed to be enjoying it, so who was I to judge?

"May the best girl win," Paige said, lifting her glass. They all reached up and clinked their glasses together. Everyone but me. Because A, I didn't have a glass, and B, I was not going to be participating.

"I'm rooting for you, Taylor," I said, as our klatch broke up.

"Thanks!" Taylor cooed, hand to her chest.

"Everyone likes an underdog," Paige snickered.

Taylor's face dropped as the girl sauntered off in Upton's direction. First impression of Paige Byan? Ice-cold bitch. I wanted to trip her, but I didn't have the guts just then. Maybe later.

"I don't like that girl," I said under my breath.

Taylor swigged the rest of her drink. "Join the club."

"Wow. A mean word from Taylor Bell? Times have changed," I joked. A comment like that was very un-Taylor. She had always been the most doormatty of the Billings Girls. Taylor smiled in an almost apologetic way. The wind tossed her curls in front of her face, and she casually swept them back.

"It comes from no longer having to answer to the Billings hierarchy," she said, taking a deep, cleansing breath. "You'd be surprised how freeing it is."

CHAPTER 5 SINGLED OUT

An hour later I was kicked back with Noelle, Kiran, and Taylor in a set of chaise longues near the pool, my face tipped toward the sun. We were full of Caribbean barbecue and each had a pina colada (mine virgin) to sip. Noelle had insisted I change, so now I was wearing a white polo-shirt dress and a ton of SPF. My Pennsylvania skin was so not ready for the Caribbean sun.

"So by the fall, you'll be seeing my face everywhere," Kiran said, adjusting the brim of her wide sunhat so that her entire face was shaded. "In magazines, on billboards--"

"On the sides of buses," Noelle put in as she worked her long hair into a braid down her back.

"Hey, all exposure is good exposure," Kiran told her, raising one red fingernail.

"Tell that to Reed," Noelle said slyly.

My blood stopped cold. Was that a jab about the Dash video?

"The face of a whole cosmetics line," I said, ignoring Noelle's comment. "That is so incredible."

"I know. My agent said the company hasn't had a non-actress do it since, like, the nineties," Kiran replied. "I guess they just thought I was that hot."

"But not at all modest," Noelle added, flicking an unseen speck off the skirt of her dress. Awaiter in white shorts and a colorful Hawaiian-style shirt paused in front of us, smiling as he lowered a silver tray full of tarts, cookies, and slices of frosting-laden cake.

"Your dessert, ladies," he said, moving to place the tray on the table between Taylor and me.

"You're leaving that here? No. Please. Put it over there," Taylor said, flicking her hand in Noelle's direction.

"Still working on that willpower, Bell?" Noelle asked as the waiter did as was requested and moved to the next group of chairs.

"Just playing it safe," Taylor replied, glancing at the sweets as if they might jump up; hurtle over Noelle, Kiran, and me; and cram themselves down her throat.

"Understood." Noelle picked up a chunk of white cake and took a bite, then slowly, decadently, sucked the coconut icing from her fingers. I couldn't tell if she was taunting Taylor or just enjoying herself. Probably a little bit of both. "So what about you, Taylor? How's Chitown?"

"Cold," Taylor replied. She faced forward again and looked up at the perfectly clear blue sky. "But my father bought me an entire new fall and winter wardrobe and a Land Rover when I told him I'd decided to stay in Chicago. Plus, I love my high school. I'm president of the senior class and should be graduating number one. Hopefully there will be an early acceptance letter from Stanford when I get home."

"Wow, Taylor. Sounds like you've got everything you wanted," I said. When I got home, I was really going to have to deal with narrowing down which colleges I wanted to visit and apply to, something that should have been on my mind all semester and would have been if I hadn't been so distracted by Cheyenne's suicide and my stalker and my breakup and everything else. Maybe I could get a good essay out of the whole experience. TOPIC: WHAT PERSON OR PERSONS HAS HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE?

ANSWER: CRAZY ARIANA OSGOOD AND HER PSYCHO SISTER SABINE.

Noelle tipped backher head and sighed. "So I guess Ariana intimidating you into leaving Easton actually was a good thing."

Taylor and Kiran exchanged a glance, and Taylor looked down at her lap.

"Is that what happened?" I asked. How long had I been dying to have this conversation?

"Basically," Taylor said, forcing a smile. "She was worried that if I stuck around, I would crack and tell the police what we did that night. Which, let's face it, I probably would have. But I never knew she went back there that night, Reed, I swear." 

"I know," I replied, trying to ignore the black, festering scab inside my chest. The scab left behind by Thomas's murder, which I was now starting to realize would never fully heal. Okay, maybe I didn't want to have this conversation. "Let's talk about something else." Kiran finished off her latest drink and placed the glass on the ground next to her chair. "I vote we talk about how Upton Giles somehow got even hotter this year." She turned her gaze toward a large wood dining table shaded by a red awning, where Upton was being aggressively courted by Paige, Tiffany, and Amberly. Daniel, Gage, Weston Bright, and Sawyer and Graham Hathaway were hanging with them as well, drinking beer from little brown bottles and starting to get loud. I had to admit, Upton was fun to look at. He laughed at something Amberly said, and the laugh carried throughout the party. It was a throaty, uninhibited laugh. The kind you live to bring forth in any way you can. He was still laughing when he turned his head and happened to look at me. My body temperature instantly skyrocketed. He narrowed his eyes inquisitively, clearly curious about the interloper in his midst, and leaned over to Gage to whisper in his ear. Gage glanced at me, smirked, and whispered back. I could only imagine what he was saying. No doubt that I was some prudish, penniless farm girl from Podunk, Pennsylvania.

Paige got up from the table and tugged Tiffany away with her, excusing herself to the bathroom. They roped Amberly into joining them as well, probably trying to prevent her from getting any alone time with Upton. It seemed there was actual strategy involved in the Upton Game.

"That's it. I'm going in," Taylor said as soon as she saw that Upton was female free. She stood up, straightened her dress, and tossed back her hair. "How do I look? "

"Very Upton worthy," Noelle said with a nod.

"You think?" Taylor was giddy. "Wish me luck."

"Luck!" we all shouted after her, earning an irritated glance, since half the party heard us. Kiran, Noelle, and I all laughed as we sat back in our seats. I hadn't felt so relaxed... ever. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the tangy Caribbean air. A girl could get used to this.

"Okay, I'm getting bored," Kiran said with a yawn. "What do you guys want to do next?"

"We need to shop," Noelle said, crossing her legs at the ankle. "Reed needs some vacationwear."

"Bien sur! I am so in," Kiran said, clapping her hands.

"Ah, but you're forgetting one little problem. Reed has no money," I said. Noelle flicked a hand. "A minor obstacle."

Yeah. For you, maybe.

"You cannot spend the entire week in jeans and a T-shirt," Kiran said. "Not with the events we have planned."

"We'll figure it out. We always do," Noelle said. She lifted her head and looked across the patio. "Uh-oh. Crash and burn."

"What?" I asked, opening my eyes.

I heard chairs scraping against the ground and looked over to see Upton, Graham, and Sawyer all getting up from the table to follow a sullen-looking Taylor around the pool. They were headed in our direction, and I suddenly found myself tugging down on the hem of my dress and sitting up a bit straighter. Noelle saw my preparations and smirked. Great. Now I felt like a total hypocrite. But just because I didn't want Upton and the Hathaways to think I was a slob didn't mean I wanted to win the Upton Game. Not at all.

"Reed, this is Upton Giles and Sawyer and Graham Hathaway," Taylor said upon arrival, and not at all enthusiastically. "Guys, this is Reed."

"Hi," they all said in unison. Upton and Graham put on bigger smiles than Sawyer.

"May we join you?" Upton asked in a startlingly sexy British accent. My toes actually curled at the sound of his voice.

"Sure," I said.

As the guys pulled over more lounge chairs, I widened my eyes at Noelle. "You never said he was British!" I whispered.