Privilege 1 - Privilege (20 page)

Noelle would be so, so jealous.

Ariana imagined her old friend's face if she were to hear that Ariana was strolling the hallowed grounds of A.P.H. For once Noelle's legendary composure would crack. Her brown eyes would go wide. Her jaw would drop. She would, for once, be jealous of Ariana.

Why? Because the perfect, indomitable Noelle Lange had actually been rejected from Atherton-Pryce Hall. It was a little-known secret she had confessed to Ariana one drunken night during their hazing period at Billings House. She had been rejected, and, try as he might, not even her daddy, with all his money and connections, could get her in.

And now Ariana Osgood would be going there.

She was too giddy to sleep, thinking about the classic uniforms, the ancient library, the fresh-faced students, the cozy dorm rooms.

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Ariana could picture them all as if she was already there. She imagined herself sitting on a beautiful lawn, reading Walden in the autumn sun, surrounded by friends....

Friends. Kaitlynn's pretty face suddenly swam before her eyes, and Ariana's heart grew sour and black. Lying there in bed, she felt the deep humiliation of Kaitlynn's duplicity all over again.

"That bitch. That lying, psychotic bitch," she said through her teeth, flushing red hot from head to toe.

The anger grew so fierce she started to tremble. Clinging to a pillow, Ariana forced herself to breathe. In, one... two... three...

Out, one... two... three...

Think about Atherton-Pryce. The future. The future is all that matters.

Gradually Ariana's pulse relaxed and she was back in her daydream. Floating on a sea of plaid wool skirts and falling leaves and thick textbooks. Lost as she was in her thoughts, it took a good few minutes for the music to seep into her consciousness. Once she heard it, she realized it had been playing for a good while. She sat up in her bed, her pulse skipping ahead. It was a violin. Almost eerie in its solitary beauty.

Ariana slipped out of bed and walked over to her bedroom door. When she cracked it open, the music didn't grow any louder. Not inside the house. Which had to mean...

A thrill ran down her spine as she turned toward the veranda. She tiptoed quickly over to the sliding glass doors and looked out. Her

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heart stopped beating. Hudson was standing beneath her window, wearing a white button-down shirt and jeans, serenading her with his violin.

It was, without question, the most romantic sight Ariana had ever seen. Could this day possibly get any better? She quickly checked her hair in the mirror and smoothed a few errant auburn strands. For a brief moment she considered covering up her white satin negligee with her robe, but then felt a thrill of naughtiness and decided against it. Hudson had gone to all this trouble, and besides, she was feeling carefree tonight. Why not let loose a bit?

Hardly daring to believe what she was about to do, she slid the door open and stepped, half-dressed, into the warm night air. Hudson's bow paused for only a moment over the strings, but Ariana could tell he was intrigued.

"What are you doing?" Ariana whispered. "Are you insane?"

"Just seemed like a good night for a concert," Hudson replied, still playing.

Ariana leaned into the railing around her veranda. The skinny strap on her right shoulder slid down over her arm. "And what do you expect in return for this concert?" she asked, feeling devilish.

Hudson stopped playing. "No expectations."

"Maybe you should come up," Ariana said, her heart pounding.

"Maybe?"

"No. You should definitely come up," Ariana replied.

Hudson quickly placed his violin in its case. "I'll be right back," he whispered.

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Then he turned and ran off around the north side of the house. For a second Ariana was confused, but then Hudson returned, toting a ladder under his arm.

"I noticed this when I was sneaking around the house," he said, placing the top of the ladder against the side of the balcony.

"So why didn't you just bring it with you?" Ariana asked.

Hudson looked up at her. He was already halfway up the ladder. "Didn't want to be presumptuous," he said with a grin.

Ariana stepped back as he hoisted himself over the railing. She held her breath while his eyes trailed over her body, and wondered how see- through the nightgown might be in the moonlight. Her heart gave a thrill as she realized she didn't care. Let him see everything. She was letting go.

"You're gorgeous," he said.

Ariana grabbed his shirt, pulled him to her, and kissed him. He tripped forward as she backed into her room, pulling him with her. Before either of them could come up for air, her fingers were on the buttons of his shirt, shakily but purposefully working them open. As she pushed the shirt off his shoulders and ran her fingers down his chest, she let out a little gasp. His body was even more perfect than she had imagined.

Hudson pulled back, his eyes heavy.

"What? What is it?" Ariana asked, worried he was changing his mind.

"Nothing. I just wanted to look at you," he said.

Ariana smiled and sat back on her bed, inviting him to look all

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he wanted. Hudson slowly, deliciously approached and slid onto the covers next to her. He touched her face with his fingers before leaning down to kiss her again. Taking his time, he let his fingers travel down her neck and tickle her collarbone. Then he softly, cautiously, pushed the left strap of her nightgown down her shoulder. Ariana smiled beneath his kisses. She liked that he moved slowly. She wanted to savor every second of this.

Then he moved on top of her. Ariana froze.

Thomas's face flashed through her mind, so vivid he could have been right there with her. Thomas's weight over her. His crooked smile as he swooped in for a kiss. And then his blood.

His blood... his blood... his blood... everywhere.

Ariana sat up, shoved Hudson off her, and gasped for air.

"What? What did I do?" Hudson asked.

Ariana got up off the bed and straightened her nightgown. Just putting this distance between herself and Hudson cleared her mind. She looked at Hudson, at his concerned eyes, his gorgeous body, his perfect hands, and as much as she wanted to be with him, she knew there was just no way.

"I can't," she said, surprised by the sob in her throat.

She couldn't get that close to someone. Not after what had happened to Thomas. She couldn't get herself into a situation that might get out of control.

Hudson sat back on his heels. "Was it something I did?"

"No." Ariana forced a smile. She tried to regain her composure, tucking her hair behind her ears and looking at the ground for a

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moment. Deep breath. Better. "No. I just... I think I got caught up in the moment. I don't generally move this fast."

Not anymore. Not after Thomas.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I swear I didn't come here expecting, you know, sex," he said, getting up off the bed. He grabbed his shirt from where it had fallen, and Ariana was mortified to realize she had been the one to remove it. Talk about mixed signals.

"No, I'm sorry," Ariana said. "It was me."

"It's okay," Hudson said. He slid his arms into the sleeves and straightened the shirt on his shoulders. Then he walked over to her and leaned in for another sweet and searching kiss. "We can take it as slowly as you want."

Ariana smiled up at him, feeling inexplicably sad. "Thanks."

Hudson smiled. "Well. I guess I should go. Don't want the landscaping staff finding my violin and calling the cops."

"That would be bad," Ariana said. On many, many levels, she added to herself.

"Good night, Emma Walsh," Hudson said, leaning in for one last kiss.

A single tear made its way out of the corner of Ariana's eye as he slipped through the door and down the ladder. She had just realized no one would ever again say her real name with that kind of tenderness again.

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NEW BEGINNINGS

"Y know, when you walked in here and told me you wanted extensions, I thought to myself, Girl, why fix what ain't broke?" Ariana's stylist,

ou Deanna, crowed. "But you know what? You were right. Long hair suits your face!"

"Does it?" Ariana croaked.

Her mouth was so dry it felt like she'd been lunching on sand. Dressed in head-to-toe black, Deanna had dyed her own hair a fire engine red. Normally, Ariana wouldn't have let someone who had made such an obvious mistake with her own hair touch her precious locks, but Deanna was also wearing a gorgeous pair of leopard-print Giuseppe Zanotti heels, so she had decided to risk it. Now the woman grinned down at her all excited, and Ariana felt nothing but apprehension. Facing away from the mirror in the lush salon, she had been able to detach herself from what Deanna was doing. Kicked back in the soft white leather chair with her feet up and the smooth jazz playing

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through the speakers, she had let herself float off into a quiet, serene space where everything was as it should be. But now that Deanna was done, she realized she was afraid to see herself. Afraid to see the person she was about to become.

"Ready to see the new you?" Deanna asked, clicking her superlong acrylic fingernails together.

Ariana held her breath. The woman had no idea how squarely she had hit the nail on the head. A whole new Ariana. She stared at Deanna's face. Noted the laugh lines around her eyes. The small acne scar just under her right eye. The missing rhinestone on the lowest drop of her left earring. Finally, she felt calm. Calm enough, at least, to press forward.

"Sure."

"Here ya go!"

Deanna spun the chair around and Ariana opened her eyes. Long auburn hair fell in gorgeous waves over her shoulders. It didn't look fake at all. It actually looked pretty. When Briana Leigh had suggested the extensions, Ariana had hesitated. What if it brought back those memories that she tried so hard to keep locked up and buried away? What if every time she looked at herself, she saw Thomas's blood all over again?

But now she realized that was not going to happen. Because the girl looking back at her was nothing like the blond, blue-eyed Ariana Osgood of those days. The girl looking back at her was a green-eyed, auburn-haired Briana Leigh Covington.

Hi. I'm Briana Leigh Covington. So nice to meet you.

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"Well? What do you think?" Deanna asked, whacking Ariana's shoulder.

Ariana swallowed back some bile and told herself that this was all for a reason. This was a good thing. This was going to allow her to have the life she wanted.

"I love it," she said. And somehow conveyed that she really did.

Just then a figure appeared in the mirror and Ariana's blood ran cold. Tall. Chin-length blond hair. Blue eyes. It was like looking at herself. The person she used to be. Suddenly she felt off-kilter. Like reality had turned itself upside down.

"Surprise!" Briana Leigh cried, rushing up behind Ariana's chair, her male stylist in tow.

Ariana fought for breath. Her sweaty palms clutched the arms of her chair. For a split second she thought that Briana Leigh had done it on purpose. Had made herself look like Ariana because Ariana was looking more and more like Briana Leigh. But then she realized that couldn't be the case. Briana Leigh had never seen Ariana as a blond. She had no idea how ironic her appearance was. Briana Leigh didn't realize how right she had been back at the ranch. The two of them definitely could have been twins.

"I thought you were just getting a cut," Ariana managed to say.

"I was going to, but then I thought, If we're getting new starts, why not go crazy?" Briana Leigh trilled. She strutted away from Ariana like a model and struck a pose, swinging her hair around so that it whacked her in the eyes when she turned. "Teo has always said he'd love to see me as a blond. Now he gets his wish!"

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Ariana pressed her lips closed as jealousy overwhelmed her. God, she missed her blond hair.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Briana Leigh asked, irritated. She brought her feet together and stood up straight. "I do look good as a blonde, right?"

Ariana blinked and tried to focus. "You look amazing." And she did.

Briana Leigh's smile lit the entire salon. Ever since their mutual confessions, her bitchy moments had been fewer and further between. But now it was clear to Ariana why Briana Leigh put on such a bitchy front. It was to protect herself. The girl had been betrayed in the absolute worst way possible by her best friend. "So do you."

Ariana's heart warmed. Maybe she could visit Briana Leigh and Teo in Ibiza over Christmas. It would be so nice to have someplace to go. A friend to visit. Someone to look forward to seeing... especially since she could never go home again. It was amazing how much her feelings for Briana Leigh had changed in the past day. But Ariana knew firsthand how crushing that sort of betrayal felt. Thanks to Noelle and now Kaitlynn.

"Ladies!"

Briana Leigh's stylist walked over and handed them each a flute filled with champagne. He had one for himself and one for Deanna as well. A strawberry slice floated in each glass.

"Let's celebrate," he said, tipping her glass forward. "To new beginnings."

Ariana's heart gave a little thrill as the four glasses clinked.

"To new beginnings,"

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THE DREADED DMV

Ariana sat in a warped plastic chair at the Department of Motor Vehicles that afternoon, trying not to cringe as Briana Leigh strolled around the waiting room checking out the new her in every reflective surface she could find. Ariana paged through a Vogue magazine and breathed in and out, keeping her nerves under control. This was going to work. Of course it was going to work. She had everything she needed. She just had to play it cool.

Of course it didn't help that the claustrophobic office had no air-conditioning and there was a stream of sweat coursing down the center of her back. Ariana hated to sweat. It was so animalistic.

"Briana Leigh Covington?" the large man behind the counter called out.

"Yeah?" Briana Leigh said.

Ariana's heart stopped as she sat forward. She turned away from the DMV worker and shot Briana Leigh a look that could have