Scarlett White (46 page)

Scarlett shook her head; sure that if she talked, her voice would crack and give her away.

"Do you think I could make it up to you? Maybe by inviting you to go to Chloe's party together? As friends, of course. A couple of cool people are going, and it would be fun if you came along."

"I don't think that it would be a good idea to go together."

"Aww...come on, please? Look, I'm not asking you to go on a date with me or anything, just as friends."

"That's not what I mean," Scarlett said, not looking at Christian.

"What did you mean, then?"

"Tristan and I are going together."

"Oh," Christian replied simply.

Just then, the teacher finally—thankfully—entered the classroom, silencing the class with a pop quiz.

Scarlett and Tristan pulled into Chloe's driveway. The party was already in full swing. Chloe had a house the size of a mansion. There were spotlights swinging over the yard and above the house, illuminating the sky. There were guards standing quite still and intimidatingly watching everyone's move. There was music booming from inside. Yelling, laughing, squealing, and screaming could be heard from inside the house. The yard was already littered with empty, red, plastic cups and a few unconscious teenagers.

Scarlett simply smiled at the guards, and they immediately recognized her. They admitted her through the ten feet tall gate. Once they reached the front door, a valet took Scarlett's keys and drove her car to the parking lot.

"This is Chloe's house?" Tristan asked, amazed.

"Yeah. She's a pretty lucky girl," Scarlett commented. "C'mon, let's get inside."

Scarlett grabbed Tristan's hand and pulled him inside. They were immediately thrust into the middle of everything. Bodies bumped into them as they danced on the large floor cleared for a makeshift dance floor while a disco ball oscillated from the ceiling.

"Want to dance?" Scarlett yelled over the booming noise.

"Yeah, sure."

Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera's new hit, 'Move Like Jaggar,' was playing, so Scarlett pulled Tristan directly into the middle of the floor and began moving her hips against his. Tristan was shocked at first; he had never seen Scarlett dance before. He had once met Kate, Ginny, and Meghan at a club, but they hadn't been dancing, so Tristan had no idea that Scarlett knew how to move so…well, seductively. He could feel himself turning on simply by the touch of her skin against his. And it was mostly just her skin. She was wearing barely anything; something else Tristan wasn't used to. She was clad in a tight, green halter top that stopped just above her navel. Her shorts could have been mistaken for underwear. And then she was wearing boots. They were thigh high, black, leather, and had four inch heels. He was surprised that she managed not to step on his feet with those things on.

After dancing to three upbeat songs, Scarlett's skin was coated in a thin layer of shining sweat, which made her shimmer. Tristan was shocked to realize that even her sweat turned him on.

"C'mon, let's get something to drink," Scarlett suggested, leading him into the kitchen to get a cup.

As they walked through the crowd into the kitchen, Tristan felt his chest clench with anger as he noticed half of the male population in the house turn to watch Scarlett walk pass. He placed his arm around her waist protectively. While Scarlett poured them two drinks, Tristan recognized someone. Dale. It was the boy who had been behind the register at Starbucks. His jaw instantly tightened when Dale spotted them and made his way over to Scarlett.

"Hey," Dale greeted.

"Oh, hey, Danny."

"Dale," Dale corrected with a smile planted on his face.

Tristan felt a little happier that Scarlett hadn't remembered his name correctly.

"Whoops, sorry, I got you confused with someone else. You look just like this sophomore I know who goes to my school."

Tristan's good feeling vanished as soon as these words escaped her lips.

"No biggie. So, this is a pretty damn nice party."

"Yeah, Chloe really knows how to get things moving," Scarlett commented, taking a drink from her red, plastic cup.

Tristan followed suit, to realize quickly that it was orange juice mixed with champagne. It was a mimosa. He didn't think Scarlett drank alcoholic beverages. She had really changed since when she had left Watson High. She wasn't the sweet, kind, naïve nerd anymore. She was the feisty, sexy, bad ass hottie that everyone hit on. And he wasn't sure if he liked it all that much.

Dale poured himself a mimosa and drank the entire contents in four gulps.

"Thirsty?" Scarlett asked with raised eyebrows.

"I've had a stressful day."

"I'm sorry. What happened?"

"Just family stuff," Dale replied as he got another drink.

"You might want to slow down there, killer. Champagne really gives you a headache if you drink too much of it," Scarlett said.

"I know that."

"Just making sure," Scarlett replied. "Well, if you'll excuse us…" Scarlett grabbed Tristan's hand and led him out of the kitchen into a hallway.

"Where are we going?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know. I just didn't want to be around him when he got shitfaced," Scarlett answered.

"Good idea."

"Are you horny?" Scarlett asked out of the blue.

"What?"

"Do you want to have sex?"

"Scarlett—"

"Ah, c'mon. Please?" Scarlett begged, looking deeply into his eyes. He was stunned to find that simply staring into her beautiful eyes made him want to jump her right then and there.

"Fine. Where?"

Scarlett squealed and gave him a huge hug. "Follow me."

She led him up two flights of stairs, down a few hallways, and into a dark, quiet room.

"How do you not get lost in this place?" Tristan asked as Scarlett began unbuttoning his shirt.

"I've been here quite a few times," Scarlett answered, beginning to take his jeans off.

"You seem quite horny, yourself."

"Yeah, I think it's the mimosa getting to me," Scarlett replied, removing her little clothing. "Do you have a condom?"

"No, I didn't expect this to happen."

"Well, that's okay," Scarlett said, moving over to the bedside table and pulling out a pack of condoms.

"Whose room are we in?"

"Chloe's parents. They're in Hawaii on vacation," Scarlett answered, throwing the pack to Tristan.

"Are you sure we should do this?" Tristan asked.

"Why?" Scarlett asked, her eyes going wide. "You didn't like it before?"

"No, that's definitely not it. I just—I mean, you're buzzed. You're not thinking straight."

"When do I ever not think straight? That's right, never. I always think straight. It's fine. We'll make it quick," and then Scarlett paused, "Listen, if you don't want to do this—"

"That's not it," Tristan interrupted.

"Then what is? Why are you so hesitant to do this?"

"I don't know. You're different."

"No, I'm not," Scarlett denied.

"You're not the girl I knew in Florida."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Scarlett narrowed her eyes.

"All I mean is you're more confident."

"So, what you want is a girl who is completely helpless? A girl who is less popular than you? Is that why you cared about me in Florida? Is that why you said you loved me?"

"No, it's not that."

"Well, it most certainly sounds like that," Scarlett replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What I mean is you seem more…more…"

"What? I seem more what!"

"Slutty!"

Scarlett took a step backwards, her eyes filling with tears.

"You think I'm slutty? Is that why you won't have sex with me? Well, excuse me, I'm sorry. I thought you liked slutty girls, seeing as you fucked practically all of them at Watson High. Alice, Brianna, Anabelle, Alexia, Lucy, Miranda, Jessie, Vickie, Chelsey, Anna-Lisa, Elaine, Natalie, Diana…Did I leave anyone out?"

"That was the old me. I was confused back then."

"People don't change that quickly, Tristan."

"You did!"

"I did not! Just because I'm popular now doesn't mean that I changed!"

"The Scarlett that I knew would never wear what you're wearing, dance the way you danced back there, talk the way you did to that Dale guy, drink alcohol, or want to have sex so much!" Tristan yelled.

Scarlett jolted. She couldn't believe he had just said that. She could feel the sting of tears about to fall from her eyes. And then she screamed, "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Get out! I hate you! I hate you so fucking much!"

"Whatever! You're not the girl I fell in love with. You're just a slutty version of her," Tristan mumbled, trying to shake the feeling he had gotten when she said she hated him. He hastily pulled his jeans back on.

"Yeah, well, you're not the boy I fell in love with either. You're just a selfish bastard," Scarlett said, tears easily sliding down her cheeks now.

Tristan froze as he buttoned up his shirt. "What did you say?"

"You're a selfish bastard," Scarlett said, turning around, so he couldn't see her cry.

"Before that."

"What? That you're not the boy I fell in love with."

"You fell in love with me?"

"Of course I did, you moron! That's why I gave you my virginity!"

"You never told me that. You never told me you loved me."

"I was going to. Tonight, actually. I didn't realize it until Christian—" Scarlett stopped, widening her eyes.

"Until Christian…what?" Tristan asked, taking a step closer to her.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Scarlett said.

"It does to me."

"Well, why don't you go ask him? I'm not talking to you anymore."

"What did he do?" Tristan asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't do anything like that. Now get out of here! I don't want to see you anymore."

"Scarlett, I—"

"Leave me alone."

Tristan looked at her trembling form one more time, saw her shaking shoulders, and thought better of trying to touch her. He reluctantly left her alone.

Scarlett was angrier than she had been in a long time. She was mad at Tristan. She couldn't believe he had said all of those things to her. She wasn't a slut. She wasn't a whore. Sure, she dressed a little differently than she used to. Sure, she talked differently to boys. Sure, she was more confident and comfortable here than she had been in Florida. But she wasn't different. She was still the same. She was still a nerd. It's just now she was a sexy nerd.