Read The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) Online

Authors: Maggi Craft

Tags: #romance

The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) (10 page)

BOOK: The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1)
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“No, I don’t know why I asked that. I just know how guys can be. They say one thing, but when you aren’t around, they act totally different.”

“Not all guys act like that, Arden. Just assholes like Brady. You can’t make everyone you date pay for his crimes,” he said more calmly.

“I know you’re right. I’m sorry I said that.”

He didn’t say anything else. He just smiled and gave me a kiss.

When we woke up the next morning, Slayde looked at his phone and groaned. “Unfortunately we need to leave a little earlier than we planned. Is that OK?”

“Of course — is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just thought I had gotten out of doing this runway thing tonight, but it turns out no such luck.” He made a funky face and buried his head in the pillow.

“Why didn’t you want to do it?” I asked.

He got out of his bed and came and lay next to me. “I hate runway, and I don’t ever do it if I can help it. I’m only doing this as a favor.” He leaned over and kissed me, but my mind wasn’t in it. I was wondering who’d earned the favor. “You wanna come?”

“I don’t want to be in the way.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go or not. Part of me was interested to see what it was like, but another part of me felt leery of the situation. I wasn’t quite sure why.

“You won’t be in the way. There will be so many people back there, no one will even notice you.”

“Will Kenedy be there? I’d hate to run into her in public. I don’t want a scene.”

“I highly doubt it, but Holly should be there. Say you’ll come. It will make it not so miserable for me if you’re there. Please!” He gave me a sad puppy dog look and batted his eyes. Like anyone could say no to that.

“OK, I’ll go.”

When we made it back to the Paris apartment, we had to change in a hurry and get to the fashion show. He was already about thirty minutes behind.

When we arrived, it was already buzzing behind the scenes. Makeup artists and hair stylists were already working on hair and makeup. Flat irons and curling irons and crimping irons were all heating up at each station. Racks and racks of clothes were all labeled with names, and attached to each piece was a picture of the model, and his or her name was written at the top of the picture. Models ran around everywhere, getting their instructions. They were doing sound checks, and the music would blare out so loudly I thought I would go deaf. Then they’d cut it off. Then they’d do it again. It was organized chaos!

As I wandered around in awe, I thought Slayde was right. No one would notice me. Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw “Princess Kinley” walk off the stage toward me. She was wearing skintight snake-print jeans and a black blazer with nothing under it.
Really?
She looked at me from head to toe and then back up again. She smiled really big, but it looked almost painful. She was so much taller than me that she was literally looking down her nose at me.

“Oh, hi again. Are you still tagging along after Slayde?” she asked. I didn’t know how to respond. I wanted to take one of those hot curling irons and hold it to her perfect, beautiful face, but that would definitely cause a scene.

“I wouldn’t call it tagging along. He asked me to come.”
I really hate this bitch.

“Oh, I see.” She smiled at me, but it was totally fake.

Slayde had been talking to some guy with a red Mohawk and some majorly thick blue eyeliner. I was assuming he was a stylist of some sort. He walked back over to where I was standing and kissed me on my forehead. I was pretty sure that was for Kinley’s benefit more than anyone else’s. He shot her a rather dirty look and said, “They’re waiting on you at makeup, Kinley.”

Without saying anything, she walked away. Slayde waited for her to get out of earshot and then asked, “Was she bothering you?”

I wasn’t going to let him know that she was. “Nah, but she’s odd.”

“Huh, you don’t know the half of it.” He winked at me. There was definitely more to this picture than I could see, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

Two good-looking guys walked up to Slayde. “Where have you been?” one of them asked. He was tall and thin and had this adorably curly blond hair that made him look like a cherub. His absolutely perfect smile made him appear so innocent. He wasn’t my type, but he was definitely pretty.

Slayde’s other friend was of similar build and height but with dark hair and radiant blue eyes that would catch anyone’s attention.

“We went to Amsterdam for a few days,” Slayde told them. He smiled at me.

“Really? Well, this must be Arden.” The blond one sounded very dramatic; he seemed to be implying that Slayde talked about me.

“Arden, this is Nick and Stephen. They’re both from New York, and they live down the hall from me.”

Nick, the blond, grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Nice to meet you.”

“OK.” Slayde smiled as he gently pushed him away. “Hands off the girlfriend.” He was interrupted by a chubby woman in her midtwenties, with her hands full of clothes, who was calling his name. He rolled his eyes and said, “I’ll be back. You OK here?” I nodded.

Girlfriend?
What was he talking about? Not that I was aware of. He hadn’t informed me of any status change — but what he had said made me tingle all over.
Slayde Price as my boyfriend? Who’d believe that?

Holly came over and interrupted my moment. “Hey, honey, how are you?” She gave me a big hug.

“Oh, I’m fine; how are you?” I was happy to see her.

“I’m fabulous, as always. So, I guess they finally got Hot Stuff to do this show, huh?” she asked.

I should have taken that moment to ask her about the show but chickened out. I was scared that I didn’t really want to know. “Yeah, I guess. So, how is Kenedy?”

“Same old Kenedy.” She gave me a caring look. “She will get over this, you know.”

“Maybe. I kind of feel bad about the way it all happened.”

“Well, don’t. We all know she’s a selfish bitch when she wants to be, and had the situation been reversed, she wouldn’t be feeling bad.” I knew she was right. “Just give it time. She’ll come around. I guess I better go get changed. You coming to the party after?”

“Not sure.”

“OK, well, don’t be a stranger.” She kissed my cheek and ran off.

It got even more crowded and busy right before the show started. I sat back out of the way and watched Slayde get his hair done, and it looked like they were putting a little makeup around his eyes. He looked over at me every few minutes to make sure I was OK. He was very attentive, to say the least. It made me feel good.

Once the show started, people were changing clothes in the open and running around with almost nothing on. It was crazy. It was like a PG-13 version of the Red Light District.

From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see the stage, and I wanted to see Slayde walk. So I walked over to the edge, where I could see without being seen. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was blown away. He was amazing. I had no idea why he hated this. He was a natural. He was definitely comfortable in this atmosphere. He just exuded confidence. He wasn’t smiling. He looked very serious and very sexy. I didn’t pay a bit of attention to what he was wearing, but he seemed to please the designer. She was smiling, and patted his behind when he walked back.

He immediately started stripping his clothes off. I guess it was wardrobe change time.

“It’s ridiculous how good he is, isn’t it?”

I jumped. Kinley was standing right next to me. “Umm, I guess.”

“It’s sad that he hates it. It’s such a waste. He only did it tonight because the designer is a friend of my dad’s, and she asked for Slayde specifically.” She gave me her fake smile and walked away.

For some reason, the thought of him doing a favor for her dad really bothered me.
Why would he feel the need to do a favor for her dad? Is there more to him and Kinley?
He definitely hadn’t shared any of that information with me. For all I knew, they could have dated or something. She sure seemed to know a lot about him.

I didn’t like this feeling I was having.
Is this jealousy?
I shook my head and took a deep breath. This was getting my head all messed up. I couldn’t be in a relationship with Slayde. Not with him here and me on the other side of the world. I would make myself crazy. I decided I’d had enough. I was ready to go back to LA.

This trip had been a big mistake. I lost my sister, I lost my virginity, and I was teetering very close to the edge of losing my sanity. I had to regain control, and I had to do it now. Grabbing my stuff, I went out a back exit.

I knew what was coming next: tears. I tried to stop them at first but got tired of fighting and gave in. I cried all the way back to Slayde’s apartment. When I passed two girls who looked at me like I was nuts, I picked up the pace and jogged the last block. As soon as I got there, I turned on the computer, went online, and looked for a flight home. There were no flights out until eight the next morning. Looking around, I thought,
I can’t stay here.
Staying at Slayde’s would only mess with my head more. I grabbed my bags and started throwing my stuff in them as fast as I could. After I’d packed up all my stuff, I went back online to find a hotel.

As I was opening the door to leave, Slayde came barreling through it, knocking me over, and we both fell to the floor. He looked disheveled. His clothes were just thrown on, his hair was all crazy from the show, and he still appeared to have a little bit of makeup on.

“Why did you leave?” he asked. My throat was tight, and I couldn’t speak. Tears began to pour out of my eyes again. He helped me up and said, “Baby, what happened?”

I was shaking. “Nothing, I don’t know. I just can’t do this, Slayde. I don’t belong here. I want to go home.”


No!
Please don’t go home. Can you just calm down enough to talk to me?” He sat down on the corner of the couch and ran his fingers through his hair, or tried to. He obviously had a lot of gel or something in his hair. He looked up at his hands, said, “What the hell?” and then looked back up at me, still looking confused.

After a minute, I calmed down enough to speak. “Slayde, look, I’ve had a great time with you. This has been the best summer of my life by far, but it’s time for me to go home.” I was choking back more tears. “I just want to go home.”

He looked down at the floor, then back up at me. I noticed he had tears in his eyes. Nothing like mine, but they were definitely there. I could see he was blinking fast, trying to keep them from spilling down his cheeks. “Forgive me if this sounds selfish, but I don’t want you to go home. I want you here with me as long as I can have you here. Is this because I told Nick you were my girlfriend?”

“What?” I was confused, and obviously so was he.

“I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry. I guess it was just wishful thinking. Look, I’ll back off. I’m not trying to rush you into anything. I just thought we were on the same page.”

I wanted to scream, “That’s not it, you idiot. It’s your psycho wannabe girlfriend messing with my head.” But of course I refrained.

After a minute, when I still hadn’t said anything, he asked, “Is there anything I can do to change your mind? I’ll beg if I have to.” He smiled, batted his eyes, and got on his knees.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I quickly pulled him off the floor. “No, that’s not it. I guess what I’m saying is, I think I have feelings for you, and I have to go back to school. You’re going to be here. I can’t date you.”

He looked aggravated. “Why does this have to be the end? Why does your leaving in a few weeks have to end our relationship? I haven’t re-signed any contracts here. I’m going home when this one is over. I don’t want to be here anymore. I want to be in LA with you.”

I was so surprised that I didn’t know what to say. He reached down and kissed me, and of course I melted and gave in. Like I ever really had a chance. “OK, I’ll stay.”

The next morning when I woke up, I noticed he had left me a note.

Please be here when I get back! Love, S

That made me smile. I loved knowing he cared enough about me to leave a note. I did feel better about things since we’d talked last night — but still, something about Kinley’s demeanor made me think I was overlooking something. Had they dated? Or maybe she just had a thing for him.
No, that’s not it.
He was a little ugly to her at the show, and that wasn’t like him. There had to be a reason for that kind of animosity.

I decided since I was alone in his apartment, I should just do a little recon mission. I looked in the most obvious place first: his nightstand drawer. I found a phone charger, some change, lip balm, a credit card with his dad’s name on it, a few pieces of scrap paper with phone numbers on them in other people’s handwriting, a couple pens, two rubber bands, a barrette, batteries — which were hopefully for the remote — and two strips of Trojan condoms. One longer than the other. So I knew some were missing. Ugh, that made me sick.
Why did I do this again?
At least I knew he was being safe. I should have stopped there, but of course curiosity got the best of me.

Next, I went into the bathroom. I saw a bag hanging on a hook on the back of the door. In there were a razor, shaving cream, a small deodorant, and two condoms. Geez, he sure was prepared.
I guess he doesn’t leave home without them
. I decided to move on to his medicine cabinet. At first glance, it looked like every other medicine cabinet, holding deodorant, ibuprofen, hair products, toothpaste, a toothbrush, dental floss, Crest Whitestrips, and tampons.
Tampons?
They were up on the top shelf. That was odd. You wouldn’t think he would bring home some girl to just “hook up” if she needed tampons, surely. So, who would have stayed there who needed tampons? Beside the tampons was what looked to be at least a one-carat diamond earring.

I was still reaching into Slayde’s medicine cabinet when he stuck his head in the bathroom door that I’d left half-open. I jumped, knocking the bottle of ibuprofen out of the cabinet and into the toilet.

“What are you doing?” he asked but not in a suspicious tone. I was pretty sure it was just a general question; it didn’t sound like he suspected anything.

BOOK: The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1)
12.53Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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