Unfriendly Competition (13 page)

“Let's go say hi and then look for our guys,” I said to Brit.

“Good plan.”

We weaved through the students who were talking or dancing to music.

“Happy birthday!” Brit and I said when we reached Heather.

She looked stunning. She wore a short, fire-engine red spaghetti strap dress with black tights and heels. Diamond studs glittered from her ears and she wore a silver necklace that knotted around her throat. Her blond hair was curled into soft waves that brushed against her shoulders.

“Thanks,” Heather said. “Mom outdid herself, huh?”

I nodded. “Um, yeah. It's insane in here. Where . . .”—I decided to lower my voice—“is she?”

Heather laughed and took Troy's hand. “Are you kidding? Please, Silver. I thought you'd know better. She split the second she saw everything was in perfect order.”

Troy squeezed Heather's hand, an uncomfortable look on his face. “Want me to grab you a drink?” he asked her.

“Please,” Heather said, smiling at him.

“I'll go with you,” Alison said.

He smiled at all of us before heading for the drinks. He hadn't been with Heather for too long, so the talk about her mom probably made him uncomfortable.

“Did she hang out with you before the party started?” Brit asked.

I already knew the answer, though.

Heather's blue eyes were pale, pool blue. “She came to throw a Fox-worthy party. Then she left. Whatever. It's not like we're BFFs or anything. I'm glad she left.”

Heather didn't fool me at all. Mrs. Fox had hurt her feelings. Again. Part of what Heather had said
was
true—they didn't get along and it would have been awkward between them. But it was a big birthday for Heather and her mother hadn't cared enough to stay. I doubted
Mr. Fox had even called or texted Heather two words about today. It made me sad and angry at the same time.

“Well, guess what?” I said. “If she's not here that means you can leave whenever you want. No one's here to make you stay.”

That made Heather perk up a little. “True. Very true.” She looked toward the drink table where Troy and Alison were almost at the front of the line.

“I want to stay for a little while because it's cool to be at a party with Troy,” Heather said. “And he's having fun.”

“Do whatever
you
want,” Brit said. “It's your birthday. We're going to let you hang with Troy and go find Jacob and Andy.”

“Oooh,” Heather said. “So Andy
is
here for you. I knew it!”

Brit's eyes looked around the room. “You've seen him? He's here?”

Heather and I giggled at Brit's questions.

“He told me happy birthday a few minutes ago,” Heather said. “I think he's probably chilling with Jacob, Ben, and some of the other guys.”

I smoothed my dress when she said Jacob's name. He hadn't seen me in this dress before. I hoped he liked it.
Brit did the same—smoothing her vintage black dress with a keyhole back.

“Speaking of Ben,” I said, sitting on the arm of Heather's chair. “Where's Julia? I haven't seen her.”

Heather shrugged, sighing. “I have no clue. She didn't leave with Alison and me. She claimed she wasn't ready yet, even though she clearly was. She kept changing her mind about shoes.”

“We've all been there,” Brit said. “I'm sure she'll be here any second.”

Troy and Alison, with champagne flutes and snacks in hand, returned.

Troy handed a glass to Heather, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Heather's face turned the same shade as her dress and she managed to utter a thank you.

“Have fun and we'll see you guys later,” I said.

Alison, Troy, and Heather said bye to us. Brit and I started at the front of the room, looking for Jacob and Andy.

“We might have to BBM them,” I said, only half joking.

“Total possibility,” Brit said.

We reached a semi-empty space of the ballroom, where we could finally see, and Jacob and Andy were with Ben
and a few other guys, just as Heather had predicted. I couldn't wait to get close to him. But my feet felt rooted to the floor. All I could do was stare at him.

I'd never seen him so dressed up. His black tux made him look beyond gorgeous. He had a crisp white button-down shirt on underneath and a dark green tie that made his eyes look even greener. He'd combed his hair, but still left it loose in that California surfer and Jacob–like way.

“Jacob looks so hot,” I said to Brit. “Whoa.”

“He looks great,” Brit said. “And so does Andy.”

Reluctantly, I shifted my gaze to Andy. Like Jacob, he was in a black tux and white shirt. He'd chosen a red tie that popped.

“Andy looks great, Brit. C'mon.”

Brit was a half step behind me as we made our way over to the guys. Jacob was the first to see us. Immediately, he walked away from the guys and reached for my hand.

“Sasha,” he said. “You look beautiful.”

I always believed it when he said it.

“Thank you. I love your tux.”

Jacob ran his hand over the sleeves, grinning as he pretended to brush dust off them. “This old thing?”

We smiled, looking at each other. I knew teachers were milling around as chaperones, but I didn't care. Jacob put
his hands on my hips and touched his lips to mine. The kiss only lasted seconds, but it sent tingles through my body that lasted long after we weren't touching.

“I'm glad you're here,” I said. “Doesn't this place look amazing?”

Jacob nodded. “It's Mrs. Fox's handiwork, that's for sure. I've never seen the ballroom look like this.”

“Want to get drinks?” I asked.

“Definitely.”

Before we walked away, I looked over at Brit. She and Andy had their heads bent together, already deep in conversation. She'd be totally fine if I left her alone.

Jacob and I took each other's hands and before we reached the drink line, a waitress offered us a tray of sparkling cider.

We each took a flute and sipped the drink.

“This is definitely
not
a Coke and pizza party,” Jacob said. “Did you check out the food yet?”

“I saw it when I walked in,” I said. “Fan-cy.”

“Kind of in a scary way?” Jacob asked.

“Very,” I giggled, looking at the mounds of translucent orange and black balls of caviar.

We finished our cider and put the glasses with the rest of the empty ones.

Jacob turned to me, a smile on his face. “We're doing everything we're supposed to at a party like this,” Jacob said. “We've had a drink, complained that there's food that we probably can't pronounce . . . but there's one thing we haven't done yet.”

I tilted my head to look at him. “And what might that be?”

Jacob took my hand, pulling me to an empty spot on the floor. “Dance,” he said.

There was nothing I wanted to do more.

We danced to a pop song that I knew every word to, laughing and talking the entire time. The music changed to a slow song and, without even thinking about it, Jacob and I moved closer to each other. I put my head on his shoulder, his body warm against mine.

“This is perfect,” I said, my voice soft. The second I said it, I hoped he wouldn't think I was being cheesy.

“It's more than perfect,” Jacob said. His tone was gentle. “Everything always feels like that when I'm with you.”

I had no words to respond. I wished I was smarter—that I had the right thing to say. Something as meaningful as what he'd just said.

“I don't know what to say,” I said, deciding to be
honest. “Except that I feel that way too, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now.”

Jacob pulled me closer to him, and I smiled into his shoulder when another slow song started to play.

This may have been a party that Heather never wanted, but I couldn't help it—I was glad to be here. With Jacob.

13

SPEECHLESS

AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS, PEOPLE WERE
starting to leave, and I began to look around for Heather to make sure she didn't go back to her room yet. Troy was in on our surprise, and he was supposed to give us a fifteen minute head start so Brit, Julia, Alison, and I could get the suite ready before Heather got back.

Almost as if he sensed I was thinking about Heather's surprise party, Troy walked up to Jacob and me. We were seated in a quiet corner, talking and eating nongross food like brie and crackers.

“Heather's ready to go soon,” he said. “I'll keep her here long enough for you guys to decorate.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at him.

Troy went back to Heather, and I turned to Jacob.
“I'm sorry,” I said. “I have to go. If I don't get the decorations up in the Trio's suite, the surprise will be ruined.”

Jacob rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand. “That's why you're my girlfriend. You're doing something nice for someone else.” He helped me stand, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“I had a
wonderful
time,” I said. “I'm so glad you came.”

“Me too,” Jacob said. He brushed his hand over my cheek. “I'm a lucky guy.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you definitely are,” I teased.

We kissed, longer this time, and I wished I could freeze this moment and stay here forever.

“Have fun with Heather's real party,” he said. “I know you're going to make it a great night for her.”

“Hope so.” I smiled at him again, then let go of his hand as I walked away. I rounded up Brit and Alison, who were waiting near the door already alerted by Troy.

“Did you guys find Julia?” I asked.

Alison shook her head, her gold chandelier earrings bouncing off her neck. “Troy said he saw her with Ben, but we haven't seen her. I hope she didn't get sick or something or—”

“You guys ready?”

Julia, in a beautiful blue bandage dress, appeared in front of us, her arms folded across her chest.

“Ready, but where were you?” Alison asked. “I haven't seen you at all.”

Julia glared at her. “I was with Ben.
Alone
, so we could talk. Okay? Geez. Any more questions?”

Alison looked as if she wanted to fire off another question, but she kept her mouth shut. “No. Let's go. Troy can only keep Heather busy for so long.”

We sneaked out of the ballroom, hoping we wouldn't hear our phones start to go off if Heather realized we were all missing.

Racing across campus—well, as fast as we could in heels—we went back to Orchard. I went to my room to get the decorations and the present Brit and I had gone in on together for Heather. Once I got to the suite, Julia, Alison, Brit, and I raced to get everything the way we wanted it.

Brit put up streamers and the sign, I arranged the DVDs and snacks on the table, Alison poured giant cups of Coke, and Julia put the movie candy in bowls before sitting on the chair. Guess she was done.

“How's this look?” Brit asked.

“Perfect,” I said. “I love how you spaced all the spirals—they look perfect.”

Brit had grabbed a step ladder and taped the fun swirls to the living room ceiling. She'd also put the pink
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
sign across Heather's bedroom door.

“Presents!” Alison said. “Julia, grab yours and we'll put them on the table.”

The girls went to their room and brought back two wrapped boxes. “I guess we got lucky that Heather's mom invited so many people,” I said. “Heather had so many presents that she didn't even get to open—she didn't notice ours were missing.”

My phone vibrated on the table. I opened a text from Troy.

H is on the way!

I wrote back.

We r ready. Thanks!

“She'll be here any second,” I said. “Everyone ready?”

The other girls nodded. We got together around the couch, watching the door and waiting for Heather. She was probably furious—thinking we'd left her party without her.