I took a deep breath. Upton was right. If I was going to be Fun Reed, I shouldn't let some bitter, bored housewife ruin my day. But I couldn't help noticing that Upton had not reached for my hand again. Was it because he didn't want Paige to report back to Poppy and tell her that he had been holding my hand? And if so, why?
I reached for a chocolate croissant and tore into it. Forget Mrs. Ryan. All these un-answered questions could definitely ruin my day.
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CHAPTER 12 GIRLS AND DRAMA
Shutters was, apparently, the go-to hangout for the St. Barths crew, as I found out when Noelle drove me and West back there that afternoon for a late lunch. The storm had been short-lived and the patio roof, which also was a shutter with slats, was open to let in the sun. Upton was spending the afternoon with his family, but Kiran already was there with her parents and Taylor, and Noelle's father had commandeered a large table overlooking the water. He was sitting with Sawyer, Graham, and a man whom I assumed was their father. The two dads were engaged in some serious conversation while Sawyer read his book and Graham texted on his BlackBerry.
Marquis led Noelle, West, and me to a prime table at the opposite corner of the patio from Mr. Lange and the Hathaway family. We were seated only for a moment when Kiran and Taylor got up to join us, bringing their iced teas with them. Kiran was wearing a demure (for her) black sundress that had a full skirt hitting just above the knee.
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Taylor wore a gauzy off-the-shoulder top and white shorts, her blond curls back in a skinny headband much like the one Poppy had been wearing the night before.
"Hey, girls," Kiran said as she sat down. She started to take a sip of iced tea and then paused, looking at West. "And boy."
West grinned. He reached over and took Noelle's hand, holding it on top of the table. Kiran, Taylor, and I simply stared. Public hand-holding? I had known they were flirting, but this was big. I glanced at Kiran and Taylor. They both shrugged with their eyes, as baffled as I was.
"Where're Tiff and Amberly?" Taylor asked, sipping her tea.
"Tiff is scouting locations with Tassos, and Amberly is boycotting us," Noelle replied, pushing her frameless Kenneth Cole sunglasses up into her hair.
"Boycottingus? Why?" I asked, incredulous.
Noelle ducked her chin and looked at me. "Because of you," she said. "Apparently you're being mean to her," she added in a light voice.
I sat up straight, my jaw on the table. "I'm being mean to her? She told you that?"
Noelle's silence was confirmation.
"Unbelievable! She has been evil to me ever since she got into Billings and she totally trashed my room! She does not get to boycott me!"
Noelle lifted one shoulder and shifted in her seat, clearly amused. "Apparently, she does. And you might want to dial it down," she added, glancing pointedly at the other diners. "These are the types of people who save their shrill for behind closed doors."
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My cheeks warmed, and I made an indignant noise in the back of my throat, dropping back in my chair. Who did Amberly think she was?
West chuckled and shook his head. "You girls and your drama. There should be a support group."
"Do not comment on what you do not understand," Noelle told him with a smile and a hand squeeze.
West grinned, and I exchanged looks with Kiran and Taylor again. This new relationship just did not compute. Noelle and West had known each other their entire lives and had never shown an interest before. Now we were suddenly supposed to believe they were a hand-holding couple?
"So, Noelle, what's up with your dad and the Hathaways?" Kiran asked, leaning back in an elegant pose, her legs crossed and one arm casually slung over the back of her chair. "Is he sharing stock tips, or something?"
"Actually, he's trying to convince Mr. Hathaway to take the headmaster job at Easton," Noelle said, closing her menu with a slap. "He has this rep for turning around troubled institutions, so Daddy and the Board think he'd be a perfect fit for Easton." She signaled for the waiter.
I looked across the patio at Mr. Hathaway. Compared to the Crom or Dean Marcus, he was so young. So . . . un-intimidating. Slight of build like his sons, with jet-black hair, tan skin, and nary a wrinkle on his handsome, boyish face. Were the students of Easton really going to respond to such a man? As I looked away, my eye caught Sawyer's,
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and he quickly glanced back down at his book. I felt a weird rush of uncertainty. I hoped he didn't think I was checking out his dad. Ew.
"Where's Jen, anyway?" Taylor asked as West placed his order with the waiter. "I haven't seen her."
"Taylor! Shhh," Noelle scolded, lowering her voice as her gaze slid around to the nearby tables. "Jen Hathaway passed away last summer."
"What?" Taylor and Kiran said breathlessly.
"How?" West asked, clearly disturbed. "Why hasn't anyone said anything?"
Noelle leaned in to the table. We all did the same, knowing she was about to say something not for public consumption. "Because she--"
That was all she got out, because at that moment, Dash McCafferty walked out onto the patio. Noelle visibly paled at the sight of him, but she seemed to recover instantly. She sat up straight and pretended to be riveted by the surf crashing against the sand on the beach below. Dash found us with his eyes, and his handsome face registered about ten different emotions in as many seconds. Excitement to see Noelle. Then trepidation. Then confusion over seeing me with her. Then dread. Then recognition of Kiran and Taylor. Then, finally, shock. Because he'd finally noticed Noelle's and West's hands entwined on the table. He froze, and for a second I thought he was just going to bolt. I tensed up, deciding to rank this moment as one of the most excruciatingly uncomfortable of my life. And then, salvation came . . . in the unlikely form of Gage Coolidge. He ambled up behind Dash and slapped his hands down on Dash's broad shoulders.
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"Dash, my man! You made it! We thought you were going to let the whole Brennan Sex Tape Scandal keep you away!"
Okay, so it wasn't perfect salvation.
Behind Gage was the rest of the crew. Poppy, Paige, Daniel, Sienna, and Amberly crowded in around Dash, all pausing to kiss him hello or to slap his hand. Before long, Marquis seated them at a table in the center of the restaurant, where they set up a loud, raucous camp. I had no idea which person's presence to focus on first. Dash, who was going to make these next couple of weeks a lot more complicated. Amberly, who had somehow gotten in with Paige and her crew in less than twenty-four hours. Or Paige and Sienna, who were basically trying to annihilate me with their glares from across the patio.
It was odd that Paige and Sienna were the ones so openly hating me, and not Poppy. Was it possible that Paige had told Sienna and not Poppy that I had hooked up with Upton before Poppy had arrived on the island? It hardly seemed possible. Girls like Paige lived to gossip, backstab, and sabotage. But then why wasn't Poppy staring me down? Did she not care? Or did she not feel threatened because her relationship with Upton was, in her mind, secure?
I let out a sigh. Maybe West was right. Maybe girls were addicted to drama.
"Hey, you wankers! Come over and join us!" Poppy shouted at our table, waving her hand over her head. Apparently she hadn't been clued in about Noelle and Dash's breakup. Or perhaps she was too flighty to think about it. Everyone in the restaurant smiled and shook
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their heads, like her behavior was just so endearing. It seemed they didn't mind Poppy's shrill in public.
"There's no room," West replied quickly. "We'll catch up with you guys later."
Poppy made a loud scoffing noise, like we were incurable losers, then turned to Daniel, who edged his chair as close to hers as it could get. He put his elbow on the armrest and leaned toward her, completely rapt with attention, as she spoke.
"Looks like Daniel isn't quite over Poppy just yet," Kiran pointed out, choosing wisely to ignore Dash's appearance on the scene.
"What do you mean?" I
asked.
"Oh, Daniel and Poppy had this huge thing last Christmas," Kiran said, leaning back as our food arrived. "He was totally head over heels for her, and they spent the entire two weeks holed up in her penthouse doing God knows what. Then, on New Year's Eve, they finally came out and she dumped him in front of everyone. It was not pretty. He had one of his patented Daniel Ryan freak-outs."
West laughed and reached for the salt and pepper. "Oh, yeah. The rowboat. I forgot about that one."
"Daniel's freak-outs usually include destruction of personal property," Taylor explained, noting my confusion. "Or destruction of the face of whomever pissed him off."
"He couldn't exactly kick the crap out of the girl he loved, so he went after some poor fisherman's rowboat instead," Kiran said. "With an ax."
She used her knife to demonstrate the point before digging into her salad.
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I looked around. "And you guys are friends with him?"
"I use the term lightly when it comes to Daniel," Noelle clarified, munching on some greens.
'What? Daniel's cool," West said defensively. "He just has a temper."
"Aw. So cute how you're defending your little lacrosse mentor," Noelle said, giving West a big fat kiss. From across the patio, Dash noticed and blushed, which was, I think, the point of her doing it. I was starting to wonder if there was anyone in this crowd who wasn't jealous of someone else, if anyone was immune to the drama.
"Speaking of lacrosse boys, I'm thinking I might hook up with Graham tonight," Kiran said, glancing over at him as she took a swig of her iced tea.
"Really? Why Graham?" Noelle asked.
Kiran's eyes sparkled. "Because he's the only one left."
"You haven't hooked up with Sawyer," West pointed out.
Kiran, Taylor, and Noelle all laughed.
"What? What's wrong with Sawyer?" I asked.
"Sawyer is the pure one," Taylor explained.
"I don't think he's ever even kissed a girl," Kiran added.
I looked over at Sawyer, who was slumped down in his chair, his book open in front of him. He wore three woven bracelets on his arm, two very tattered, the other a lot newer. "Maybe he likes guys."
"Oh, no," West said. "He's into girls. Trust me. He's just too scared to seal the deal."
"Or too polite," Taylor amended, crunching on some ice from her now empty tea glass.
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Sawyer turned the page in his book and sighed, glancing out at the ocean. He didn't seem quite as stoked to be in St. Barths as the rest of us were. I wondered if he thought he was above all the partying and debauchery, or if he wished he could get involved and didn't know how. Either way, I felt for him. I knew what it was like to be an outsider in a crowd like this.
And it was never fun.
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CHAPTER 13 A FRIENDLY GAME
"That's you, Farm Girl!" Gage shouted as the volleyball arced in my direction.
"I know, jackass," I replied, bumping it forward toward the net.
Graham easily set the ball, and Tiffany jumped up and spiked it into the sand at Taylor's feet. Taylor barely made a play for it, then made an "oops" face and giggled in Upton's direction. Apparently she was more interested in the Upton Game than the volleyball game.
"Yes!" Tiffany and I cheered, slapping hands over our heads. Graham gave me a pat on the back as Gage whooped it up. As if he had anything to do with the point.
Dash hurled the ball under the net and it bounced along the sand, where I stopped it with my foot. I popped it up to my hands and turned my back to him, never once looking him in the eye. How the hell had I ended up on the other side of the net from the last two guys I had
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kissed? Two guys with seriously unresolved relationships with other girls, no less.
Answer? I was the unluckiest chick on the planet.
Of course, having Upton and Dash on the opposing team with Kiran and Taylor had one positive effect--it got my competitive juices flowing. I don't know why, but I had to beat them. Maybe to prove to them that they didn't make me nervous.
Even though they did.
"So, Upton, think you're going to win it all again at Casino Night this year?" Kiran asked, reaching up to dust some sand from his shoulder. She let her hand linger on his skin. My face, already hot from sun and exertion, burned.
"I don't know," Upton said, glancing through the net at me. "There's some new competition this year." He winked at me, and suddenly my face was burning for a whole different reason. Okay, time to move on.
"Fourteen serving twelve!" I shouted.
"Go Upton!" Paige cheered from her lounge chair.
I paused to glance over at Paige and the others, wondering if she'd purposely tried to mess me up. She was sitting between Amberly and Sienna, facing the game instead of the water. Noelle and West were lying a few feet away on a beach blanket, his arm around her back. Sawyer was sitting on his towel, T-shirt on, reading Of Mice and Men. I wondered why he even bothered to come along. And how many books he'd brought with him on the plane.
Luckily, Poppy was MIA, as was Daniel, so I didn't have to worry about Poppy drooling all over Upton every time he made a point.
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Refocusing on the game, I tossed the ball in the air. As it came back down, I envisioned Poppy's face on it and slammed it over the net-right at Upton's head.
"Whoa!" Upton shouted. He made a last-second play for the ball, but it glanced off the side of his hand and went flying toward the rocks that lined the beach.
"Yes! That's game!" I shouted, throwing my arms in the air.
Graham hugged me and lifted me up. "Nice work!"
"Good job, loser. I'm impressed that you didn't eff it up," Gage said, reaching out to slap my hand.
"How very supportive of you, teammate," I said pointedly.
"Supportive like that straight jacket bathing suit you're sporting? " Gage replied. "Come on, Brennan, you gotta let the ladies breathe."
He mimed the universal boy sign for breasts and made some wet kissy noises. Graham cracked up, but he blushed and looked away when he saw the mortification on my face. I adjusted the strap of my one-piece black bathing suit--which was, admittedly, the only one-piece on the beach, aside from Noelle's much more sophisticated red strapless. These St. Barths girls were all about the teeny bikinis.
"Gage, you're disgusting," Tiffany said.
"Whatever, prude: You know you want me." Gage laughed, his hands on his slim hips. He actually looked annoyingly hot in his brown plaid board shorts with no shirt on. He had a tattoo of a sun on the back of his right shoulder, which was unexpected and intriguing. But not intriguing enough to give him the satisfaction of asking about it.
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I felt a hand close around my wrist and turned to find Upton smiling down at me. "A kiss for the winner?" he said.
Before I could answer, he'd slipped one hand behind my neck and had pulled me in for a knee-melting kiss. By the time Upton released me, Gage and Graham were hooting and cheering and all the girls were sneering in my direction. But for once I didn't care. I'd have been jealous of me too. Because, wow, could that boy kiss.
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CHAPTER 14 UNHAPPY HOUR
"I say we hit the showers," Tiffany said to me a few minutes later, fanning herself with her hands. Upton, Gage, and Dash were volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and everyone else had plopped down on towels. "I am way too sweaty for comfort."
"Agreed," I said, figuring I could use a cool off, considering my knees were still shaking from kissing Upton. Waving good-bye to the others, we grabbed our beach bags and made our way up the beach toward the Simon Hotel's outer buildings. The hotel itself stood on the bluff and was accessible by a huge staircase cut into the rocks, if you were in the mood for a hike, or, if you were feeling lazy, you could get there by one of the many golf carts that zoomed between the lobby and the beach all day long. Down there were a casual breakfast and lunch restaurant and bar, a beachsi
de pool, and a line of slim, canvas-topped huts, each of which contained a private shower.
"You really like him, don't you?" Tiffany asked as she stepped
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inside her own stall, closing the thick wooden door behind her. I heard her latch the lock as I walked into my own stall. "Upton, I mean. Not Dash," she clarified.
"Yeah, I kind of do," I said, raising my voice so she could hear me over the water. I stepped out of my bathing suit and slung it over the door, then added my towel and T-shirt dress cover-up so they'd be out of reach of the shower's spray. "Is that pathetic?"
"Why would it be pathetic?" she asked.
I turned on the water and leapt back as the cold jets hit my bare skin. Huddling against the far wall, I waited until I felt the stream start to warm up on my feet, and then inched my way in.
"Because you all like him, and he's such a major flirt," I replied. I lathered up my hair with shampoo, and then left it piled atop my head as I started to wash my skin. "Besides, he clearly has something going with Poppy."
"I wouldn't take the Poppy thing too seriously. When it comes to guys, she has the attention span of a gnat. And as for everyone else, they're just playing the game. Which, by the way, you are clearly winning," Tiffany said.
I blushed happily. "You think?"
"It's so obvious." The pipes squealed as she turned off the water. "I say, if you really like him, go for it."
"Are you done already?" I asked, surprised.
Tiffany laughed. "I am the queen of the thirty-second shower. Something I learned from traveling with my dad--you can never count on a foreign water heater," she joked. I could hear her moving around,
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getting dried off and dressed. "I'm gonna grab a snack. Want to meet at the restaurant? " Sure.