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Everyone turns to me, and my face bursts into flame, and suddenly, I very much wish I was still the invisible girl who stumbled on Chase on that beach.
“Shocking, considering Chase is quite the nudist,” Daria says, rolling her eyes.
I could kiss her for saving me like that.
“Hey,” he says with mock defensiveness. “I’m not a nudist. I just like to beau natural.And just let me point out, I’ve seen all of you naked too.”
“Hm, true.” Daria shrugs and turns to me. “Have you ever seen anyone naked?”
I feel their eyes on me, and I want to lie, but I doubt they’d believe me anyway. So I say nothing, and look down, annoyed that I’m the one feeling ashamed amongst such a shamelessly immodest group.
Chase kneels up on the bed and slowly unzips his already unbuttoned jeans. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he says, his teasing gaze locked on mine.
“Yeah, come on,” Elaine says. “What are you so afraid of?”
I remember her at the pool, taunting me for being shocked that she was taking off her clothes in front of people. I also remember that I actually have seen someone naked—a guy from the pool who took off his towel that night.
“I’m going downstairs,” I say, turning away, Elaine’s laughter haunting me before it even starts.
“But the fun’s just getting started,” Elaine mocks.
I refuse to let her see how shaken up I am. Would Chase really take off his clothes in front of me? Would he really expect me to? Would the other girls really just stand there and watch?
“Then have fun,” I say with a shrug, avoiding their eyes. “I’m going down.”
“Well, that was easy,” Chase says, the wicked smile never leaving his face. “I’ve been waiting for Lindsey to say those words for a year now.”
I turn and walk out. I’m not sure where to go, as I’m not comfortable with anyone in Lindsey’s family. But I don’t want to search for a place where to hide and be accused of snooping if her brother finds me, so I head to the kitchen, which seems safe enough.
I’m relieved to find it empty, her mom having gone off somewhere in the big house. Sadly, I probably have more in common with her than anyone else here, but I’m not about to talk to her about that. I don’t even talk to my own mother.
I hate myself for being such a prude, and I hate the rest of them for highlighting it so painfully. Maybe I should just sleep with Todd, and get it over with, and then I wouldn’t end up in situations like this. I hate being the only one who hasn’t done it. I feel like a freak, and I’m just tired of being the one left out when everyone is talking about it.
Which seems to be pretty much all the time.
I’m glad the kitchen is empty when I get there. I sit at the bar and drink a glass of juice. After a while I start feeling silly about running out, but I can’t seem to make myself go back. My reaction is more embarrassing than what was being said, and I’m frozen in mortification at the thought of walking in on all of them, the room falling silent, and everyone staring.
Literally my worst nightmare.
I freeze when Preston Darling and his cousin come strolling into the kitchen. Preston gives me an indifferent look and heads for the fridge. “Looks like there’s a rat in the house,” he says to his cousin.
“Montana,” Colt says, flicking his hair out of his eyes and flashing me a lazy grin, resting an elbow on the bar and watching me while Preston grabs a couple bottles of water from the refrigerator.
“I’m from Connecticut,” I mumble, keeping an eye on Preston while trying not to be obvious. After the last time, my body is on high alert in his presence, already in fight-or-flight mode.
“Is that right?” Colt drawls, accepting a bottle of Evian from Preston and twisting off the top, his eyes still on me. “And your daddy? Where’s he from?”
I try to swallow, but my throat has turned to jelly.
Colt takes a sip and then flashes me a grin. He’s as hot as Chase, but I’m just as wary of him as I am of Preston. Chase smiles to hide his pain. This boy smiles to hide the fact that he likes to cause pain.
“You do your homework, like I told you?” Preston asks, watching me through hooded eyes.
I shake my head and make my voice firm. “He’s from here, but you already know that, don’t you? You can do your own homework and stalk my family if it makes you happy, but I prefer to let the past stay where it belongs—buried.”
“Was that a threat?” Preston asks, his eyes lighting with curiosity. He prowls around the bar, and I have to force myself not to twist around and not let him out of my sight.
I sit stiffly, staring down his cousin, refusing to let them see how scared I am. “No,” I say. “Why would I threaten you? I don’t even know you. If something happened between our families in high school, it has nothing to do with us.”
