And just like that, he turned to leave.
“Have a good night, Ms. Rodriguez.” He didn’t even look back. “Goodbye.”
I watched him disappear out the coat closet while I stood there baffled.
The worst part?
He’d probably forget me by morning.
By the timeI got back to the main room, my chest was tight. My pulse still hadn’t calmed down from that little conversation.
Orim spotted me immediately, her eyes scanning my face when we regrouped.
“Well? How did it go?” she asked, sipping her drink.
I blinked at her, still half in shock. “He—he blew me the fuck off.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Huh?”
“Girl,” I hissed, stepping closer. “He said he’s good off me. Like, he’s not interested in us fucking again. At all.”
“Yikes.”
“Yikes?” I repeated. “Yikes?! Orim, I have never been turned down in my life. I’ve never been told no. Not once. Who the fuck does he think he is? Does he know who I am? Everyone wants to be me or be in me. Asshole!”
Orim caught my arm, eyes wide. “Rory, calm down. It’s okay.”
“Nah,” I snapped, shaking her off. “Nah, I can’t let that slide.”
“Oh God,” she groaned, rubbing her temple. “What are you gonna do, then?”
I didn’t answer right away but my mind was already turning fast into doing something messy and vindictive.
Orim knows that about me. I can get real petty. Real fast. Like scary fast. It could be a self destructive attack if leftunchecked. Which is why my brain is screaming at me to go tell my dad everything even though I’ll get the same amount of backlash.
Just like with Jason.
So, for once, I thought it through. My eyes wandered around the room for ideas, my favorite being tonguing down his brother.
But Marcus would never go for it. And again, my father would kill me.
Then I looked up at the grand chandelier, the crowd, the laughter, and smiled. “Hey, quick question.”
Orim looked suspicious. “What?”
“Could you really hear us from our room last night?”
She blinked. “I mean… it was faint, but yeah. Why?”
I smirked, the beginnings of a reckless idea forming. “All right. I got an idea.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Rory…”
“Tell everyone,” I said, straightening my posture, confidence sliding back into place like a second skin. “After party in our room.”
Orim gawked. “Girl! Are you crazy? Do you know how bad that could turn out? My dads would kill me.”
“Spread the word,” I said simply, already walking toward the bar, for another glass of the new wine. “Drinks on me!”
