Page 46 of Playing with the Heartbreaker

An hour later, Anita leads Charlotte and me into Dionne’s foyer. She knows Dionne through some club or another, which is how we secured an invitation to the exclusive party. The privilege of hosting is passed down through the ranks of Cardinal Ridge High’s wealthier kids, the host or hostess selected by the Seniors. It’s never held on actual Halloween weekend, because that’s too on-the-nose or something. Plus, Dionne’s single dad is out of town on business. Her mom lives out of state, so here we are.

“This place is massive,” I say. Had the foyer been empty, my words would echo off the vaulted ceiling. But already the house is packed with students dressed in costume, some disguised so well I don’t recognize them. The sweet smell of fruity cocktails perfumes the air.

“Let’s do a lap,” Charlotte says. “See if we spot anyone interesting.”

“I’m going to find the bathroom,” Anita says. “My hair is doing something weird. I’ll catch up with you.” She disappears into the crowd, greeting various people as she passes. After a few seconds, I lose sight of her red bandanna and plaid shirt.

Charlotte drags me into the kitchen. Her face lights up. “Let’s get a drink.”

“I don’t really—” I protest, but I stop as Charlotte’s strong grip pulls me toward a group of guys standing near a large cooler. “Okay.”

“Me-ow,” says one of the guys, a senior whose face I recognize but whose name I can’t remember. Tim? Tom?

“Can we get two of those?” Charlotte purrs, fluttering her lengthy lashes at the second guy. That third layer of mascara really does make a difference.

A mask obscures the other guy’s face, so I can’t tell who he is. He fishes out two bottles of sparkling water, removes the caps, and hands one to each of us. The feeling of the bottle in my hand takes me back to last year’s parties with Graham. I push it away. Nope. Not thinking about him tonight.

“Thanks.” I tip the bottle toward the guy. “Let’s find Anita,” I say to Charlotte.

Two crowded rooms later, Charlotte isn’t with me anymore. Great. I’m lost in a sea of masked faces. I stand on my tiptoes to scan above the crowd. No sign of my friends. Maybe my best option is to wait it out. They’ll find me, eventually.

I squeeze my way into the front room and find an empty seat in the bay window. Despite the distance from the dance floor, the glass pane vibrates from the strength of the speakers’ bass, and the beat thrums against my eardrums.

Watching the crowd of costumed people talk and dance and flirt feels all too familiar. I haven’t been to a party like this since Graham and I broke up. It was always his scene, not mine. Sitting there, I realize just how out of place I felt in this world.

Graham catches my eye from across the room. He waves. And smiles. What the heck?

Now he’s coming over to me, and there’s nowhere to run.

“Hey, Chloe,” he says.

“Umm, hi.”

“How are you?”

Okay, seriously? Am I the only one who remembers how badly our relationship ended? “Fine. You?”

“I’m good. Yeah. Umm. Can we maybe go outside and talk?”

Under normal circumstances, I’d probably laugh. But people are pushing against me, and it’s getting hard to breathe in the cloud of sharp-scented liquor from Dionne’s fancy-pants signature drink. “Fine.”

He leads the way to the back porch. It’s empty, thank goodness. Everyone’s inside doing some popular line dance that’s taken over the Internet. When I get outside, I gulp the cold air like I’ve never taken a breath before.

“So, what are you supposed to be?” I gesture to his white tank top and jeans, an empty leather tool belt slung low across his hips.

“Construction worker. But someone stole my hardhat, so now I just look like an idiot.”

“Which is different from a normal day how?”

“Ouch.” He mimes being stabbed through the chest. “You wound me.”

“Ha. As if you could be hurt. Please. You’re Graham Carmack. Invincible.”

His face falls, apparently not expecting my sass. I don’t expect it either. Not that it doesn’t feel kind of good. “Is this how it’s going to be between us, Chloe?”

“How, exactly, do you expect it to be?” I fold my arms and stare straight into his bright blue eyes. They used to hypnotize me, but now they just look like, well, organs for seeing.

He sighs. “I don’t know. I thought maybe after some time apart⁠—”