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"You could change."
"I dunno... ."
"C'mon. I called Eliza and she said she'd put us on the list if we changed our minds."
Mara thought about it. In two weeks she hadn't even set foot outside the Perry estate after dark. And Ryan was going to be there, too. Maybe it was time to see this "other side of the Hamptons" that Eliza was always talking about.
Jacqui looked at her hopefully.
"Oh, sure, what the hell, we'll go."
And with that, Mara and Jacqui bounded back to the cottage to change.
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there's never a dress code if you're cute enough
Not for the first time since she arrived, Mara wondered why everything was so crowded in the Hamptons. For a so-called weekend retreat, it was certainly packed with enough people.
She and Jacqui had taken a cab, and they barely had enough between them to pay the meter. They were aghast at the price, but they were still leery of taking full advantage of the "take any car that isn't being used in the lot" rule--plus, the Grey Goose had made them both a little tipsy. When they arrived at the castle gates, Mara was sure they were never getting inside. The people at the door of Trupin Castle couldn't understand Jacqui's accent, and when they did, they couldn't find Eliza's name on the list. Then even after they found it, one of the guards shook his head at Mara's shoes. "There's a dress code here, ladies," he scolded. Jacqui had told her not to wear her Reeboks, but then when she saw Mara's totally-in-need-of-apedicure toes, she acquiesced. Closed toes were a must. Luckily
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the other bouncer took a shine to Jacqui and decided to let them in anyway.
"You made it!" Eliza said when she spotted them by the bar. "What do you want? I know the bartender," she added, signaling. They told her, and two drinks were promptly passed over. "Check out the live shark tank," she said, pointing to the middle of the room, where six-foot-long hammerheads were on display.
Mara tried not to gape. Was there no end to all this excess?
"I got Mara out. Can you believe it?" Jacqui laughed.
"Where's Luca?"
Jacqui shrugged. "He was busy."
"Jacqui, you've met Lindsay and Taylor," Eliza said, motioning to her two friends, who were giving the newcomers not-so-subtle once-overs.
"Yeah--the exchange student," Lindsay said, giving Jacqui a fake smile. Lindsay didn't like girls that looked like Jacqui. They were way too much competition at a game she could never win.
Exchange student? Mara wondered. Huh?
"And this is Mara, another new friend of mine," Eliza said.
"What is that?" Taylor asked, pointing to the Amstel Light in Mara's hands.
"Beer?" Mara replied.
Taylor made a face. "Ugh, how can you drink that?" she asked. "So foul." Mara sipped her drink and cautiously looked around. Everyone else was holding brightly colored cocktails in martini glasses. Couldn't she do anything right? And where was
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Ryan? She couldn't see him anywhere, but there were so many people, it wasn't that surprising.
"Taylor--drinks?" Lindsay asked, even if her glass was only half empty. The two took that cue to make their exit. They'd had enough of Eliza's "new friends."
"Don't look now, but Charlie's walking over," Taylor warned before she stalked off, motioning to a short guy in a blue blazer who was making a beeline their way.
Eliza turned around to show her best side and slouched down a little--in her heels she was taller than he was, and she knew he never liked that.
