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Ashton laughs. "Girl, either you won't have many friends at Blackwood, or you won't be hooking up with any guys. It's impossible not to recycle here."
"Recycle?" I cringe, having no problem interpreting the meaning, but disturbed by it all the same. Ashton laughs again. "I don't plan on being here long enough for it to matter."
"He seems like a decent guy, and he's definitely into you. I'm not going to throw myself at someone who doesn't want to be with me. Sorry."
"I know. He really isn't a bad guy. I just ... I don't trust myself, and I can't face Nina if anything were to happen. I know she's lying when she says she doesn't care about him. And even though they really are toxic for each other, I can't go there. Maybe now that we're away from him, it'll be easier to avoid him."
"I can totally help you avoid."
Ashton hands me my suit when we enter a hall lined with three partially opened plank doors. "Meet me here. We'll walk out together." She disappears into a room. I enter and find a dressing room with its own shower. And I don't know why this is my trigger, but ... What the hell am I doing here?
A few minutes later, I emerge in my two-piece, oily-black halter and strappy bottoms. It's a bit of a sporty look, but it keeps everything tucked in place in a way string bikinis don't. Whereas Ashton is all legs in her one-piece that cuts high and plunges low, with a mini sarong loosely draped on her hips. I thank my platform sandals for giving my diminutive stature every inch of added height.
"Drinks upstairs first." Ashton directs us down the hall to a set of stairs that lead up to the main room of the house where we find liquor bottles and mixers lined along the kitchen counter. "Champagne?" she asks, opening a fridge that is stocked exclusively with beer, wine and champagne.
"Sure," I respond, never actually having tasted champagne. I mean, we bought the cheap stuff last New Year's, but we mostly sprayed it all over each other. I've never had real champagne. It can't taste worse than piss-warm keg beer.
I take the glass she hands to me and take a sip. The bubbles crawl up my nose, making me want to sneeze. I cringe. I can't keep my nose from scrunching in distaste
"Don't like it?"
"Just have to get used to it," I explain. Ashton muffles a laugh.
"You can have whatever you want. No sense drinking something you don't like. I'll mix you a drink instead."
I hand it back to her. "That would be better."
Ashton takes the glass of champagne for herself and proceeds to create something made up of a lot of different ingredients. She shakes it and pours it over a glass of ice, topping it with a lime slice. When I take a sip, it has a mint and lime essence, with a touch of something sweet. I can't even taste the alcohol. "So much better. Thank you."
"Of course." She winks at me. "Let me go first so we can avoid."
I follow after her. We veer to the left down the stairs and end up at the hot tub.
"Ashton!" a girl in a bright turquoise bikini shouts from within the tub.
Ashton sits on the edge of the deck next to the girl, only sticking her feet in the water. I sit next to her, subtly scanning the crowd to see if I recognize anyone from the country club while keeping an eye out for Parker.
"Lana, this is Kaely. She works at the club too."
We exchange a "hi."
"I saw you when I was working the counter at the Clubhouse, but we didn't get to meet."
"Oh. We never made it into the Clubhouse today. We got distracted mid-tour," Ashton explains.
I recognize almost instantly that Kaely doesn't radiate the prosperity aura.
"Which school do you go to?" I ask, just to test my theory.
"Kingston High."
"You grew up here?"
"My entire boring life," she says with a heavy sigh. "Until this summer anyway."
In my periphery, a flash of blond catches my attention. I turn to find Grant walking farther down the deck. I take two huge swallows of my drink to keep from doing something idiotic ... like call out his name.
Ashton nudges my arm. "I know you see him." I whip around and silently beg her not to do anything stupid. She laughs at my panic.
