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“I’m so proud of you. I think Theo would have caved and paid for everything at Whitmore, but it probably felt damn good to break away from Daddy’s money.”
I moaned. “You have no idea. He had zero input and control. It was amazing.”
“Okay, so we’ll celebrate the fact that you’re standing on your own two feet. Let’s do a little therapy shopping for Saturday night. If we win the football game, it will be hella rowdy. Drink up and fuck hard.” Teagan laughed before she rummaged through her Louis Vuitton purse, then produced her credit card. “I’ve got dinner.”
“Thanks. I’ll pay next time.” I grinned at her. “I really am glad to be here, Teagan. It’s a relief to be with you and the girls again. Last year was super hard being apart from my besties.” She didn’t have a hint of how bad it had been.
She reached over and grabbed my hand. “We don’t ever have to be apart again.”
I wished her words meant more to me, but instead, they bounced around the empty chambers of my heart. I’d promised someone a long time ago that we would never be apart, too. Only hours after those words fell from my lips, my entire world turned upside down.
ChapterTen
Phoebe
Iapplied my lip gloss, then smacked my lips before sliding the panel closed on the car’s visor mirror.
“Where are we again?” I asked Teagan, who had offered to be the designated driver for the party. Everlee, Leighton, and Gabby were snug in the backseat because I called shotgun before we left the house. On the way home, I wouldn’t care where I sat because I would be too fucking plastered to give a rat’s ass.
“Some new football player’s place. I forget his name. His parents are out of town, though,” Everlee explained.
“Easy to forget. I suck at names,” I muttered. Most of them anyway.
“At least the boys will be in a good mood and ready to play after the big win today,” Gabby said, wiggling her brows at me.
I smoothed my lilac see-through top. Everlee, Gabby, and Teagan had sworn the color was perfect for my blonde hair and blue eyes. Leighton had chosen a black bandeau bra beneath the sheer purple, then they paired it with my dark-wash skinny jeans.
The girls grinned at me.
“You look fabulous, darling,” Gabby said, clapping her hands together.
We broke into laughter. I had no clue what I would do without my girls, but I didn’t want to find out a second time.
Since I hadn’t been called to the society all week, I hoped to get fucked at the party. In fact, I wouldn’t even mind giving Anderson from my bio class a ride. I mentally gave the Black Mamba a big fuck you for looking at me then running away like a chicken shit. If I ever saw him again, I would bite his dick for treating me that way.
We exited the car and slowly walked up the paved driveway. With parties this large, it was difficult to park near the house. If you did, it was hell to get out when everyone blocked your car. Teagan had hopefully found a good spot.
I glanced up, taking in my surroundings.
“Holy crap. I thought my home in Washington was big, but this . . .” Slowing, I gave the girls a bewildered look. The freshly manicured lawn with trimmed shrubs lining the walkway to the mahogany front door was a work of art. Daddy needed to hire whoever the landscaper was. The red-brick mansion hosted two white columns that guarded the entrance. A large balcony overlooked the property from the second story, and I guessed it was the master suite. Planter boxes with pink, blue, and purple flowers lined the edge of the porch as we approached the steps.
“I think you could fit two of my houses in this one,” Leighton responded in awe.
I squared my shoulders, prepared to meet new guys and maybe some of the football team. “Are we ready to dance our asses off?”
We all linked arms and walked to the entrance as though we were going to take the party over. Hell, we had before, so why not this time.
Gabby opened the door, and we filed in as “Ready For It” resonated through the speaker system and a group of students danced in the middle of what I guessed was the living room.
“I say let’s get lit first!” Everlee yelled at us over the music.
“I’m in!” My foot tapped against the black-and-white marble floors as the song pulsed through me. It had been a long ass time since I’d danced.
My dark thoughts wandered, dragging my mind back to the past. At one time, I had been a super social person, but after the fire, I hid from the world as much as possible. Now, I only spent time with my girls. I’d missed them horribly last year. When they left, shit got bad and fast. They protected me more than they would ever know.
The mansion was more amazing inside, with black marble floors and white pillars on each side of the hall that led to an open-floor plan. The living and informal dining area was packed with college kids laughing and drinking. I was ready to join them and let loose.
Fifteen minutes later, we’d worked our way through the crowd and reached the kitchen, where every kind of alcohol was waiting. Leighton located the whiskey and poured us all shots. We cheered over the music and downed them before filling our cups with our booze of choice. It would have to last a while since the lines were so damn long. Teagan joined us in the first drink, then she planned to chill for the rest of the night.
