“Don’t say it. There is no ‘you and me.’ ”
He smiled tightly, as though it hurt his face. “You just said it though.”
She blew out an exasperated breath.
He went on, “I decided to put an end to my relationship. It was overdue and the best thing for both of us.”
“Good. Glad to hear that.” She heard how that sounded, but it didn’t stop her babbling. “I mean, I’m not glad you broke up, but I’m glad it had nothing to do with me.”
He was grinning again at her. “I’m glad you’re glad.”
Now she felt certain he was laughing at her. Mocking her. She pulled the door open, startled to come face-to-face with Lia. “Oh. Hey there.” Just behind Lia stood Monica.
“Hey there yourself,” Lia returned. “I didn’t think anyone was in this room.” Her gaze landed behind Hayden . . . on Nolan. Her expression turned speculative. “What are you two doing here?”
“Nothing,” Hayden said defensively. “What are you two doing?”
Lia blinked and shrugged. “Well, we were planning to do in here what everybody else does in the empty science lab. You sure that isn’t the same thing you two were doing?” She arched an eyebrow smugly.
Monica let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle.
Heat swamped Hayden’s face for the second time. “We were only talking.”
“Oh, really? Is that what we’re calling it these days?” She and Monica shared a long glance. “Well, to be honest, that’s not what we were planning on doing in here.”
It took Hayden a moment to find her voice. “Oh.” And then: “Oh. Wow. Okay. Yeah.”
Apparently, the other night’s kissing lessons had started something between Lia and Monica. Maybe something real. At the very least it was something they were into exploring. Good for them.
“Yeah, so it’s our free period and we came here to make out. Are you done ‘talking’ then?” Monica asked, her tone direct. “If so, can we have the room?”
“By all means.” Hayden passed through the door, holding it open for the girls as she did so. “Enjoy yourselves.”
“Hayden,” Nolan called after her. “Hayden, wait up.”
She didn’t stop. Waiting for Nolan felt like a bad idea. She didn’t like how he made her feel—like maybe something more from him, with him, was okay. Something other than a casual hookup, and that was not Hayden. It violated her own rule: never get attached. Keep it casual. You couldn’t get hurt that way. That was a lesson she had learned herself the hard way.
She hurried down the hall, making sure not to look behind her. She knew better than to do that.
You never regret and you never look back.
Lesson #24
There’s freedom where no one knows you.
x Emmaline x
“Are you sure we can just go in there? We don’t know anyone.” Emmaline hated that she sounded so nervous, but she kept visualizing being turned away at the door.
“There’s no one checking invites at the entrance, if that’s what worries you,” Hayden called over her shoulder. It was like she could read Emmaline’s mind. “Oh, and don’t forget what I said.” She stopped and looked back at Emmaline and Sanjana. “Never leave your drink unattended and don’t accept a drink from anyone you don’t know well.”
“Sounds like the warnings they announce at the airport,” Sanjana remarked.
Hayden frowned. “It’s no joke. There are all kinds of threats out there. Always look out for yourself and your friends.”
Turning back around, Hayden led the way toward the big house that was lit up like a Christmas tree. A giant pond sat beside the house, wrapping around to the back. From her vantage, Emmaline could see a dock stretching out over the water, a boat and several Jet Skis parked alongside it.
“This place is pretty fancy.” Sanjana whistled in awe. “You know who lives here?”
“Nope,” Hayden replied.
“How did you get invited then?”
Hayden looked at them like the answer was obvious. “Snapchat.”
“So you’ve never met the person throwing this party—”
“He’s a Snapchat friend,” she answered.
Emmaline knew that Hayden had a lot of followers, which was kind of ironic considering Hayden didn’t have a tight circle of friends and mostly kept to herself. But that was Snapchat for you. Connecting beautiful strangers to beautiful strangers.
Emmaline watched her in admiration.
Hayden walked with expertise, clearly accustomed to her two-inch boot heels that put her close to six feet. Emmaline’s own attempt to walk in heels was woefully inadequate by comparison. Relief swept over her when she finally entered the house. It was so crowded that movement was at a minimum. She only had to suffer a few steps at a time.
Navigating this party wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Guys talked to them, offering drinks and stupid come-ons. She didn’t even have to say much. Quality conversation didn’t seem to matter.
“It’s the hair,” Sanjana told her over the loud pump of music, nodding knowingly. “Guys love redheads. You know what they say. Redheads have more fun.”
Emmaline considered that for a moment. “I think that the saying is ‘blondes have more fun.’ ”
Sanjana reached for a chip from a bowl on a nearby table. “No way is that true.” Munching on her chip, she nodded at Hayden. Hayden still attracted the biggest crowd. The girl didn’t know her own power. Or maybe she did. Maybe that’s where her power originated—in her awareness and her absolute indifference to it.
Sanjana continued, “I’ve known too many miserable blondes. And look at her. She’s not a blonde.” She picked up another chip and waved it at Hayden.
But was Hayden having fun?
Staring at Hayden, Emmaline got the sense that she wasn’t enjoying the attention. She didn’t even seem to be looking at the guys talking to her. No, as the evening wore on, it became clear that Hayden would have preferred to be anywhere else than at this party. But she was doing this for Emmaline. She had become a good friend, lessons aside.
Hayden broke free of her admirers to join them. “Hey, you guys want to leave? Let’s go get a pizza or something.”
“We’ve only been here like an hour,” Sanjana said. “It’s not even nine yet.”
“Actually, pizza sounds great,” Emmaline agreed, strangely relieved at the prospect of leaving.
“All right.” Sanjana shrugged and they headed back through the party. It was slow going considering Emmaline could barely manage in her shoes. She was debating taking them off and going without them altogether when she rolled her ankle. She yelped and went sideways, colliding into some guy holding a full cup of beer. A full cup that went all over the front of her sweater.
He cursed, shot her a glare, tossed his now empty cup aside, and moved on, more than likely to get a refill.
Yeah, her ankle was throbbing and she was soaked in beer. She was definitely over this party scene.
Hayden and Sanjana helped her to her feet.
“That’s it,” she muttered. “No more shoes.” Holding on to Sanjana’s arm, she undid the straps.