Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge) (5 page)

“Pierce sure knows how to pick
’em,” she breathed.

“That’s what I was thinking
, and I grabbed the bat from her hand. Campus police arrived seconds later. And to be honest, I doubt she even recalled sleeping with Pierce. Who knows if they even did? He probably just gave her his number and she heard how he got with the other girls he gave his number to. Mr. Pruitt found out. He took back the Maserati and gave Pierce this other car he wasn’t too fond of.”

“Poor Pierce.” She twisted her lips. “You don’t even remember her name, do you?”

I smirked. “Nah. But I do remember that Pierce calls you Noodles.”

“Yes.” She shrugged. “And his nickname was
Porkchop, but he’s not chubby anymore. Pierce calls me Noodles. No one else does. I go by Beth.”

“Duly noted, Beth.”

She bobbed her head. “And Pierce invited you to stay here for the summer?”

“Both he and Mr. Pruitt did
. I was gonna do some construction and rent a room for the summer. I had my finals early and I’ve been here for a month and some days.”

I studied her and she averted her gaze. The flush on her neck worked its way up to her face.

I helped her clean up and my eyes were fixated when she caught her lower lip in her teeth. The thought of skimming my fingers on her arms crossed my mind. And then I heard footsteps.

Bethany

“Bethany, is that you?”

“Yes,” I replied, unsure who it was until Aunt Deborah came into view in an appropriately lightweight suit and sunglasses that made her look glamorous. Her pale blond hair was cut into a chic bob, a sophisticated style change from the luxurious long hair she’d had years ago.

Chase moved out of the way and gave us some space.

“Hi, Aunt Deborah.”

“Bethany!” She appeared to shake her head in disbelief. Dropping her shopping bags, she came toward me and embraced me firmly. I wound
ed my arms around her.

Someone dropped something from behind us and Aunt Deborah turned around, clutching her chest. “Cassie, you scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Sorry, Mother,” Cassidy said. She strode towards me and gave me an air kiss on each side of my face.

Aunt Deborah rolled her eyes and
tilted her head to Chase. “We appreciate you getting Bethany for us. You’ve been a lifesaver.”

“You’re very welcome,
Mrs. Pruitt.”

“Yes, you’re always so helpful,” Cassidy chimed in. “And it doesn’t go unnoticed.” She flicked her gaze to me again. “How’ve you been, Beth?”

“Let me help you with those bags, Mrs. Pruitt,” Nancy said as she came out of nowhere, and quickly walked past everyone to retrieve the shopping bags.

“Mine are over there.” Cassidy lifted her chin where tons of her shopping bags were in the distance. I forgot about them when I saw her. She was
as beautiful as I thought she’d be. Her eyes were a much lighter shade of blue than Aunt Deborah’s. Like Mariska, she could also be a model. She was tall and lithe, but she didn’t have a guitar shape like Mariska.

“Have you lost your mind?” Aunt Deborah s
coffed. “Cassidy Angus Pruitt, get your ass over there and get your bags yourself, or I’ll return the purchases tomorrow.”

Groaning, Cassidy moved away from me and went to her bags. I
began helping her but Aunt Deborah took my arms in hers and I walked in time with her toward the steps. I quickly looked over my shoulder. Chase took most of those huge bags from Nancy like they weighed nothing. Petulantly, Cassidy carried her own shopping bags.

***

Aunt Deborah was more excited than Nancy had been to see how I’d like the guestroom that they decorated for me. My name was written in script over the pillowcases and there was a board above my bed with my name written in script in light shades of brown and pink as well. There were two humungous stuffed teddy bears on each side of the king-size bed. Aunt Deborah had two phones ringing at once when she excused herself and said that she’d return.

God, I was just like Cindy. Once a hot guy gave me some attention, I lost all my sense. He had acted like he wanted to hang out. And now I felt unsure of myself. I really liked how Chase ha
d been treating me so far, and how I felt around him. I didn’t see him even look at Cassidy once, and while I wasn’t homely, by no means did I compare to Cassidy. And maybe Chase was perfectly cool with being friends with an ordinary girl. With me. I hadn’t had sex in a while. I guess my hormones needed to learn that I was the boss.

“Uh oh.” Aunt Deborah slowly closed the
door. I didn’t hear her come into my room. “Thinking about your mother?” She had a sympathetic expression on her face.

“I was,” I admitted, but I wasn’t thinking about Cindy in the way that she thought I was.

Aunt Deborah sat on the chair by the wide desk directly across from the door. “You didn’t see her before she left Franklin Parks?” she asked gently, but I still heard some judgment in her voice.

“
I didn’t.”

Frowning, she said, “I don’t know what’s gotten into your mother. And that first
-name nonsense is another thing I never understood. I never knew her well. But I will say that maybe this is a blessing in disguise.” I let out a humorless laugh, and she smiled. “If you’d like to talk about…everything, I am here.”

I folded my legs as I sat at the bottom of my bed. “Maybe later
. I kinda feel…weird about my situation. Not that I am not grateful to you and Uncle Anton.” I also didn’t like anyone undermining Cindy’s parenting skills, but I wasn’t in a position to tell her that.

Aunt Deborah nodded and smirked. “But it’s a real bitch to feel indebted to people. To have to feel grateful all the time? Isn’t it?” She took off her blazer and revealed fit arms and a very perky bust in a sleeveless top. I remember
ed her being much thicker, and I could tell that she worked out a lot now. Maybe had some work done on her body too. She studied me with her pale blue eyes. “The only thing you owe Anton and I is to take care of yourself.” She released a soft sigh. “Anton and I haven’t always been where we are in our lives right now. Someone gave us a chance, invested in us when we were small fish, swimming with the sharks. We haven’t forgotten how fortunate we are. Now, you’re lucky he even hired you. Didn’t force you to be a beach bum.”

“
I think he’s amenable to what I want—to an extent.”

She stood up
and nodded.

Someone knocked on the door. “Come in,” Aunt Deborah said.

Cassidy walked in with her hair wrapped up in a towel, a light robe, and cute slippers.

Aunt Deborah’s face straightened. “Did you put your stuff away?”

“Yes, Mother. I took a bath by myself too,” she said saucily. “I wanted to see if Beth wanted to go out tonight.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Cassie.” Aunt Deborah walked towards the door but kept her focus on her daughter.

“I am twenty-two. Not reckless,” she said. She shifted her gaze in my direction. “Besides, how old are you, twenty?”

“
Eighteen,” I corrected her.

“
Same difference,” Cassidy said with a smirk.

“What’s the dress code like?” I asked.

“You can wear a pair of jeans. A nice top and shoes. That’s what I’ll be wearing.”

“Don’t come back too late.”
Aunt Deborah raised her finger at Cassidy.

“We’re just going to be at the Paloma bar,”
Cassidy said. “Besides, we’ll have Pierce there to police us.”

***

Chase

My forehead pricked with sweat as I stepped out of the laundry room for a break. Nancy had kept me company for a little while until Mrs. Pruitt called for her. Nancy hadn’t mentioned Beth when I brought Mrs. Pruitt’s shopping bags to the front of her room, or when she and I were in the laundry room. My phone vibrated.

“What’s good, Pierce?”

“Everything’s fine over here. Better since Mom and Dad are out for the night. Joel and Rylan are gonna be at the bar. Around eleven-thirty, we’re gonna have a little party at my penthouse.”

“When have you ever had a little party?”

“Tonight it’ll be real lax. Rylan and I already told Joel that we’re just gonna chill and not have a bunch of people over. ”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

***

Rylan and Joel were with five girls from the larger group I had seen them with on the beach this afternoon. I sat down at the table they were occupying —the biggest one in the bar/restaurant at the Paloma.

“What would you like?” Bri
, one of the regular waitresses, asked me.

“Club soda with lime.”

“How about you guys?” She tapped her pen on her notepad.

“Three orders of chicken tenders. One with
tostones. Extra crispy. One with two baked potatoes. And I’d like my order with cheese fries,” Rylan said.

“You girls wanna eat anything?” Joel asked them.

“We’ll share with you,” one of them answered.

With a nod of his head, Joel agreed and
Bri attended to another table. The girl with the belly-button piercing switched places with one of her friends and was next to me. Rylan and Joel smirked at me.

She leaned into me and her hot breath smelled of tequila. I reeled because I was beginning to taste it. I like
d a good scotch once in a while. And I hadn’t had scotch in weeks. Anything else didn’t mingle right with my taste buds.

“How’s my favorite quarterback?”
She tried to sound sultry.

Her friends giggled. “I am actually a
linebacker,” I told her in a low tone. “But I am doing good. And you?” I didn’t want it to look like I was playing her in front of her friends, but from Rylan and Joel’s expressions, they at least knew that I wasn’t interested.

She whispered in my ear, “
You’d make my night if you’d come upstairs with me.”

Rylan was talking to another girl and Joel sent me a questioning look.

“No thanks,” I told her instead of “Never gonna happen.”

She pulled away from me and sat back down in her own seat. “You told me he wasn’t seeing anyone,” she said to Joel, who shrugged his shoulders. And then she turned back to me, flinging her jet-black hair around. “What? You think you’re too good for me?” She flicked her gray eyes to my scar.

I heaved in a breath and tried to be civil. “I told you last night that I am not dating right now. It has nothing to do with you.”

“But you were working then. That’s why I thought you said that.” Scowling, her voice rose. “And who said I am looking to date?” she asked with absurdity.

Everyone at the table was looking at us now, including some folks from the other tables.

“I never led you to believe that I wanted to smash
.”

The girl slammed her hand on the table and gripped her glass.
Joel smoothly reached from across the table and took it from her. Most of the sweet drink sloshed on her skimpy dress.

Grimacing,
Joel dared her to make another move. One of her friends handed her purse to her, with an expression that said, “Don’t cock-block me or you’re out of friends.” She huffed out her frustration and walked away. “If any of you girls pull that stunt, no one guy from here will go near you,” he cautioned, and returned to his seat right after I did.

A guard headed to our table and he got ahold of the girl’s arm and escorted her out. Nearby customers returned to their conversations, but one table shot us reproving glances.

Bri came to our table with their dishes and my beverage.

Joel took two of the plates from Brianna and placed them on the table. “That catty shit is only allowed in the bedroom,” he
added and winked at Bri. Rylan hit him on the side of his head.

“You’
re incorrigible, Joel,” Bri said.

“Not if the right woman
puts me in my place.”

Her hands made an abortive gesture and he gave her a look that said “
your loss.” He sprinkled some Adobo onto his chicken tenders and tostones. Then he plopped three tostones into his mouth.

“Flag me if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Bri,” I said.

Rylan freed himself from the girls sitting on either side of him. He started on his meal. “Tell me,” he said after he swallowed a smile bite of his baked potato
, “who’s that girl with Cassidy over there?”

I whipped around to see Cassidy sitting at the counter with Beth, who looked edible in a black top with loose sleeves and a slit in each of them. Her neckline
was covered, but the back of her shirt was cut out in a heart shape, which bared her flawlessly smooth back. The end of the heart shape swirled to show the curve of her lower back. The front of my jeans tightened. Her fire engine red jeans fit her snugly. She had on those black heels on from earlier today.

Beth
had curled her hair so it framed her face. She wore red lip gloss, with no makeup on. The contrast in her styled hair and attire with her practically naked face was killing me. Her blue eyes met mine. Her cheeks tinged a rosy red and she turned away.

“She wouldn’t happen to be Bethany, would s
he?” Joel asked.

Schooling my expression, I faced them again. “
Yeah.”

Joel shook his head. “You’re foul.”

I acted like I didn’t know what he meant and finished off my lime club soda.

“I am gonna
say hi,” the girl who sat to the right of him said.

“Don’t take too long, Maude,” Rylan
said, and the girl who had sat on the other side next to him accompanied Maude.

Bri
laid her hand on my shoulder. “Refill?”

“Please,” I
replied, and Bri took their glasses as well.

Joel wiggled his finger at the other two girls across the table and they obediently came over. It was like any guy who looked like he had some cash on him and was decently dressed could summon them. It was hard to know if they even liked Rylan and Joel at all.